The increasing demand for mental health services during the COVID-19 global pandemic was the driving force behind our collaboration with the Hearts and Hands Clinic in a service-learning project. The project aimed to prepare a grant application at Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation. Our objective was to secure funding for the clinic, enabling it to expand its staff and offer free mental health services for underserved communities in Bulloch County. This project helped us apply the knowledge gained from the Public Health Funding and Grants course to real-life challenges amid COVID-19, enhanced our critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and, most importantly, increased a strong belief in the importance of partnership and collaboration with the community. Despite facing occasional technical issues typical for remote communication between partners, we prepared a grant application intended to help raise mental health awareness and address mental health issues in underserved communities.
Key words: service-learning, community, mental health service
