Med student Chrystal Diong is putting her ample spare time to good use by organising a student-tutoring programme that raises funds for World Vision. The scheme, simply entitled Tutoring for World Vision, allows second- and third-year med students with excellent grades to donate their time (generally one hour a week) to tutor younger med students. They charge a rate of $20 an hour with group rates being negotiable. All funds raised will go to World Vision. The scheme currently has 26 tutors registered, 14 of whom are already paired up with students.
Chrystal was motivated to initiate the scheme by her belief that the best fundraising takes place when people use the skills they already have. “If all the med students got together and had a big sausage sizzle that’s fantastic. We are still raising heaps of money for World Vision but we are taking a lot of time and manpower and investing it in something that nobody’s really that good at. We are good at tutoring.”
Tutoring for World Vision is not officially affiliated to World Vision International but they do have permission to fundraise in the organisation’s name. Chrystal says the scheme is already capable of raising over $1,000 a month for the charity. She hopes that it will become embedded in the culture of the med school so that when she leaves Dunedin someone else can easily step into her role. “If poverty is going to be an ongoing thing, the solution has to be ongoing. I would love it to become as big as the 40-hour famine.”
Tutoring is currently being offered for all first-year health sci papers, as well as high school math and science. There are plans to eventually provide a course that will help with UMAT skills, which should be a hit with panicking first-years. One tutor is even willing to provide guitar lessons for the cause.
If you want to be a doctor but are probably going to fail HUBS this semester then Critic highly recommends this service. Or maybe a different career choice.
If you want to be tutored or donate your time send an email to tutoring.difference@gmail.com.
Med students hate sausage, raise money by tutoring instead
