The Impact of Hearts for the Homeless on Students at the University of Mississippi

Author

• Ellie Menszer, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Nutrition and Hospitality Management

First Advisor

Melinda Valliant

Second Advisor

Georgianna Mann

Third Advisor

Castel Sweet

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Hearts for Homeless (H4H) is an international organization that works to help one of the most vulnerable populations for cardiac disease, the homeless, due to the lack of access to health care and information. At the University of Mississippi, H4H is a registered student organization that volunteers weekly at the Oxford Community Market (OXCM) to provide free blood pressure screenings and heart health information. H4H helps the community while also providing students with hands-on patient care experience. The goal of this research is to determine how volunteering with H4H impacts students at the University of Mississippi. A literature review informed the development of a new survey that asked about students’ involvement in H4H and its impact. The survey was distributed to active members via email and administered via Qualtrics. There are 60 active members of H4H at the University of Mississippi, and 27 members completed the survey. The participants had volunteered with H4H for varying lengths of time, ranging from less than a year to 4 years. This distribution shows continuous involvement, suggesting that volunteering with H4H is a beneficial experience that encourages long- term involvement. Participants reported key motivations for volunteering with H4H, including hands-on patient care experience, helping underserved populations, and fulfilling volunteer or service-learning requirements. Additionally, volunteering with H4H increased participants' likelihood of entering health care, suggesting that H4H participation may encourage or reinforce students' desire to pursue a career in health care. The results also show that H4H volunteering helps students develop important professional and clinical skills. Most participants indicated that H4H helped them become more comfortable working with patients, understand the importance of cultural competence, and gain skills relevant to their future education or employment. Lastly, the survey results showed that most participants are interested in working with underserved populations in the future, suggesting that H4H volunteering influences who the participants want to work with. Overall, volunteering with H4H gives students opportunities to grow personally and professionally through experience. Registered student organizations, like H4H, that provide undergraduate students with opportunities to gain experience by serving the community are valuable for shaping future health care professionals.

Recommended Citation

Menszer, Ellie, "The Impact of Hearts for the Homeless on Students at the University of Mississippi" (2026). Honors Theses. 3582.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3582

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.