Posted on May 13, 2004 at 1:35 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Medical students at the UAB School of Medicine added charitable fundraising to their annual Aesculapian Ball for the first time and chose Birmingham’s Ronald McDonald House as the recipient. The students held a silent auction at the yearly ball and raised nearly $3,300 for the Ronald McDonald House, a home away from home for sick children and their families when in Birmingham for medical treatment.

James Worthen, president of the Student Senate, and Jane Schell, vice-president of the third year medical school class, will present the check at 9:30 a.m. on May 17 at the house, 920 17th Street South, Birmingham.

Students collected items ranging from original art, to hand-made shawls, to airline tickets, to dinner with the dean of the medical school for auction at the ball on April 3.

“The event allowed students and faculty an opportunity to socialize away from campus and to focus on a great organization, the Ronald McDonald House,” said Schell. “We had nearly 500 in attendance and we are making plans for next year’s event to be even better.”

The majority of the funds need to operate the House come from local initiatives and sources, including special events such as the Aesculapian Ball, according to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama executive director Roberta Shapiro.

“This is a remarkable gift,” said Shapiro. “The funds raised will house families in one of our 31 family bedrooms for more than two months. Knowing how grueling and how sleepless medical school often is, it truly touched our hearts that Jane Schell, James Worthen and the other students put so much of their very limited free time into helping sick kids and their families at Birmingham's Ronald McDonald House.”