First Year SCAVMA Committees and Duties
Purpose of SCAVMA Committees:
The purpose of the SCAVMA committees is to support SCAVMA so that it can fulfill its missions and provide social and professional opportunities to the students of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Fundraising: The purpose of the fundraising committee is to manage the sale of merchandise that financially supports SCAVMA, so that they are able to provide a wide array of opportunities for the students of the CVM. At least 10 people will be responsible for creating, ordering, and selling merchandise for four clothing sales throughout the year. Fundraising members work in conjunction with other students and SCAVMA committees at the MVMA Annual Convention, annual CVM Open House, student sales, and other events that come up throughout the year. They may also coordinate vendor fairs, silent auctions, and other activities intended to raise money for SCAVMA. This committee requires creative people who are willing to dedicate a fair amount of time to SCAVMA. Due to the larger commitment, each fundraising committee member will receive a member benefit of one at-cost clothing item per order.
Hills: The purpose of the Hill’s committee is to help with the management of the Hill’s College Feeding program, which provides Hill’s products to the students, residents, faculty and veterinary technicians of the VMC at a reduced cost with the proceeds going to SCAVMA. At least 9 people will work with the Hill’s Feeding Program Managers and Hill’s student representatives to coordinate and distribute Hills pet food under the Hill’s College Feeding Program. Each member will be required to commit a minimum of 1 hour per month (for a total of 12 hours) to the feeding program each semester. This will include helping with the organization and distribution of food orders to program enrollees.
Member Relations: The purpose of the member relations committee is to assist in the delivery of SCAVMA benefits to the student body. This includes a variety of functions and requires at least 5 people. The committee is responsible for coordination of the SCAVMA executive board elections, including the nominations, dissemination, collection, and counting of ballots. The committee is also responsible for the organization and distribution of the 2nd year surgery packs, distribution of materials to class mailboxes on an as needed basis, and maintenance of the 1st year lounge (regular cleaning). The member relations committee is also responsible, in conjunction with the fundraising committee, for setting up and working at the coat check at the annual Minnesota Veterinary Medicine Association convention.
Open House: The purpose of the Open house committee is to help the administration organize and run the annual CVM Open House. The Open House is the CVM’s opportunity to present itself to the public and share the value of veterinary medicine to the community, which is held during the fall semester in conjugation with the University of Minnesota homecoming week. At least 16 people will be in charge of organizing the annual CVM Open House. Preparations for this event include mailings to vendors, clubs, organizations, and interest groups both within and outside the University, coordinating publicity and events, arranging the assignments of all first year students**. In addition, it requires working at the event. This committee requires a lot work in preparation for the event. This committee will require a commitment in the late spring through to the fall and culminates in the event. It does require a significant amount of work with the administration in order to make it a success.
Note: Due to timing of the Open House, the members of this committee will likely be paired with the current committee (the 2nd Years) before the Open House so that they can gain the experience necessary running the event.
Social: The purpose of the social committee is to help facilitate social events within the CVM for SCAVMA. At least 8 people will organize and operate the annual SCAVMA Spring Party (March or April). The social committee may also help with the organization of the Snowball, which is a semi-formal event for the CVM that occurs early in the spring semester. Committee members, with the assistance of the MVMA, will also help plan the MVMA Welcome Back BBQ in the fall of each year. This committee will also organize causal gatherings (off-campus) for the CVM students, faculty, and staff on a monthly basis. Additionally, the committee may be asked to help with arrangements for other events that come up during the course of the year. The organization of these events involves planning, coordination with administration, ordering the necessary items and food, as well as set up/clean up (with help from volunteers) for the event.
Community Outreach: At least 8 people will be responsible for orchestrating an annual fundraising event, currently the Hoof N Woof 5K Fun Run, with all proceeds going toward an organization selected by SAVMA for the “One Health Challenge.” Reaching the financial goal will allow SCAVMA to educate the community about current veterinary topics and to compete with the other veterinary colleges across the country in the “One Health Challenge.” For more information visit http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/sep07/070915l.asp. It is also possible that members of this committee may be asked to speak individually or in small groups about veterinary medicine and veterinary medical school at grade schools, youth groups, career fairs, and other events. This committee may also be asked to assist with other SCAVMA philanthropic endeavors.
Symposium Fundraising: The purpose of the symposium fundraising committee is to raise funds to finically support student attendance to the SAVMA Symposium and the AVMA convention. At least 6 people will be responsible for holding fundraising events to help pay for attendance of University of Minnesota SCAVMA members at the National SAVMA Symposium in March and potentially the AVMA Convention in the summer. This will include, but is not limited to, 1) Finals Week Care Packages and, 2) Silent Auction at the annual Open House, 3) MVMA Coat Check. Planning these events will involve letter writing, phone calls, preparing needed supplies for each event, advertising the event to both the hospital and students, as well as the actual event itself. Students will be encouraged to think of additional fundraising opportunities to help defray rising costs of travel to these exciting annual events.
Seminar: The purpose of the seminar committee is to organize the monthly SCAVMA general assembly meeting. The seminar committee, consisting of at least 6 people, is responsible for selecting and securing speakers to supplement classroom lectures, enhance student interests, and encourage professional development through informational seminars. These meetings are to be held monthly and as close to the 1st Monday of the month as the speakers schedule and the school schedule allows. The seminar committee is also responsible for the execution of predetermined organizational meetings open to the general membership or for any meeting as requested by the executive board. The tasks involved are arrangement of the speaker, reserving the room, selecting and ordering the food and drink, advertisement of the meeting (fliers, whiteboard, email), assisting the speaker, assistance during the meeting, thank you notes, etc. . The committee is responsible for the selection of candidates and should have approval for the candidate from the Vice President or President as well as have the estimated expenses pre-approved by the treasurer
*The 1st year class gold members will be asked to volunteer at the coat check during the MVMA Convention (traditionally the convention is held the first weekend in February).
**All 2nd year class members will be asked to volunteer a shift at Open House.
