There were 20 business students from the La Verne University, all members of the school's Enactus chapter, serving food at the latest of the twice-a-month Sowing Seeds for Life food pantry on Wednesday.
The Enactus students, under the leadership of Professor Dr. Issam Ghazzawi, usually offer job counseling at the Sowing Seeds for Life food pantries but this week they were needed to help serve.
Enactus is a world-wide organization involving college business students.
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Something else special about this food pantry was the involvement of the Ontario campus of the West Coast Ultrasound Institute, a school of imaging and nursing, which added a new dimension to helping the needy.
Students and other representatives from the Ontario ultrasound institute set up two stations to offer a free testing and screening for anyone in attendance at the latest of the twice-a-month Sowing Seeds for Life food pantry held Wednesday at DPI Labs at 1350 Arrow Highway.
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At one station were nursing students taking blood pressure. At the other were ultrasound and imaging students checking for blocked arteries.
“We’re looking for any kind of blockage,” said Dr. Hany Nashed, a director at the institute who was at the ultrasound and imaging station. “If we find any, we would recommend a full scan.”
Hashed said such a screening could save a life.
“So far, everyone has been healthy,” said instructor Steven Valdivia, who was in charge of conducting the screenings. “We’ve been lucky.”
Vicki Brown, the CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life, said: “It is great to have the people from the West Coast Ultrasound Institute here to add to the many services we offer to people in need. They’ll be back at our next food pantry on March 19.”
Brown credited Sowing Seeds volunteer Paulette Young, an independent health care consultant, for arranging the institute’s participation.
Sowing Seeds for Life, which among other things conducts a food pantry the first and third Wednesday of every month, services some 6,000 people per month.
