Doctors get duct taped to a wall for a good cause
August 16, 2011
ANDERSON, SC – August 15, 2011 – Four well-known doctors will be wrapped in duct tape in an effort to raise money for Doclink, a physician-driven nonprofit that provides health education to Anderson County students.
Duct Tape a Doc is a one-on-one competition to see which doctor can raise the most money and be duct taped to a wall the fastest. On Wednesday, Aug. 24, Dr. Darius Divina is up against Dr. Joseph McElwee at the AnMed Health North Campus. On Thursday, Aug. 25, Dr. Vidal Despradel will face off with Dr. Audrey Jones at AnMed Health Medical Center. Both competitions will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Duct tape will be sold for $1 per foot or $3 for 5 feet. By purchasing a piece of tape, residents can bring these doctors one sticky step closer to victory. All proceeds from the competition go to Doclink.
Doclink was established in 1999 with the goal of educating and empowering young people to make healthy lifelong decisions. Last year, Doclink provided 296 in-school presentations, educating more than 9,600 students in all five Anderson County school districts.
“Doclink provides an important service in the absence of school-based funding for health promotion and health education,” said Lacey Councill, Doclink coordinator. “This is a great example of a public-private partnership where a nonprofit is providing education at no cost to taxpayers.”
In elementary schools, Doclink teaches “Tar Wars,” a tobacco prevention program for fifth graders and “Nutrition Detectives,” a healthy eating curriculum for fourth graders. At middle and high schools, Doclink offers presentations on trauma, nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco, alcohol and drug prevention. In 2010, Doclink introduced “Arrive Alive,” a program that teaches safe driving practices to young drivers. Doclink also partners with Safe Harbor to bring The Megan Project to Anderson County students. The Megan Project is a proactive relationship violence prevention curriculum.
Kim Hoskins, a guidance counselor at Whitehall Elementary, has seen the benefits of Doclink firsthand.
“Doclink is a valuable resource in our community for educating young people about making healthy choices,” Hoskins said. “Doclink is a vital part of our guidance curriculum. The presentations are very interactive and hands-on, using real-life models, puppets, experiments and technology to keep the students interested and involved.”
This is Doclink’s second Duct Tape a Doc fundraiser. In 2010, the event raised more than $24,000.
About Doclink
Doclink is a physician-driven, nonprofit organization that aims to link AnMed Health doctors and other health professionals to Anderson County youth. Our goal is to educate and empower young people to make healthy lifelong decisions. Doclink consists of a committee of 10 physicians, one coordinator and more than 100 volunteer doctors.
