On Community IMPACT Day, More Than 600 University Volunteers Lift Communities and Learn From Each Other

Sean Hennessey

Date

September 14, 2026

Topics

More than 60 teams serve 37 sites; activities honor 25th anniversary of 9/11

Under a sundrenched sky on a most poignant anniversary, Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions students, faculty, and staff went to work, not in the clinics and classrooms that are customary, but in the communities where they live, learn, and work.

Held on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the volunteer service that made up the University’s annual Community IMPACT Day honored the victims and the families of that horrific day.

“It is especially meaningful that this year’s event falls on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a National Day of Service,” said Regina Doherty, dean for interprofessional education and practice. “Through service and care, we honor the many lives lost, including families across Massachusetts. By spreading love, we stand united against hate and ensure we never forget.”

On this Community IMPACT Day, the University’s 14th annual, more than 600 students, faculty, and staff donned dark blue t-shirts and made their way to communities like Charlestown, East Boston, Chelsea, Malden, Brookline, and Newton to volunteer with a purpose.

“Community Impact Day is about giving back with a purpose,” explained Yolanda Mendez Rainey, operations manager for the Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice. “It's so impactful, and it's the best way to start off the school year.”

At Charlestown’s Harvest on the Vine, students cleaned and organized the food pantry.

“It's just good to get into the community and see things because we're always on campus, but we don't often explore more of the community,” noted Liam Murphy ABSN ’26. “Understanding what this organization is doing is important because in a hospital setting, some of our patients need this type of help, so making sure we can help them before they even get in the hospital is always good.”

Also in Charlestown, volunteers cleaned boats and equipment at Courageous Sailing, helped the elderly make no-sew blankets on Ferrin Street, and painted and cleaned at Harvard Kent School.

President Deborah Jones, taking part in her first Community IMPACT Day, was on painting detail and says the painting didn't just help Harvard Kent, it helped University students learn how to work together.

“It was interprofessional work at its best,” marveled Jones. “Today is the 25th anniversary of 9/11. I think it was a remarkable day of service to see all this blue, to see all our students participating, to see the faculty and staff coming together. Words can't fully describe it.”

Not too far away at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, one group tuned up wheelchairs while another cleaned shower chairs.

“We're not just detailing shower chairs, we're making it easier for Spaulding staff to inventory equipment and flag anything that could pose a risk to a patient,” pointed out Rachelle Mainard, chief of operations & strategy for the University. “It's a force multiplier. The OT practice leader would never be able to prioritize this kind of work over patient care, and she shouldn't have to. That's where we come in.”

“Meeting students from other programs was really fun,” beamed Lisa Choi, DPT ’28, after working on the wheelchairs. “I'm very excited to collaborate with them and learn how to take care of the patients with the team.”

Volunteers in blue t-shirts carry and wheel supplies in front of a building with American flags at half-mast — With flags at half-staff in honor of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, first-year Mass General Brigham University students walk to one of the many volunteer sites near the Charlestown Navy Yard.

A woman in a blue shirt that reads "Community Impact Day" paints a wall at Harvard Kent Elementary School for Community Impact Day — President Deborah Jones paints a wall at Harvard Kent Elementary School during her first Community IMPACT Day

group of people standing together with blue shirts on — (l-r) Sophia Rumsey, DEN, Victoria Cusanello, BSN, Anna Hill, PA, Heather Easter, Director of Academic Operations, Egbe Julius Tambe Sangaya, DEN, Natalie Braithwaite, SLP, James Rolanti, BSN, and Reamer Bushardt, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, volunteered at New Health for Community IMPACT Day.

Two women in blue shirts sanitize reusable grocery bags in a greenhouse — Riley Hallahan, DEN ’29, (l) and Chisom Uchendu, ABSN ’26, work together to sanitize reusable bags at Eastie Farm during Community Impact Day.

A woman in a blue shirt performs maintenance on a wheelchair — Chief of Operations and Strategy (COO) and Chief of Staff to the President Rachelle Mainard performs maintenance on a wheelchair at Spauling Rehabilitation Hospital.

Volunteers in blue shirts posing in front of the Boston Harbor — (l-r top row) Associate Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Kevin Finn, and volunteers Isabela Ferullo, DEN, Diana Pressley, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions, UTMB Galveston, Wayne Lu, BSN, and Cameron MacDonald, DPT, (r-l bottom) Gianna Arcabascio, DPT, Michele Chu, OTD, Kayla Conde, BSN, Juliette Connors, SLP, and Caitlin Thomas, BSN, at Courageous Sailing in the Navy Yard, where they helped clean sailboats.

A woman in a blue shirt that reads "Community Impact Day" talks to an older woman in a nursing home. The older woman has a blanket with a sunflower pattern in front of her. — Leyla Philbin, SLP '27 talks to Donna, one of the residents of the Georgine Towers in Charlestown after working with her to make a no-sew blanket.

Volunteers in blue shirts posing for a photo in front of the Goddard School. One person is holding up a picture book. — (l-r) Victoria Fernandez OT '29, Jessica Lie ABSN '27, Emme Prum DEN '28, Leanne Melendy ABSN '28, Francie Ettori PA '28, Talia Eligator SLP '28, Gabi Edmond PT '29, and Occupational Therapy Chair, Sarah McKinnon spent Community Impact Day at The Goddard School, supporting active play with toddlers and preschoolers through story time and outdoor activities. McKinnon read her published children's book, The Cheerful Chip, to the children.

group of people with small children sitting in a circle — (l-r) Spencer Monson, DPT, Kelly Mendez-Aguilar, OTD, Julianna Debonis, PA, Monica Hartford, BSN, Alexis MacKay, BSN, Jack Vandenheuvel, BSN, and Mackenzie Demello, SLP, visited the Allo Montessori School, where they led activities with young children.

woman standing in front of cardboard flower boxes — Clare Graham, PT '29, organizes flower boxes at Eastie Farms.

2 women sorting supplies into clear bags — Victoria Becker PT ’29, Julianna Santangelo ABSN ’27, and Allison Voirol PT ’29 organize school supplies at Cradles to Crayons in Newton.

group of people standing in front of a sign that says harvest on vine — (l-r) Physician Assistant Faculty member Chris Lim and students Ava Williston, SLP '28, Casidhe Hoyt, DEN '29, Liam Murphy ABSN '26, Michael Eilberg, DEN '29, Ana Keene, PA '28, Allie Greenberg, DPT '29, Delia Hughes, ABSN '26, assisted the Director of Harvest on Vine, Tommy McDonald (middle), in cleaning and organizing the food pantry.

people in a group setting playing games — Students hosted a game day event with St. Helena's House residents.

group of people cooking — (l-r) Sonia Bensalem, PA, Nicholas Burton, DEN, Haleigh Jacobs, DPT, Tina Lok Sun Ko, GC, Margaret Malloy, BSN, Elisabeth Roche, DEN, Courtney Ruble, SLP, and Vandana Sampson, BSN, spent Community Impact Day making meals at Boston House to support families of children with pediatric cancer.

3 individuals standing in front of a freshly painted bench — (l-r) Youyi Guo, PT, David Robertson, BSN, and Sarah Tabbara, BSN, gave the playground structures a fresh coat of paint at Harvard Kent.

3 people picking up trash — Kylie Cotter SLP, and Lea Fares SLP, and Courtney Grabus DEN, helped clean up Belle Isle Marsh to preserve bird habitats during Community Impact Day.

group of people posing with toy crayons — Volunteers inside one of the workstations at Cradles to Crayons in Newton.

Community IMPACT Day is designed around interprofessionalism. Bringing together different experiences and educational backgrounds where students can learn from each other is what interprofessional education is all about. Because team-based care results in better patient outcomes, interprofessional education is a hallmark of the University.

“We can talk about it all we want in the classroom but having them work together as a team while doing something that's really meaningful to our partner sites really kills two birds with one stone,” observed Midge Hobbs, assistant dean for interprofessional education who organizes IMPACT Day with a dedicated team of staff and faculty. “It meets a need in a community by providing a service and also helps students learn about interprofessional collaboration through teamwork and communication.”

That’s what they were doing in Newton where volunteers made the annual pilgrimage to Cradles to Crayons, the area’s largest nonprofit that’s focused on ending clothing insecurity, to organize school supplies and clothes.

“We have PT, OT, speech language pathologists, nursing students, and there's a ton of more students as well at the program who are different majors that we're all coming together, working just like how we would with the patient,” said Victoria Becker, PT ’29. “So, it's really great to put it all together.”

“It's bringing all the professions together at Mass General Brigham University,” added Kai Schildmeier, ABSN ’27, one of the 514 students to participate. “We’re working together and getting to know what each profession does and how we can work together to best serve our community and our future patients.”

Students and staff at the Ronald McDonald House cooked meals that will be given to family members who utilize the House while loved ones undergo treatment at nearby hospitals.

“I know it takes a full team of people in order to properly care for a patient,” noted Kelly O’Neil, ABSN ’27. “So, it's really cool to see how it all intertwines, and it's going to make us each better providers in our specialty.”

Over in East Boston, students and staff cleaned approximately 500 reusable bags that will be used by those who have signed up to receive free fruits and vegetables.

“We’re doing this so that there's better access to healthier foods and choices like that for people that can’t afford it as much,” said Riley Hallahan DEN ’29. “They have over 500 customers coming in this week, so we’re just trying to make the process a little bit easier for them.”

At Malden’s Cooperative for Human Services, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting community inclusion and quality of life for individuals with disabilities, volunteers assembled food bags and packages for a community meal program.

“Interprofessional education is often described through concepts such as communication, collaboration, teamwork, and shared decision-making,” said Nara Gavini, associate provost for research and team leader at the Malden site. “But today, those ideas take on a human dimension. Students are not simply learning about collaboration, they are practicing it together in service of another person.”

“I'm so glad that the University is able to do something like this, and we're actually able to be removed from our typical settings, and we're able to collaborate with other programs within the community,” said Chisom Uchendu, ABSN ’26. “I've learned a lot about what everyone's part is and everyone's role is, and how we all can work together to make healthcare better in general.”
This day of service, of making things better, of giving back, continues to strike a chord with the community beneficiaries.

“We're really incredibly thankful for your support over the years,” reflected Alicia Kabir, executive director, Cradles to Crayons. “And when your team comes through here every year to help us quality check our clothing, package it up, and make sure it's getting back out to kids in need as quickly as possible, it's immediate impact.”

“We serve the whole neighborhood of Charlestown, and we just love that the University is right here with us in the Navy Yard,” Tom Macdonald, director of Harvest on Vine, shared. “It's huge for us, and they did a great job.”

“Having the students come and cook here is really helping make sure we have a meal every day for the families,” said Gabrielle Emerson, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at the Ronald McDonald House. “And we're glad to have our neighbors down the street come and help. Charlestown's been great, and Mass General Brigham University has been an amazing partner, so we are really appreciative of you guys coming back.”

Coming back is exactly what President Jones has in mind.

“I can't wait to do this again next year, I really can't,” said a beaming Jones. “We are in fellowship with these community partners, and so the fact that we are giving a piece of ourselves during this time frame, I think means so much to them, and it means so much to us. It helps us build up the economy and it helps us build up our community together. We’re an altruistic profession. What better way to show that than the work that we're doing today? It's been great."