Sowing Seeds for Life, a regional food bank founded by Glendora resident Vicki Brown, and the Ontario campus of the West Coast Ultrasound Institute, a school of imaging and nursing, have teamed up to add 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 in La Verne.
At one station were nursing students taking blood pressure. At the other were ultrasound and imaging students checking for blocked arteries.
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“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.
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“So far, everyone has been healthy,” said instructor Steven Valdivia, who was in charge of conducting the screenings. “We’ve been lucky.”
Vicki Brown, who now serves as the CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life and is also the CEO of DPI Labs, 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.
Also taking part in this week’s food pantry were 20 business students from the University of La Verne’s Enactus chapter. Enactus is an organization involving college business students from around the world. The Enactus members from ULV usually offer job counseling at Sowing Seeds pantries, but this week they were needed to help hand out food and produce.
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.
