College community comes together for National Public Health Week service project

Students, faculty and staff build a safe place to play for a young family in partnership with Habitat for Humanity MidOhio.

Habitat for Humanity group photo

College of Public Health students, faculty and staff worked together to build a playhouse for a local family in need to emphasize the critical links between housing and health and give back to the community during National Public Health Week.

The playhouse project, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity MidOhio, was also an opportunity to engage students in service and have conversations about the impact of social determinants of health, said Jennifer Beard, assistant dean for strategic initiatives. 

Members of the college community painted, decorated and constructed the playhouse to match the three-year-old recipient’s love for basketball and dinosaurs. 

The project was co-sponsored by two student organizations — the Public Health Graduate Student Association and the Multicultural Public Health Student Association. The day culminated with a reception for the recipient family, who was selected by Habitat for Humanity MidOhio.

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Students paint dinosaurs on a green background
CPH students decorate the green playhouse floor with dinosaur tracks.

Aparna Mangadu, a first-year MPH student in environmental health sciences and a member of the Multicultural Public Health Student Association, said she was drawn to the project’s goal of providing a safe space for kids to play.

“I’m from a city where we don’t have a lot of parks and recreation spaces where kids can go and play. When I heard about this, it was just something I wanted to be a part of,” Mangadu said. “I also like painting and putting things together, so it was a good creative process to be a part of.”

Beard hopes participants reflect on the impacts of public health issues such as housing discrimination, redlining and inequitable access to housing.

“I hope our community had the opportunity to be reminded just how critical it is, in addition to what we’re doing every day and all day, to give back and to provide service,” she said.

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About The Ohio State University College of Public Health

The Ohio State University College of Public Health is a leader in educating students, creating new knowledge through research, and improving the livelihoods and well-being of people in Ohio and beyond. The College's divisions include biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health behavior and health promotion, and health services management and policy. It is ranked 29th among all colleges and programs of public health in the nation, and first in Ohio, by U.S. News and World Report. Its specialty programs are also considered among the best in the country. The MHA program is ranked 8th, the biostatistics specialty is ranked 22nd, the epidemiology specialty is ranked 25th and the health policy and management specialty is ranked 17th.