#HCWvsHunger is short for Healthcare Workers versus Hunger. It is the social media hashtag for a yearly friendly competition between health care workers and friends that started in December 2020 to help relieve food insecurity during the pandemic. The competition is meant to spur healthy competition between teams with a goal of maximizing contributions to food banks and other organizations fighting hunger. You choose where to donate, and none of the money goes to or through us, so that you retain complete control over your donation.
World hunger increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic after years of steady decline. In 2024, Action Against Hunger estimated that 2.3 billion people worldwide were moderately or severely food insecure, and almost half of all childhood deaths are linked to hunger or malnutrition. Our mission is to help alleviate food insecurity and assist those struggling with hunger during the pandemic. YOU can be a part of the change.
Dr. Weyand is a pediatric hematologist oncologist at the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital. Clinically, she is particularly interested in young women and girls with bleeding or clotting disorders and is the co-director of a combined hematology/gynecology program serving this population. She started the HCWvsHunger friendly competition in 2020, and continues to work with Dr. Prowell and others to make it an annual success. She tweets as @acweyand.
Dr. Prowell is Associate Professor of Oncology in the Johns Hopkins Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Program. Her areas of clinical and research interest include: development of novel agents for breast cancer, neoadjuvant therapy, and the unique challenges of breast cancer in younger women. She partnered with Dr. Weyand early in our inaugural campaign. She is excited once again to help combat hunger and bring joy and meaning to other healthcare workers. She tweets as @tmprowell.
Gavin Gleeson is our Chief Integration Officer. He did backend development for the website and automatic updating donation system and is responsible for ensuring seamless integration of tech systems. Gavin is a senior in college majoring in Computer Science.
Isla Gleeson is our Chief Marketing Officer. She manages our social media accounts (visit: @HCWvsHunger on Twitter/X, Instagram, and BlueSky). Isla is a junior in college majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience.
Simran Kheterpal is our Chief Technology Officer. She designed and manages our website and updates the competition leaderboard. Simran is a sophomore in college majoring in computer science.
Sameer Kheterpal is our Chief Data Officer. He implements and oversees data collection, data integrity, automation of team totals, and competition statistics each year. Sameer is a senior in high school.
River is our Chief Operations Officer. He coordinates team logistics and planning in advance of the competition and manages daily operations during the competition. River is a senior in high school.
