Service Organizations
Agape Dermatology Clinic
Founded in 2003, Agape Dermatology Clinic is a student-run free clinic at Agape Clinic in East Dallas. Through our partnership with UT Southwestern Dermatology, on Saturday mornings we provide free of cost dermatological care to the underserved Dallas community. The Agape Dermatology team includes volunteer dermatology faculty, residents, medical students, and interpreters, who receive hands-on experience in patient care.
| Claudio Gomez Ascencio | Claudio.GomezAscencio@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Abby Lewis | Abby.Lewis@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.
| Chahat Rana | Chahat.Rana@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lily Xu | Lily.Xu@utsouthwestern.edu |
Agape Musculoskeletal Specialty Clinic
Founded in spring 2019, Agape Musculoskeletal Specialty Clinic is a student –run night clinic at Agape Clinic in east Dallas, mentored by Dr. Joel Wells of UT Southwestern Orthopedic Surgery. The Agape Clinic is a charity clinic that has been established for almost 40 years and has opened their facilities for use by UT Southwestern students and faculty. Once a month, we provide specialty care for those patients with musculoskeletal complaints.
| Diksha Verma | Diksha.Verma@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jason Lin | Jason.Lin@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 |
Best Buddies
Founded at UT Southwestern in fall 2021, Best Buddies is a multinational organization created to establish a global volunteering movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Along with the primary mission statement of the organization, our chapter's goals include furthering the exposure of health care students to the unique health care needs of individuals with IDDs. Aided by a faculty-led lecture series, our focus is to identify up to date issues patients with IDDs are facing in the health care setting while working together through a patient-centric model to mitigate them. Through our partnership with Best Buddies and the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, members have the opportunity to form personal relationships/friendships with individuals in the community who are living with IDDs.
| Lillian Carter | Lillian.Carter@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Stanton Heydinger | Stanton.Heydinger@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 |
DFW Hep B Free Project
The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Hepatitis B Free Project aims to increase awareness about the effect of chronic hepatitis B and C viral infection, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. We provide free screening and linage-to-care in at-risk communities including immigrant and refugee populations from countries where these viruses are endemic. We also provide education to reduce stigma associated with HBV diagnosis among Asian/Pacific Islander (API) adults in the DFW metroplex.
| Galen Gao | Galen.Gao@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Holly Guo | Huizi.Guo@utsouthwestern.edu |
Free Clinic Committee
Founded in fall 2015, the Free Clinic Committee collaborates with the different student-run clinics at UT Southwestern to improve the efficiency and quality of the care they provide.
| Abigail Lewis | Abigail.lewis@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Mina Guirguis | mina.guirguis@utsouthwestern.edu |
Future Doctors Pipeline 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, Latinx 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.
| Priscillia Okanlawon | Priscillia.Okanlawon@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Mari Engidaw | Yemarliamwork.engidaw@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 |
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.
| Joseph Da | Joseph.Daa@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Leo Cho | Youngwoo.Cho@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.
| Beatrice Secheli | Beatrice.Secheli@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Brandon Winward | Brandon.Winward@utsouthwestern.edu |
Healthy Living
In collaboration with United to Serve, Healthy Living is a student-run organization that strives to educate students about physical and mental well-being, help them understand effective strategies for caring for themselves and for others, and promote a healthier future for their communities. Volunteers have the opportunity to host small-group sessions at local middle and high schools to talk with students about nutrition, exercise, drugs, and mental health. Healthy Living has previously collaborated with TJ Rusk Middle School, Roosevelt High School, as well as the UT Southwestern STARS program on campus.
| Andrea Omehe | Andrea.Omehe@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.
| Grace Lu | grace.lu@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Joshua Choe | joshua.choe@utsouthwestern.edu |
Immunization Initiative at NDSM (II)
Founded in fall 2012, II is dedicated to promoting immunization and providing immunization services to the underserved through partnership with North Dallas Shared Ministries (NDSM).
| Chideraa Nwafor | Chideraa.Nwafor@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.
| Mir Ali | Mir.Ali@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.
| Chahat Rana | Chahat.Rana@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Amarachi Ahiarah | Amarachi.Ahiarah@utsouthwestern.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.
| Robin Granberry | Robin.Granberry@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.
| Alexander Fabiano | Alexander.Fabiano@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Mina Guirguis | Mina.Guirguis@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.
| Amarachi Ahiarah | Amarachi.Ahiarah@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lucia Zhang | Lucia.Zhang@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.
| Pooja Kumar | Pooja.Kumar2@utsouthwestern.edu |
| William Turlington | William.Turlington@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.
| Ruchika Mahapatra | Ruchika.mahapatra@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jai Prasadh | jai.prasadh@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.
| Maishara Muquith | Maishara.Muquith@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Harin Lee | Harin.Lee@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.
| Ashley Tsang | Ashley.Tsang@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Lacey Barnes | Lacey.Barnes@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.
| Tammy Voor | Tammy.voor@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Chioma.Ogbata@utsouthwestern.edu | Chioma.ogbata@utsouthwestern.edu |
Sibs in Science
Founded in fall 2021, our goal is to promote the diversification of STEM fields through personal mentorship and education by strengthening the connection between diverse and underserved high school students in the Dallas area and the biomedical research community at UT Southwestern. Through a partnership between trainees from the graduate school and postdoctoral fellows, this program aims to serve the educational and general formative needs of Little Sibs throughout their entire high school careers. This effort will prepare these students for higher education, applications to scholarship opportunities, participation in science fairs, and other educational events, and their welcomed entrance into the STEM community through the guidance and service of dedicated mentors. In addition, this program will provide pedagogical formation for Big Sibs to prepare them for careers as mentors and teachers to students with diverse backgrounds, skills, and needs.
| Sarah Ware | Sarah.Ware@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Isabella Brown | Isabella.Brown@utsotuhwestern.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.
| Prajwal Gowda | Prajwal.Gowda@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Tenzin Palkyi | Tenzin.Palkyi@utsouthwestern.edu |
Southwestern Alliance Against Food Insecurity (SAAFI)
Founded in spring 2019, SAAFI is a service organization in which medical students learn about food insecurity as it relates to health. You will also be able to participate in volunteer efforts to combat food insecurity in the local community. We understand that nutrition is a determinant of health, and we work toward creating a future in which all members of our community have adequate access to healthy food.
| Jesus Sotelo | Jesus.Sotelo@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Jennifer Wang | Jennifer3.Wang@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 |
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.
| Kinza Meghani | Kinza.Meghani@utsouthwestern.edu |
| Katherine Lake | Katherine.Lake@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 |
