Belmont University is a student-centered Christian community of learning and service. The University aims to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs, upholding the core values of integrity, inquiry, collaboration, service and humility as essential to the intellectual, spiritual, personal and corporate life.
While the primary focus of the School of Occupational Therapy is to prepare students for professional practice as occupational therapists, Christian values permeate the School's mission creating an environment where faculty members genuinely care for their students and students are challenged to incorporate the University's core values into their lives.
- University Ministries to Graduate Students
- International Outreach
- Local Outreach
- Plan and implement a Sports Day for children with disabilities
- Building ramps for individuals that would otherwise be home bound
- Assisting with therapy animal training classes for Therapy ARC (Animals Reaching Clients)
- Volunteering for Garrett’s Hero Run, a 5K event to raise money and awareness to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
- Organizing an annual Health Fair for local 4th graders
- Creating a day of fun and learning for children with disabilities and their families at Long Hunter State Park
- Organizing and managing Nashville's Susan G Komen Race for the Cure
- Participating in a local health sciences career fair
- Hosting Shoes4Kids event
- Dierks Bentley's Miles & Music for Kids – raise money for Children’s Hospital
University Ministries is here to serve you and help you find community and explore your faith during your time at Belmont. We can help you connect to a church, find outreach opportunities, provide pastoral care, or pray for you. Learn more here.
Guatemala
Since 2007 Belmont University Schools of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy have partnered with the Shalom foundation to provide therapy services and education in Guatemala. Each year we take an interdisciplinary team of faculty, healthcare providers, and students to Guatemala to help meet the needs of individuals and train healthcare providers. The teams have provided direct patient care in clinical settings, homes, and orphanages. We have provided education of staff at the hospital and orphanages, as well as to PT and OT students in their educational programs. Teams have been involved in feeding program as well as service projects to help meet the great needs of individuals in this country. This has been a life changing experience for the students as well as the clinicians that have participated in these medical service trips. Read the student and faculty blogs from past years by clicking here.
Haiti
Belmont University Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy students and faculty traveled to Leogane, Haiti to partner with Respire Haiti, myLIFEspeaks and Faculte des Sciences de Rehabilitation de Leogane, an organization that has the first OT program in Haiti and only the second program for PT. The service trip included multiple opportunities to collaborate with the FSRL students in learning about the similarities and differences in PT and OT in Haiti versus the US. At Respire and myLIFEspeaks, both groups of students built adaptive equipment out of PVC pipe and duct tape, planned and executed activities for children with special needs, provided fall risk assessments and led exercise groups for older adults. The trip was arranged though Belmont's partnership with the Sara Walker Foundation, which has committed to support efforts in Haiti. The Foundation has pledged to fund a scholarship to cover the tuition of a FSRL PT student and sponsor Belmont students for future service trips.
Service to the community is an emphasis in the Belmont School of Occupational Therapy. Here are just a few of the activities that students have been involved with recently.
