Clinic Vols committee members thought to gain around 100 new potential members for Clinic Vols last week. They would be off by 215 people.

Stacia McKennon, a senior majoring in psychology, was one of the 315 hopefuls.

"The room in Humanities was packed," she said. "I never thought I would be part of that big of a group that wanted to join Clinic Vols."

Clinic Vols is a student organization that sends its volunteers to inner city schools to work in the schools' clinics.

UT is the only college in Tennessee that has this program
-Amanda Box, Clinic Vols co-chairperson for Lonsdale Elementary SchoolAmanda Box, co-chairperson for Lonsdale Elementary School, said, "Students act as nurses and give general healthcare. Sometimes all that’s needed is a Band-Aid, but other times the kids want to talk to you and have you pay attention to them. I’ve helped them color in coloring books before. You just never know what to expect."

The criteria for joining Clinic Vols are to be in good standing with the university and to complete an American Red Cross training course. The program requires working one hour per week at a school clinic and every member is required to do an hour of community outreach each semester.

"UT is the only college in Tennessee that has this program," Box said. "There are volunteer programs at schools that involve the parents, but UT and the Red Cross adapted it to include college students.

"We go to nine schools and one preschool. Now with all the interest shown in the meeting we’ll be bigger than ever. We’re growing and we love it."