To provide medical care in developing countries, eight students started a Penn State chapter of the Global Medical Relief Program (GlobeMed) this semester.

The club meets twice a month and aims to save and improve lives in impoverished or devastated areas, club President Liz Francis (sophomore-premedicine) said.

Aaron Wynkoop (sophomore-biology) said he wanted to get involved with the club because he wanted to improve other people's lives.

"I feel so blessed to live in this country, and we take what we have for granted," Wynkoop said. "We have so much compared to what other people have and face from day to day."

Francis said the club chose to focus on two service projects, including raising money for orthopedic pediatric surgeries in Honduras.

"Hospitals aren't easily accessible in some countries," she said. "People travel hours to hospitals and then can't afford to stay there while they wait to have surgery."

The other project involves gathering medical supplies, such as Band-Aids, to send to an orphanage in Sri Lanka.

"Some hospitals don't have money for basic supplies," Francis said.

"We picked Sri Lanka because it was an area hit by the tsunami and in need," she added.

For the Sri Lanka packages, Jimit Karia (sophomore-life sciences) said he contacted several local dentists about donating toothbrushes.

"My dad is a dentist, and he gets a ton of free toothbrushes from promotions," Karia said. "I thought it was an item they could donate."

Karia said he is also working with UPS to get free shipping for supplies.

"The cost of shipping sometimes exceeds the cost of the supplies," Karia said. "It gets expensive. Getting shipping donated would really help."

The club will also raise money and supplies by selling pins, holding spaghetti dinners and giving spirit points to sororities for donating medical supplies, Francis said.

After a trip to Lebanon, Heather Chidiac (junior-life sciences and nutrition) said she wanted to participate in GlobeMed.

"I saw how difficult it is to live without money or health care," Chidiac said. "It made me want to reach out and help people."

Other club members said they wanted to learn more about medicine before applying to medical school.

"I'm headed toward medical school," Lisa Williams (sophomore-chemistry) said. "This will help know what's out there and help people at the same time."

While the club is still in its infancy, Karia said he thinks the projects will be successful.

"We're headed toward success. We're getting organized and trying to recruit more people," Karia said.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to make a difference on a local and global scale," he added.