07/21/2026
Young Doctors Club — Summer Update 💙
This is a dream come true — and I don't say that lightly.
About five years ago, it started with just me and a manual workstation trike I got from Working Bikes here in Chicago. My very first job with it was stacking donated bicycles onto that trike and hauling them to a community bicycle giveaway — putting bikes into the hands of neighbors who needed them. No motor. No team. Just me and a belief that showing up mattered.
Over the summers that followed, I kept riding — through North Lawndale, Little Village, and Pilsen — handing out water and Gatorade to whoever needed it in the heat.
Back then it was just me. Today, I get to watch a team of young people from our own neighborhood carry this work forward — and that's the part that brings me to tears.
This summer, those young people have been out every weekend with the Young Doctors Club Summer Wellness Series and A Spot to Stop, our mobile hydration and nutrition oasis. Using our cargo trike and rickshaw, they roll right into the community serving fresh-fruit smoothies, water, and chillers — a mix of ice, water, and hydration blends with real nutritional value. This isn't a sugary snow cone or syrup drink; these are healthy options people usually pay for, and we offer them free, because we care. We've shown up at community events, festivals, parades, and block parties — and every stop has mattered.
And here's what makes me proudest: our youth run these stations. They earn real, paid job training. So many of them already dream of nursing and service, and this takes them a step further — they're learning to explain why nutrition and hydration matter, and serving their neighbors in a way that counts. You should see how happy these kids are to give back. That joy is real.
We were blessed with help from incredible partners, and instead of waiting until every dollar was in, we chose to start right away. I'm so glad we did — if we'd waited, we would have missed this whole beautiful summer.
During the school year we're in the classroom. Over the summer, we're recruiting high school students from the community and putting them to work right away — learning to serve their neighborhood and grow as individuals. Right now I'm working with several young people who dream of nursing, and I'd love to connect them with mentors.
If I've learned anything in these years, it's that you can't do this alone — and you're not meant to. For a long time, I went out by myself. Learning to welcome people in, and to trust a team with the work, has been its own journey. This year, I don't go out alone — I have people beside me, and I can step back from the table knowing they've got it. That's the real blessing.
How you can be part of it: 🩺 Medical & nursing schools — if you can mentor students heading into high school, please reach out. 🙌 Volunteers — we're out every weekend through September. Come lend a hand. 💙 Support the work — every dollar trains more kids and keeps the wheels turning.
PayPal: paypal.me/youngdoctorsclub
Zelle: [email protected]
📩 Reach us at [email protected] · (773) 633-7840
And to the partners who believed in our young people — The Springboard Foundation, My Block, My Hood, My City & Jahmal Cole, Equiticity, the North Lawndale Athletic and Recreation Association (NLARA/UCAN), the Firehouse Community Arts Center, UIC's Urban Medicine Program (UMed), the Parish Collective, and Old St. Patrick's Kinship Initiative — thank you. You helped us say yes right away.
And thank you to the young people themselves. We can't help kids who don't show up — so the fact that they keep showing up, ready to serve, means the world.
