Every Tuesday and Thursday for more than 30 years, Albert Lexie has left his home at 5:50 a.m. to travel 90 minutes by bus to the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. When he arrives, he sets up his shoeshine box in the lobby and gets to work, charging $3 per shine. Albert’s earnings allow him to live on an annual income of about $10,000. Yet he donates approximately $10,000 a year to the hospital.

 

Despite living within very modest means, Albert gives every penny of his tips to the hospital’s Children’s Free Care Fund, which ensures that all children receive medical care regardless of a family’s ability to pay for it.

 

As for me, I have not always had the most positive attitude. It was not that I was negative, either—my real problem was that I was completely ignorant of my surroundings. I never thought I was better than anyone else, because to be honest, I rarely gave anyone else a thought. I was selfish. I thought in terms of how the world affected my life. Then came September 11. 

 

The one thing that stays with me about the state of humanity during that time is not fear. It is not revenge, sorrow, or even regret. It is hope. There was such an outpouring of human kindness. Strangers helping strangers, millions of people who couldn’t do anything but go down to the local blood donation center and wait hours to give the only thing they had that could help. 

 

At this point I realized that the world was more than just me. At this point began a burning desire to make a difference. Maybe I was just one person, but I was determined to try. A good friend and classmate of mine recently asked if I would write an article on fundraising. I remember my thought: “OMG. Another person asking us to buy something.”

 

However, it dawned on me that among the student pharmacists I know, the fundraisers we hold mean something more than that. Point to an involved student pharmacist and I guarantee you he or she has a story to tell that can change your perspective for the day. We are asked to give because people have parents, brothers, and grandparents who need hope. Future patients will struggle with diseases and their consequences, and how can we treat them if we don’t understand their needs?

 

So what does Albert Lexie have to do with student pharmacists? First, let me tell you of two of the many students I know from the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy who are making a difference.  

 

Anthony Bolus, PharmD, a 2013 Samford graduate, helped our APhA–ASP Chapter begin its Generation Rx project, which focused on educating school-age children about medication safety. He also started a local radio show called the Healthy Dose. Anthony believes that if just one listener learned something new about a pharmacist or a disease state overall, if it encouraged them to get active about their health to help them continue living the good life, then that one person was worth the effort. 

 

Jerame Hill, a final-year PharmD candidate, is passionate about pharmacists being involved politically. Jerame served two terms as APhA–ASP Policy Vice President. He revamped the chapter’s involvement in policy and recently led an effort that placed our chapter third among all pharmacy schools in raising funds for the policy action committee. Jerame said that it is not the fact that he has a burning desire for policy that keeps him involved; rather, he understands that if pharmacists are not at the table to make decisions, they will be made without our input. Like Albert Lexie, these 

students focus on everyone except themselves. 

 

And what about you? You can make a difference, too! Albert Lexie donated $200,000 just from tips from shining shoes (see more at http://albertlexie.org). If you gave up your weekday $3.50 tall nonfat mocha for the school year and donated that money, it would add up to around $560 in a year. Get five friends to follow suit, and that number climbs to $2,800. Now your entire class commits to join in for a whole year? $67,200. Now imagine that it all started with you.

 

I will gladly give up my latte to help your family. All you have to do is ask. How else do you think Albert Lexie began shining shoes?