Ana Golubovici & Ruthie Anderson both work at UHN and volunteer their spare time with Not Just Tourists Toronto. Good going!
Ana & Ruthie both work at UHN and volunteer their spare time with Not Just Tourists Toronto. Good going!

Hello fellow Talkin’ Trash readers! I would like to introduce you to Ana Golubovici and Ruthie Anderson, both nurses at TGH. They recently returned from their trip to Honduras, where they spent their vacation volunteering with a small clinic in Roatan Honduras. They are also two of the many medical staff at UHN that volunteers to brings suitcases of medical supplies along with them on their vacation! “Medical supplies in a suitcase?” you say. Let me explain…

Firstly, did you know that Operation Green, a group run by medical students, has collected a surplus of medical supplies that filled over 180 suitcases? And did you also know you can make a difference too without interfering with your plans to soak up the sun? As they have been mentioned in a previous Talkin’ Trash Article, Operation Green and an NGO called Not Just Tourists have collaborated to have these suitcases of medical supplies sent to countries in need through the means of tourists. They are always seeking more volunteers to help take one of these bad-boys along to their destinations! If you are interested, you can register to take one suitcase with you and you will be connected with staff at a local clinic near your resort. It’s a piece of cake!

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Blood collection tubes and needles are just a few examples of the medical supplies Operation Green collects to send to Countries in need!

If you’re not going on a vacation any time soon – don’t fret! There are other ways you can help OG and NJT. Operation Green is always collecting medical supplies to send off with more vacationers. The medical supplies collected are typically surgical overage, which are clean medical supplies that were not used in surgery and would otherwise be thrown away. Also, if your department has an excess of these materials and are able to donate them you can contact OperationGreen@uhn.ca!

As a student, I admire that Operation Green is a student-run group. However, very few UHN staff members actually know about OG and their collaboration with NJT to send these medical supplies to countries in need. You can help Operation Green by spreading the word to your fellow peers and colleagues to help them recruit more vacationing volunteers!

Interested in becoming a volunteer yourself? No problem-o! Click here!

If you would like to find out more information about Operation Green and Not Just Tourist’s initiatives check out our previous article too!

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Here’s Ana in Roatan Honduras with one of her patients!