When ETSU sophomore Tatum Gross discovered CURE, she knew it was something she wanted to bring to ETSU.
CURE International is a Christian-based nonprofit organization that opens and runs charitable hospitals for children in underserved areas of the world and has hospitals in 26 countries.
“I started it because I went to a pre-med conference at Appalachian State University where they have CURE, and I really wanted to join, but we didn’t have it here,” said Gross. “So I had to start it.”
Gross began planning for the organization after returning from the conference.
“This is our first semester as an active group, but we started planning for it, getting officers together and writing the constitution last semester,” said Gross.
While the main goal of ETSU’s chapter of CURE is to raise money for CURE International, another goal they have is to raise awareness to the lack of healthcare in certain regions of the world.
“One of the main things we want to do is bring awareness,” said Sean Fox, the faculty mentor for CURE. “There are so many things that the public doesn’t know. You would think that in these areas there would still be lots of access or lots of resources available, but really when you start looking, the things you think are there are not.”
Fox became the faculty mentor after being approached by Gross about the position. Both Fox and Gross feel strongly about CURE International’s mission.
“We have hospitals with that kind of access in the U.S., but in other countries they don’t necessarily have that, so I am really passionate about CURE International’s mission,” said Gross.
With five officers and around twenty members, ETSU’s CURE chapter is still relatively small but is growing quickly.
“This is a brand-new club, so the potential for students to be active in somethings that’s new and just starting off the ground is great,” said Fox.
Fox and Gross also hope to collaborate with similar groups on campus.
“The heath science department has a number of students that are in different organizations,” said Fox. “So one of the things we’re trying to do is unite all the smaller groups, so they can help each other out.”
CURE is currently seeking out more members and is open to students of all majors including graduate students.
To get more information on CURE, you can follow them on Instagram at @cureatetsu or Twitter at @CureETSU1.
