By establishing a donation drive, nursing student De’Auna Timmons and her fellow Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing classmates collected items like bottled water, dry shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste, dental floss, no-rinse body wash, feminine wipes, Germ-x, and fall and winter clothing. All of it destined to reach the people of Flint, Michigan. De’Auna Timmons, a second-term, upper-division, Bachelor of Science student at Goldfarb, isn’t from Flint, Michigan, doesn’t have a personal connection to the community and, until this September, had never visited there. But she has been following the water crisis in Flint since it became national news in 2014. The city’s water system had become contaminated with lead when it moved its water source from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River.
Understanding that Flint residents continue to suffer as a result of this contamination, Timmons decided to act. She established donation boxes at Goldfarb’s Duncan Campus Site (on the Washington University Medical Campus) and West Campus Site (on the Missouri Baptist Medical Center). From July 23 to September 7, people passing by these boxes could drop in donated items, including bottled water, dry shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste, dental floss, no-rinse body wash, feminine wipes, Germ-x, and fall and winter clothing. All of it destined to reach the people of Flint.
Even though stories about the water crisis in Flint have mostly disappeared from newspapers and new broadcasts, Timmons was determined that the problem not be forgotten. She has tracked the story, she said, “and it really hurts to know that the residents of Flint still don’t have clean water to use at home.”
The response to Timmons’ efforts was impressive. In fact, she collected so many items she didn't know how to go about shipping all of it. To try to solve that problem, she reached out to the 2nd Chance Church in Flint, which also serves as a community center, and she told them she’d decided to make a personal delivery. She rented a minivan, filled it up with donations, and drove to Flint the weekend of September 14 with her husband, Randy, and Goldfarb nursing student, Catherine Worstell. (Worstell is a third-term student in the upper-division program.) The weekend of the delivery also happened to be the weekend that 2nd Chance Church was holding a food and water drive for residents. So the three-person delivery team was able to personally hand out their much-needed donations.
"It's a wonderful feeling,” said Timmons. “When I first started, I didn't really know if people were going to donate. To have filled half a minivan with donations is a great accomplishment. I feel blessed to be surrounded by such a supportive school.” To establish the donation program, Timmons collaborated with Goldfarb student clubs, including the Student Nurses Association (SNA), Student Council (StuCo), Goldfarb Men Excelling in Nursing (GMEN), Veterans and Supporters Together (VaST) and Students Who Are Parents (SWAP). Students who donated to the drive received credit from their respective groups.
Timmons also said that her visit to Flint changed her outlook. Though it’s easy to take clean water for granted, she said, the trip opened her eyes to another perspective. “As a nurse working with patients and their families, I need to remember that not everyone has the same experiences or views.”
