OPT Visionary - Fall 2016

6 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Holiday Drive Benefits Kids In Distress During the 2015 holiday season, NSUCO participated in the Kids In Distress Holiday Drive. Thanks to the generosity of the faculty and staff members, 10 children were given the gift of clothes, shoes, and toys. u From left: NSUCO staff members Rachel Snell, Maura Cohen, Marlem Aleman, and Kelly Duke proudly display some of the items they collected for the annual holiday drive. On April 15–16, NSUCO participated in the Relay for Life Plantation at Plantation Central Park for the second consecutive year. Led by team captains Linda S. Rouse, O.D., FAAO, assistant dean of finance and operations and chief operations officer of The Eye Care Institute, and Lori Vollmer, O.D., FAAO, associate profes- sor and director of residency programs, the team of faculty and staff members, residents, and students surpassed its goal of raising $2,500. During Relay for Life, the community comes together to honor cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight against cancer. Relay for Life teams camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around the track. The event lasts for 24 consecutive hours for a symbolic reason. Because cancer never sleeps, each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times. The theme for this year’s walk was children’s books. Because the world is hungry for a cure, the college chose The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. u Hungry for a Cure News Blasts