Making a little difference in someone's life can make a big difference in yours!
About Us
Our mission is to leverage the passions, creativity, and energy of the Duke student body to support Duke Children's patients and their families!
Making a little difference in someone's life can make a big difference in yours!
Our mission is to leverage the passions, creativity, and energy of the Duke student body to support Duke Children's patients and their families!
Learn more about our Ambassadors and their current projects! If you'd like to join a project or have a unique idea of your own, please reach out! We'd love to help you make a difference at Duke Children's!
Lydia Smeltz '21
Lydia is the director of the Athlete Volunteering Program at Duke Children's. This program allows student-athletes to engage in bedside visits with teenage patients. It also helps to provide athletic t-shirts and memorabilia for patients on their birthdays. Lydia also serves as the Duke Fellow for Team Impact, a non-profit that pairs children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses with college athletic teams. Baseball, swimming and diving, and wrestling are all currently matched and she hopes to get more teams matched in the future!
Daisy Fang '21, Kelly Yang '21, Priyanka Fernandes '22 & Cameron Bozdog '22
Daisy, Kelly, Priyanka & Cameron work with Pierre's Birthday Fund (PBF), a California-based non-profit organization serving chronically ill children who stay long-term in the hospital. PBF hopes to help every one of these kids enjoy moment by adding fun, comfort and creativity to their routine. At Duke Children's, they have worked to host individual and monthly group birthday celebrations, as well as sending each child a "birthday box" with presents and toys on their special day! This partnership was established by Daisy & Kelly in 2017.
Madi Dunk '21, Mikayla Lerman '21 & Vin Somasundaram '22
Duke's Dance Marathon, also known as Devilthon, raises money for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, directly supporting Duke Children's. Madi (Co-Community Engagement Chair) coordinates fundraisers throughout the year that build awareness for the actual dance marathon. Mikayla (Dance Morale Team) plans dances and activities to take place during the Marathon, as well as recruit people to join the team and raise money. Vin (Co-Community Engagement Chair) coordinates and plans events to spread awareness and fundraise for Devilthon. Along with Emily, Vin is also working on bringing Project Sunshine to Duke Children's Hospital.
Thea Dowrich '21 & Rikki Kendall '20
Thea and Rikki are spearheading a campus-wide fundraising initiative through Duke Athletics. Previously, they have done fundraisers with the Duke Varsity Fencing, Baseball, Softball and Swim and Dive Teams. Check out their websites here: DukeBigWaves.com, DukeKs4Kids.com and DukeFence4TheFight.com.
Annabel Howell '22
Annabel is working with the Duke Children's Hospital School to start an afternoon club aimed at adolescent patients, much like a high school club. This would be a great way to build community amongst the older end of the patients, which is important given that being an older patient at a paediatric hospital can often be quite an isolating experience.
Camryn Capoot '22
Camryn is currently working with Duke Children's Senior Associate Director to apply for a Seacrest Studios grant from the Ryan Seacrest foundation. This would bring a radio station to Duke Childrens for patients to listen to music, participate in games, and have another welcoming space to spend time in.
Emily Raich '22
Emily has been involved with the Pediatric Advocacy and Community Engagement (PACE) committee and assisted with volunteer coordination for their Teddy Bear Hospital event. She plans on continuing to work with PACE to plan events for the community. Additionally, she is currently working with Vin to start a chapter of Project Sunshine at Duke Children's Hospital.
Erica Langan '22
Erica is working to organize an expressive writing workshop for adolescents at the Duke Children's Hospital School where patients can learn to use creative writing as a source of healing and have the opportunity to share their compositions with others!
Madison Burmeister '22 & Kami Pullakhandam '22
Madison & Kami are on the Duke Children's NICU Dinner Project, which delivers free meals on a monthly basis to the families in the NICU of Duke Children's Hospital. The goal of this project is to both establish a sense of community and provide some support to parents and children who spend long hours in the waiting room.