Your Stories: Springfield College Students Give Back in a Big Way
June 25, 2025Categories: Colleague Corner
Earlier this year, our amazing Community Health Workers, John and Ivy, from our Community Health and Well-Being (CHWB) department representing Mercy Medical Center, were invited to speak with a group of Physical Therapy graduate students at Springfield College.
Springfield College professor Latasha Dionne (center) with Mercy Community Health Workers John Baker, BSW, MS, CCHW, and Ivelisse Burgos, CCHW.
The visit was organized by Professor Latasha Dionne, who wanted her students to better understand the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness and how they could help.
John and Ivy shared their experiences working in the community, highlighting the importance of something as simple as a backpack. For many of the individuals they serve, a backpack is more than just a bag... it’s a lifeline, a place to keep everything they own safe and with them.
The students were more than moved. A few months later, they followed up with a donation of 90 backpacks, each one filled with hygiene kits and water bottles. They even included handwritten notes expressing how meaningful it was to be part of something that could make a real difference.
Professor Dionne shared that the experience had such an impact; she hopes to make it a yearly tradition.
We’re so proud of John and Ivy for the work they do every day, and grateful to the students and faculty at Springfield College for turning compassion into action.
Submitted by Jacob Diogostine, Regional Coordinator, CHWB, Trinity Health Of New England.
Have a story you want to share? Submit your story at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/YourStories.