Help Lift People Out of Poverty

In honor of our 10th Fellowship year we'd like to ask you to help us raise $10,000! All we ask is for a $10 or more donation, & to send this link to 10 people asking them to donate  & to also share with 10 others.

Don't know what the Los Angeles Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is about? We're an organization that helps implement health service projects in poor areas of Los Angeles. Each year we select students (medical, dental, pharmacy, OT, & more!) from USC, UCLA, Charles Drew & other surrounding universities to implement a variety of community service projects that empower & teach these communities to take charge of their health. Not to mention, these students are learning invaluable leadership skills & joining a community of Schweitzer program alumni committed to serving others for life.

Below is a short video about the program and below that are the projects that are currently being implemented by 14 students. We hope you will join us raising $10,000 to continue the important work Schweitzer Fellows are doing to help the underserved in Los Angeles.


Nailah Zoi Cox, Charles R. Drew University Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing 
Zoi’s project aims to improve reproductive health education among vulnerable populations Los Angeles County. Zoi plans to do this through empowering youth to take action through knowledge about their body & health.
Community Site: Renaissance Unlimited Homes, Inc.

Lauren Gibbs & Janell Holloway, Charles R. Drew University/David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Lauren and Janell aim to address health disparities in Service Planning Area 6 by creating & conducting group health education classes that incorporate integrative medicine to help encourage good health behaviors. Community Site: UMMA Clinic

Saleemah Glover, Charles R. Drew University College of Science & Health
Saleemah’s project aims to explore mental health concern in the Service Planning Area 6 community among High School students. This program aims to educate & inform the students of ways to cope with mental illnesses and where to receive services. The ultimate aim of this project is to diminish the negative stigma around mental health in hopes to stimulate future discussions.
Community Site: Centennial High School

Angela Hoang, USC School of Pharmacy
Angela strives to increase medication literacy and adherence in patients from the Center for Community Health, located in the Skid Row district, who may suffer from mental illness or other chronic conditions. The goal is to improve health outcomes in this low-income and homeless population through one-on-one meetings and with the introduction of various interventions, whether it is to increase adherence or to improve quality of life in other ways.
Community Site: Center for Community Health, Downtown Los Angeles

Isake Lockett Holloway, Charles R. Drew University Isake’s projects aim to reduce the disparity gap among minorities with chronic health conditions by transforming the patient- provider relationship. Until now the onus has been on the provider- to be more culturally competent, respectful & master efficient communication techniques when working with minority patients. There has been until now little attention paid to the patients participation in the encounters. This project seeks to change that with a literacy tool & formatted workshop. Both are designed to increase patients initiative, responsibility & empowerment as a means of building a trusting relationship with one’s primary care provider.
Communty Site: Tri-City Medical Office, Los Angeles, CA

Lidya Jirjis, UCLA School of Dentistry
Lidya’s project aims to provide preventive dental care education that is geared toward the special needs population in the South of Los Angeles area. Her goal is to educate children, parents and teachers about oral hygiene education and how to customize the child’s preventive care based on his/her special need, which in return will help in optimizing the child’s home dental. She will be visiting schools to emphasize the importance of children’s oral health by interacting with the children, parents and teachers on a one-to-one basis, as well as in group workshops.
Community Site: TBD

MacKenzie Martin, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC 
Mackenzie’s project aims to address oral health disparities and increase preventative dental measures taken by students, staff, and parents involved in Head Start Long Beach. Mackenzie’s project will have a strong focus on oral health education & at home care, as well as, provide school screenings and fluoride application. It is her hope to help decrease the incidence of dental disease in this community.
Community Site: Long Beach Head Start

Jacqueline Nager, Keck School of Medicine of USC Jackie aims to bring Medical Clowning to pediatric patients at LAC+USC Medical Center, addressing the intrinsic social issues of being hospitalized. She also aims to train Keck medical students in Medical Clowning as a means to improve their physician-patient interaction skills & to build trust between healthcare professionals & medical clowns, establishing this program as a permanent offering at LAC+USC.

Community Site: LAC+USC Medical Center
Marvin Ortiz, Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy
During his 4th year of pharmacy school, Marvin will seek to improve medication adherence through collaborative teamwork with the healthcare team at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Cystic Fibrosis Center. Marvin will be integrated into the clinical team & will aim to intervene on behalf of patients, to educate patients about proper medication use, and provide patients & providers with medication reconciliation. He will also strategize with stakeholders to increase student pharmacists’ involvement in healthcare teams like this one.
Community Site: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Malia Sako, TH Chan Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at USC
Malia aims to address health disparities in LA County’s mental health community. She will design & lead an accessible yoga program that provides the opportunity to cultivate stress management strategies & to enhance mind-body connection. The overall goal of this project is to provide members with experiences & knowledge that can increase feelings of empowerment over their health & quality of life.
Community Site: Painted Brain

Allie Schmiesing, TH Chan Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at USC
Allie has designed a program for older adults living with Parkinson’s Disease in the greater LA community. Her structure is based upon existing, positive research in the gerontology & occupational science literature that supports the use of reminiscence & intergenerational programs to improve quality of life amongst older adults. The program, in conjunction with community partner Parkinson’s Community Los Angeles, aims to facilitate a positive self-concept and improve quality of life across a variety of measures through reflection & storytelling.
Community Site: Parkinson’s Community Los Angeles

Dong Tran, UCLA School of Medicine
Dong aims to educate adolescents on concepts in health care to improve their health literacy & health outcomes. His project seeks to help students answer basic questions with the goal of increasing health literacy in students at a time when they are becoming more and more independent in managing their health. Community Site: Hollywood High School

Johnathan Zhao, Keck School of Medicine of USC John is partnering with case managers, housing specialists, & health professionals to create a “healthcare navigation” program for homeless clients in Hollywood. This program aims to create “service tracks” catered to individual clients’ health needs & provide them with one-on-one case counseling and support. The program’s overall goal is to help increase access to high-quality health services in a complex, often disparate healthcare system.
Community site: The Center at Blessed Sacrament