Service Organizations
Agape Dermatology Clinic
The Agape Student-Run Free Clinic is run by UT Southwestern medical students under the guidance of Agape Clinic leadership in East Dallas. Our mission is to provide free-of-cost, quality medical care to underserved populations in Dallas while concurrently providing an educational opportunity for budding healthcare professionals. We have medical, social work, pharmacy, and dietetics students working under the guidance of licensed providers to provide holistic healthcare to our patients. We have one pediatrics and one family medicine night every month. We generally see about 3-4 patients every clinic night to allow ample time for teaching and seeing the patients.
| Hannah Chang | Hannah.Chang2@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Gabrielle Gard | Gabrielle.Gard@utsouthwestern.edu |
Agape Multidisciplinary Clinic
Agape Primary Care Clinic is a student-run evening clinic at Agape Clinic in East Dallas. The charity clinic has been established for almost 40 years and opens its facilities for UT Southwestern students and faculty to use during specified afternoon and evening hours. Monthly, on weekday nights, we serve both family medicine and pediatrics-based care. Students have the opportunity to practice their physical exam skills and bedside manner, as well as interact with patients, health profession students, and UTSW physicians.
| Sanjna Bhatia | Sanjna.Bhatia@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Benjamin Popokh | Benjamin.Popokh@utsouthwestern.edu |
Agape Musculoskeletal Specialty Clinic
Agape Musculoskeletal Clinic is a student-run clinic that provides free musculoskeletal specialty care for underserved patients once a month at the Agape Clinic in east Dallas. Our team includes musculoskeletal focused physicians and residents from various specialties, medical student volunteers, and translators.
| Omar Manzur | Omar.Manzur@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Gabrielle Gard | Gabrielle.Gard@utsouthwestern.edu |
ArtReach
Founded in summer 2021, ArtReach is a service organization dedicated to art-based outreach with vulnerable populations in community and healthcare settings. Our primary community partner is the Dallas County Juvenile Department (DCJD) through which we coordinate art activities with at-risk youth in juvenile detention at the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center. We aim to expand our scope to connect with other justice-involved populations, families experiencing homelessness, foster youth, pediatric patients, and many others in the future. At our core, we strive to cultivate positive experiences for those we serve and our student volunteers by harnessing art as an outlet for joy, personal growth, and powerful human connection.
| Meaghan Lee | Meaghan.lee@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lily Xu | lily.xu@utsouthwestern.edu |
Brother Bill's Helping Hands Student-Run Free Clinic
Founded in spring 2021, our clinic will provide free of cost preventative and primary care services to underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged adults in the Dallas Fort Worth Community through a student run free clinic. In addition, we will provide preventive services such as vaccine and diabetes education to empower patients to take control of their own health. We also provide women’s health services, specifically pap smears and annual check-ups.
| Marilyn Lu | Marilyn.Lu@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Maishara Muquith | Maishara.Muquith@utsouthwestern.edu |
Brown Bag Initiative
The Brown Bag Initiative is an organization created with the purpose of preparing and distributing brown bags full of helpful toiletries to the Dallas homeless population. Our goal is to serve the homeless population's immediate needs as they begin the process of rehabilitation and assimilation into larger society. We collect toiletries in donation boxes throughout the year, and donate assembled brown bags to Union Gospel Mission shelters.
| Pooja Venkatesh | pooja.venkatesh@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lynn Yoon | lynn.yoon@utsouthwestern.edu |
Dallas Children's Advocacy Group
Founded in fall 2017, DCAG's main objective is to work with the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) in order to help children who have faced physical and sexual abuse in the DFW area. Through our affiliation with the Referral and Evaluation of At Risk Children – Children's Health (REACH) clinic at Children's Medical Center we hope to provide early exposure to future physicians to the medical, legal, and psychological aspects of child abuse and ample opportunities for volunteering, shadowing, and research.
| Judy Xue | Judy.Xue@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Madison Korb | Madison.Korb@utsouthwestern.edu |
DASH in Stem
Founded in spring 2023, DASH is committed to destigmatizing disabilities in science. This organization will seek to celebrate and encourage those with disabilities in STEM as well as the heroes who support people with disabilities in achieving their scientific career goals, those actively pursuing their science with disabilities, and those interest e in one day pursuing a scientific career because science needs people WHO THINK DIFFERNETLY!
| Anthony Grichuk | Anthony.Grichuk@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Anthony DeMaria | Anthony.DeMaria@utsouthwestern.edu |
DFW Hep-B-Free Project
The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Hepatitis B/C Free Project aims to increase awareness about the effect of chronic hepatitis B and C viral infections, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. We provide free screening and linkage-to-care to at-risk communities in the DFW metroplex, including immigrant and refugee populations from countries where these viruses are endemic as well as homeless populations. We also provide education to reduce the stigma associated with these diagnoses among the various populations in the area, including Asian/Pacific Islander (API) adults.
| Galen Gao | Galen.Gao@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Holly Guo | Huizi.Guo@utsouthwestern.edu |
Free Clinic Committee
Founded in fall 2015, the Free Clinics Committee (FCC) is composed of representatives from all UT Southwestern Student-Run Free Clinics (SRFCs). The goal of the FCC is to facilitate communication and collaboration between all student-run free clinics by sharing logistic resources, developing service project ideas, and fostering leadership skills. Some of the main events that the FCC promotes are the spring and fall SRFC Summits, the SRFC enrichment elective, and the SRFC application and recruitment process.
| Jessica Lee | Jessica.Lee2@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jae Choi | Jae.Choi@utsouthwestern.edu |
Future Doctors Pathway Program
The program is dedicated to bringing health care professionals to middle and high school students who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in medicine (including Black, Hispanic, Latino and Native American). We hope to inspire and support the next generation of physicians by providing mentorship and guidance in and out of the classroom. We strive to improve diversity in medicine one student at a time.
| Asad Khawaja | Asad.Khawaja@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Shirley MarinoLee | Shirley.MarinoLee@utsouthwestern.edu |
Get Up, Meet Up, and Go – GMG
The focus of this organization will be serving residents in assisted living facilities by providing structured exercise classes, social events, and companionship. This will be achieved by recruiting UTSW students to hold classes and mini-interviews at assisted living homes weekly and according to assisted living facility protocols. These volunteering opportunities will entail carrying oneself in a role-model like manner as well as working with available staff to ensure a safe and enjoyable session. High regard should be held towards the uniqueness of each resident, and their capabilities, their potential for growth, and any special needs/differences that a resident may have.
| Ahmed Alshaikhsalama | ahmed.alshaikhsalama@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Zuhair Hawa | zuhair.hawa@utsouthwestern.edu |
Giving a Boost
Founded in summer 2023, Giving a Boost (GAB) is a volunteer-driven organization established to support pre-medical students lacking access to mentors in medicine. Comprised of current medical students, our goal is to provide free personalized mentorship to students from all backgrounds, especially to disadvantaged applicants such as underrepresented minorities, LGBTQIA+, first-generation, low SES, or non-traditional students. By offering guidance on medical school applications free of cost, we aim to alleviate the financial burden and reduce disparities in the application process. While we cannot assure that our services will guarantee acceptance into medical school, we aim to reduce the stress of applications for our mentees, and we volunteer our time to provide the guidance that we ourselves wished for during this journey.
| Mikaela Bankston | Mikaela.Bankston@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Brooke Benjamin | Brooke.Benjamin@utsouthwestern.edu |
Habitat for Humanity
Founded in fall 2021, HFH is a student-run organization that works with local Habitat chapters to provide affordable housing for the unhoused of the DFW area. We make two trips a semester to home build sites, where we work alongside the future homeowners in building their homes.
| Enzo Mesarick | Enzo.Mesarick@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Varun Ravi | Varun.Ravi@utsouthwestern.edu |
Hats for the Homeless
Founded fall 2023, Hats for the Homeless aims to provide sun protection and headwear for members of the Dallas community who lack access. We rely on donations and drives to provide sun protection to patients at UTSW affiliated clinics and hospitals.
| Sukul Mittal | Sukul.Mittal@utsouthwestern.edu |
Healing Hands for Guatemala
Spring Break service trip to Antigua – We provide health care to rural communities in Guatemala during spring break in collaboration with a physician based in Antigua, Guatemala.
| Abeer Abdelrahim | Abeer.Abdelrahim@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Benjamin Conover | Benjamin.Conover@utsouthwestern.edu |
Healthy Living
The Healthy Living Initiative represents a collaborative endeavor led by students from UTSW with the aim of imparting valuable knowledge about healthy behaviors to young individuals. Through engaging presentations, we reach out to middle and high school students across Texas, covering a diverse range of subjects. Our goal is to empower these students with the essential skills to make informed decisions that positively impact on their overall well-being. Our presentation topics encompass crucial areas such as the significance of proper nutrition, the role of sufficient sleep, promoting awareness about mental health, and highlighting the detrimental consequences associated with drug use.
| Ahmet Troprak | Ahmet.Troprak@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Matthew Oh | Matthew.Oh@utsouthwestern.edu |
Hoops for Health
Founded in fall 2023, Medical student volunteers will work with Scottish Rite physicians to examine, assesses, and treat sport-related issues affecting young athletes at sponsored events. They will also work with physicians to assess the overall health and agility of athletes and recommend evidence-based therapies to enhance performance. Students will have the opportunity to practice their physical exam and history-taking skills under the supervision of licensed professionals in a real-time environment. Volunteers will work one on one with world-renowned faculty and have the opportunity to network during these events.
| Valeria Mejiamartinez | Valeria.Mejiamartinez@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Edward Wen | Edward.Wen@utsouthwestern.edu |
Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)
Founded in fall 2020, our goal is to help better equip medical students to effectively care for older adults while also directly improving the quality of care for our hospitalized patients. Medical Students HELP will implement portions of the national Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) protocols for delirium prevention. Our direct volunteer interventions will help contribute to reduced cognitive and physical decline, as well as improve overall wellbeing of hospitalized elderly adults. Volunteers will provide social companionship, orientation, cognitive stimulation, feeding assistance, and encouragement of oral fluid repletion. We seek to expand other aspects of the HELP program, contribute to quality improvement, and host interactive student workshops as our volunteer team grows.
| Grant Flint | Grant.Flint@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Rohini Kallianpur | Rohini.Kallianpur@utsouthwestern.edu |
Kids to the Rescue
Founded in fall 2021, Kids to the Rescue is an organization founded on the principle that by teaching our children the basics of First Aid, we are making our communities a safer place. As members of the UT Southwestern Community, we have seen firsthand how even the most basic medical knowledge can be lifesaving. Therefore, the more people who know basic first aid, therefore people who can be helped. By educating the next generation, we then are creating a future generation of Dallas County residents who are better prepared to take care of themselves, their peers, and their communities.
| Jessica McConahey | Jessica.McConahey@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Ian Trautmann | Ian.Trautmann@utsouthwestern.edu |
Last Writers
Last Writers trains and empowers students in the sharing and memorializing of life through memoir building for hospice patients in the DFW area.
| Afeefah Khazi-Syed | Afeefah.Khazi-Syed@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Tidie Song | Tidie.Song@utsouthwestern.edu |
Learn4Free
Long gone are the days of learning in a physical classroom for many students. Although convenient, distance learning poses unique challenges for intrinsically bright students that may make it difficult to stay motivated and on track to appropriately master class material. Learn4Free is a pro bono tutoring service that matches expert tutors with underprivileged middle school and high school students. The organization was founded in fall 2020 with a vision that a student's academic success should not be a product of socioeconomic status but rather that of hard work and individual talent.
| Aundree Hermawan | Aundree.hermawan@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Shelby Edmondson | Shelby.Edmondson@utsouthwestern.edu |
Lumin Education Project
Founded in fall 2018, the purpose of Lumin Education service organization is to teach children at Lumin Montessori schools fitness and nutrition. The goal is to facilitate healthy habits and improve long-term health.
| Christina Colletti | Christina.Colletti@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Shubhangi Mehra | Shubhangi.Mehra@utstouthwestern.edu |
Mano a Mano: Dominican Republic Service Trip
Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand) is a student organization dedicated to improving the health care of communities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We send students on a spring break mission trip with our host organization, Foundation for Peace. Working in mobile clinics, students examine and present patients to supervising physicians. The students enhance their skills of history taking, SOAP note style presentations, and performing full physicals. They also get a chance to experience the ways of a culture different from ours and are exposed to medical conditions they might not have the opportunity to encounter in the United States. During the year, the organization raises funds for the trip by hosting the Mr. and Ms. UT Southwestern Pageant.
| Jonathan Vachon | Jonathan.Vachon@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Cayenne Price | Cayenne.Price@utsouthwestern.edu |
Mental Health Matters: An Educational Initiative for Dallas Youth (MHM)
The mission of MHM is to improve the mental health of underserved youth in the Dallas area through partnering with local organizations to implement a curriculum focusing on mental health education, coping skills, and resiliency. With our current partner, Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation, we plan to host monthly engaging, interactive sessions with their students during the school semester. We hope to form relationships with additional community partners to reach as many children in DFW as possible.
| Wesley Thompson | Wesley.Thompson@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lauren Ford | Lauren.Ford@utsouthwestern.edu |
The Monday Clinic
The mission of The Monday Clinic is to provide high-quality, free medical care to the underserved population of North Dallas regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or ability to pay; to provide an interactive learning environment for medical students, thereby allowing them to develop clinical, organizational, and leadership skills; to instill in students a lifelong commitment of service to the community and others in need; and to introduce medical students to the needs of the uninsured.
| Carolyn Kim | Carolyn.Kim2@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Phillip Taboada | Phillip.Taboada@utsouthwestern.edu |
Musicians on Call
The mission of Musicians On Call is to provide a channel for musicians/singers to use their artistic talents to improve the hospital experience for patients and families in the Dallas area. Coordinating large-group events for students to perform can be difficult with the hustle and bustle of a full-time student schedule. As such, Musicians On Call provides a streamlined sign-up process for students to find time in their individualized schedule that they can perform in the common space at hospitals for waiting patients and their families.
| Parker Kenee | Parker.Kenee@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jai Prasadh | Jai.Prasadh@utsouthwestern.edu |
Once Upon a Tune
Founded in summer 2018, Once Upon a Tune is a service orientated, student-run organization made up of UT Southwestern students whose mission is to bring some fun and joy into the lives of sick children in local hospitals. We sing Disney songs in playrooms to put a smile on their faces. We hope to transport the children to a magical place to help them forget they are in the hospital.
| Elly Kolitz | Elly.Kolitz@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Julia Casazza | Julia.Casazza@utsouthwestern.edu |
Patient Accompaniment Initiative (PAI)
Patient Accompaniment Initiative provides in-hospital visits to patients identified by the Palliative Care service. Students from the UT Southwestern Medical School and School of Health Professions participate in bedside visits. PAI currently serves patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital. These visits are designed to provide psychosocial support to patients with prolonged hospitalization or other risk factors. Visits are focused on developing a social bond with patients via conversation, reading, or shared activities such as board games, music, and memory-making projects. PAI also connects students who wish to assist with Art and Legacy projects or Bereavement Calls through the Palliative Care and Chaplain's Office respectively.
| Sanjna Bhatia | Sanjna.Bhatia@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Kathy Tran | Kathy.Tran@utsouthwestern.edu |
Patient Navigator Program (PNP) for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
Founded in summer 2020, PNP is an interdisciplinary service organization providing individualized social support to patients experiencing homelessness. Student teams follow a caseload of patients from Center of Hope throughout the year, whom they will assist in accessing care and navigating the local health care system long-term. Students also offer short-term assistance to patients who receive referrals from Calvert Place, and ensure that these patients are linked into their follow-up care. In order to join the PNP team, students must complete the prerequisite enrichment elective course Patient Navigation for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness.
| Luke Coffman | Luke.Coffman@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Ally Sun | Ally.Sun@utsouthwestern.edu |
Paul Quinn Primary Care Project (PQP)
Founded in spring 2021 to improve the health and well-being of students attending Paul Quinn College. Our Mission is to implement a series of educational sessions on healthcare and access to healthcare topics. We also hope to identify health care needs of students through a need's assessment survey.
| Ezinwa Kalunta-crumpton | Ezinwa.Kalunta-crumpton@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jaidah Mccallon | Jaidah.Mccallon@utsouthwestern.edu |
Project Momentum
We aim to increase access to a healthy life for justice-involved youth in the greater Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex through health education sessions and one-on-one peer mentoring, as well as fostering a greater sense of community and support among adolescents who share experiences of being involved with the justice system.
| Christie Tran | Christie.Tran@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Emerson Lout | Emerson.Lout@utsouthwestern.edu |
Reach
Founded fall 2022 the goal of our organization is to serve kids who were disproportionately affected socially and academically by COVID, for example, the refugee and shelter populations in Dallas. We hope to lead mentorship activities based on the needs of the organizations that we will partner with. We hope to use our experiences as an adult education intern at the International Rescue Committee, UGM manager, and ESL volunteer to contribute to this organization.
| Ales Wu | Ales.Wu@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Kaustubh Gopal | Kaustubh.Gopal@utsouthwestern.edu |
Refuge Guatemala
Founded in summer 2012, Refuge Guatemala is a student organization dedicated to providing health care to the population of rural Guatemala that would otherwise find it inaccessible or unaffordable. The organization sends a team of students and faculty on a spring break trip to work in a small, understaffed Guatemalan hospital. The team works along with hospital staff to perform surgeries and provide care in a clinical setting to the local indigent population. In addition to receiving invaluable medical experience and exposure to the local Hispanic and Mayan cultures, participating students hopefully have their eyes opened to the joys of international medical service.
| Kinza Meghani | Kinza.Meghani@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Chioma Ogbata | Chioma.ogbata@utsouthwestern.edu |
Refugee Initiative for Screenings and Education (RISE)
Founded in the summer of 2023, RISE aims to provide support to refugees and unhoused community members by providing health screenings, educational sessions, and healthcare navigation to clients at Ma'ruf, a local non-profit.
| Bilal Rehman | Bilal.Rehman@utsouthwestern.edu |
Smoking Cessation Clinic at UGM
UGM Smoking Cessation Clinic is a weekly volunteer opportunity at UGM Calvert Place (men's shelter) and/or Center of Hope (women's shelter) that involves leading health-topic discussions, 1:1 cessation coaching, and nicotine replacement distribution for clients. Our organization is dedicated to helping members of transient community learn about health consequences of smoking and to helping interested clients reduce or quit smoking.
| Navnit Mohan | Navnit.Mohan@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Rohit Kamath | Rohit.Kamath@utsouthwestern.edu |
Southwestern Art
Founded in summer 2022, through this organization, medical and health professions students will partner with the pediatric radiation oncology department at Children’s Health to paint radiotherapy masks for children undergoing radiation therapy to look like their favorite superhero, Disney character, or whatever cartoon character they want! The primary goal is to transform what is often a scary and traumatic experience for children into something less stressful.
| Neha Khuntia | Neha.Khuntia@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Joelle Abdallah | Joelle.Abdallah@utsouthwestern.edu |
Southwestern Be the Match
Founded in fall 2023, this organization strives to provide meaningful, unique opportunities for students to learn about blood cancers and other life-threatening diseases by blood stem cell transplants. We also want to increase awareness of the need for a young, committed, racially and ethnically diverse registry who can save a life. Our organization provides educational activities and donor registry events to give the student body the opportunity to join in this social movement and global effort.
| Kaylee Grant | Kaylee.Grant@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Katalina Acevedo | Katalina.Acevedo@utsouthwestern.edu |
Student Patient Advocates for the Rights of our Communities (SPARC)
Founded in spring 2017, the purpose of this student group is to provide a place for students to learn more about and discuss issues affecting patient populations, helping them to become better advocates, and empowering them to take action in shaping a better future for our community.
| Sai Chilakapati | Sai.Chilakapati@utsouthwestern.edu |
Thomas Rusk Active Connections (TRAC)
Founded in fall 2022 In the wake of the social disruption stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent depression and anxiety have increased dramatically. To combat these deleterious effects, Thomas Rusk Active Connections (TRAC) pairs members of the UTSW community with students from Thomas Rusk Middle School. Our goal is to increase socialization and active living among teenagers through recreational activities and direct, 1-on-1 mentorship.
| Benajamin Conover | Benajamin.Conover@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Blessing Johnny | Blessing.Johnny@utsouthwestern.edu |
TimeSlips
Founded in at UT Southwestern Spring 2022, TimeSlips is global non-profit created to approach dementia care with a non-pharmacological approach using creative storytelling, encouraging participants to utilize their imagination rather than focusing on their inability to remember chronologically. Alongside the primary mission statement of our organization, our chapter aims to help medical students feel more comfortable interacting with and treating patients of dementia in addition to allowing them to gain exposure in humanistic geriatric care. TimeSlips will provide twice monthly volunteer opportunities for medical students to partake in these storytelling activities with dementia patients as well as interact with their physicians and health care teams to partake in hands-on care delivery.
| Malvika Govil | Malvika.Govil@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Chahat Rana | Chahat.Rana@utsouthwestern.edu |
UGM Clinics – Calvert Place and The Center of Hope
Started as a student organization in fall 2013 to provide services for the Union Gospel Mission (UGM), these clinics serve the homeless by treating them at one of the three free weekly medical clinics located at Calvert Place (men's shelter) and the Center of Hope (women's and children's shelter). Medical students, residents, Physician Assistant students, and other volunteers work together to accomplish this goal.
| Ruta Uttarkar | Ruta.Uttarkar@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Kanoa Kelly | Kanoa.Kelly@utsouthwestern.edu |
United to Serve
Each year, UT Southwestern holds a health fair benefiting students and their families in the surrounding community. This United to Serve event, which has been held at T.J. Rusk Middle School, is geared toward bringing awareness of important medical health issues to the community. Activities include medical health screenings, presentations, and demonstrations about important health issues, fun activities for the kids, and more. The event is conducted as part of the UT System's United to Serve campaign, in which all UT System schools participate in a single day of service.
| Christine Chen | ChristineL.chen@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Henry Chen | Henry.Chen@utsouthwestern.edu |
Walk with a Future Doc
Walk with a (Future) Doc was founded at UT Southwestern summer 2019 and is a student-led walking program focused on increasing physical activity among patients. Each month, we host a free local walk to promote wellness, healthy habits, and communication between patients and physicians in our community. The walks are open to students, faculty, and patients of all ages and abilities. Our goal is to help patient's live healthier lives one step at a time.
| Julia Casazza | Julia.Casazza@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jenny Foster | Jenny.Foster@utsouthwestern.edu |
Women's Health Advocates
Founded in fall 2023, the Women's Health Advocates group at UTSW aims to advocate for and educate women in Dallas who are receiving prenatal or postnatal care through UTSW. This includes breastfeeding education, breastfeeding advocacy, and emotional support during prenatal care and beyond.
| Alice Zhao | Alice.Zhao@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Hannah Sheard | Hannah.Sheard@utsouthwestern.edu |
