Raising money and awareness for charities is not the easiest thing to do, but Jacob Fohtung and Alyssa McCormack, both seniors in the College of Arts & Sciences, launched HealthNMedicine.org last February to make it a bit easier to start, find and raise awareness for health care causes.

Through the site, members can start or publicize their own or existing causes to help raise awareness and, subsequently, funding for it. The site has grown since its inception earlier this year and currently hosts 153 members and eight different causes.

“I had always envisioned a website that enables people to sign up and start health care causes, share health care ideas and fundraise (for) them,” Fohtung said. “This is what HealthNMedicine.org is about, and that is why I started it: to give people the power to change their society by starting health causes that can improve their societies and the world.”

Fohtung, the president of the site, conceived the idea after having serious discussions with his friends about a platform where health-related organizations and concerned individuals could connect to deliver health services in an instant.

“Starting at Marquette, students can start up projects and start fundraising projects that can be beneficial to their group,” Fohtung said. “Fundraising on the website would enable them to raise money easier and quicker.”

McCormack, the vice president of the site and an online administrator, sees the website as a way to unite individuals with a common cause.

“I love the idea of helping clinics and individuals all over the world network to share valuable health information and promote their own needs,” McCormack said. “Many times smaller clinics and organizations get overlooked, especially in poorer areas around the world.”

“It unites medical students, physicians, healthcare providers, charities and clinics in the hope of establishing a beneficial networking service for all involved,” McCormack said.

McCormack said she believes the site can do more than just this, however. She said she would like to eventually see it as a resource to the international community.

“It would be so great to see HealthNMedicine.org reach smaller clinics around the world who don’t have up-to-date medical information available or the ability to voice their needs,” McCormack said. “I spent time in some of the poorest parts of Kenya, and the one thing that struck me the most was how much the clinic directors wanted more information available as well as a way to get their voices heard.”