What is Happening at St. Jude

[ducklabdad]

Since I have joined the club, I have not heard anything or seen any new posts on anything happening with the tank, tanks at St. Jude.

One of the reasons I decided to join was I was impressed with the threads on what was going on there and the club involvement.

In looking on Sunday I realized that there had not been anything updated on this in quite some time.

Is the Cub still involved with this? I was surprised that this was not discussed at the meeting and was just really curious since there does not seem to be any updated iformation.

I know I would be glad to help out some if the club is still involved.

Maybe someone "in th know" on this can post something to inform those that aren,t

 

[Reefdiver77]

Barrett was not at the meeting. He is the member who works at St. Jude and usually fills us in on what is happening with the St. Jude tanks. B.J. was not at the meeting either and she is very involved at St. Jude. Barrett is always looking for more volunteers. He is doing much of the work himself. You would have to have a TB skin test and go for training, apply, etc, before being able to volunteer. Nick is in the process of getting his training now. I have been cleared and completed mine, however I am an hour and a half away from Memphis. Maybe Barrett will see your post and post an update.

 

[grannybj]

yes Barrett would be the one to answer you. I have been sick for 2 months and running a mystery fever so I have not been able to go near St. Jude. Due to insurance restrictions , I could not find an "in network" doc that could see me sooner than next monday. Before I got sick, I was going every Friday and volunteering in the Chemo lab for 3 1/2 hours and then doing what I could on the tanks. Most of the time I just cleaned glass or organized the back room and of course talked to the kids about the tanks.
As Vicki said you have to go through orientation and a TB test and have your ID made before you can actully come and go unescorted.I think orientation was about 3 or 4 hours long .
I can say that volunteering for St. Jude is a very rewarding experience.I am very anxious for this endocronologist to fix me so I can get back down there...
BJ

 

[bshumake]

Re: What is Happening at St. Jude

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12177308#post12177308 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ducklabdad
Since I have joined the club, I have not heard anything or seen any new posts on anything happening with the tank, tanks at St. Jude.

One of the reasons I decided to join was I was impressed with the threads on what was going on there and the club involvement.

In looking on Sunday I realized that there had not been anything updated on this in quite some time.

Is the Cub still involved with this? I was surprised that this was not discussed at the meeting and was just really curious since there does not seem to be any updated iformation.

I know I would be glad to help out some if the club is still involved.

Maybe someone "in th know" on this can post something to inform those that aren,t

I've been working on all sorts of things lately and have been lax about updating. Sorry about that. The large tank has its own thread in the Large reef tanks forum that I have updated a couple times. Basically, i've been doing routine maintenance and working on the underwater cam, fine tuning and other stuff with the systems. I have a Red Sea MAX that Red Sea donated to the TTU unit but since they have yet to begin the remodeling I can't really set it up. What I'm going to do in the meantime is set it up in one of the administrative offices and once construction is finnished move it to its final home. This way it can be settling in and be in a well traveled spot to gain more interest. A decent amount of space here is difficult to put a conventonal tank into so the MAX's would be something to "promote." There will be some more remodeling in the B clinic area and the tanks currently there will be taken down and rebuilt. That will be sometime in the next 12-24 months. They are going to give me a heads-up on when so I can get the club together.
Volunteering at St Jude is ALWAYS APPRECIATED. I have got nearly all aspects of the application process made especially easy for the club. All that has to be done on campus is to get your ID made. Applications can be faxed in, TB skin tests can be read at your physicians office, and training can be done at one of our club meetings. Being a volunteer means that you can come onto St Jude property unescorted and work on the tanks or simply come in and spend time with the kids and parents. For sure the most rewarding part of this is the kid time. I easily spend 1 hour a day just talking to them and answering questions. If anyone wants to be a volunteer, by all means PM me.

 

[ducklabdad]

I would be glad to volunteer to help out some. Is there a schedule on when you do the work and what help is actually needed at what times.

I think it would be really great to have on-going updates from anyone that is there, and what any needs actually are.

 

[bshumake]

https://hospital.stjude.org/apps/hospitalforms/fb/volunteerApplication
Above is the online application for being a volunteer.
Basically, daily feedings and cleaning of the glass are whats needed. Other maintenance type events are managed already. What's always appreciated is just taking time with the kids and answering questions. The kids get a kick out of watching almost everything you do so anything done (no matter how small) is a big thing to them. As new projects come up I'll gladly take anyone (volunteer's or walk-in's) into St Jude to get the job done. The Red Sea MAX is something that I would like to get knocked out soon. I just need to get the timing set with the ACU and the club. When the B clinic is renovated I'll need people for installing the new tanks and plumbing them up. Otherwise, its just daily maintenance.

 

[ducklabdad]

filled out my application yesterday and sent it in. I am off on Mondays and can help some if someone will let me know the need.