By Matt Szabo
Staff Writer
July 17, 20266:36 PM PT
- Share via
Local teens Sophie Martin and Akshay Sharma have worked hard to secure partners for their healthcare fairs
How hard?
“I think we cold emailed at least 50 people,” said Martin, an incoming junior at Corona del Mar High. “It’s been a lot of Zoom calls. I think all of our email threads are like 80 [messages] long. It’s a lot of communication, definitely.”
As difficult as it’s been, the work — done in the name of providing healthcare services to people who might not otherwise have it — has been worthwhile
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
Martin and Sharma, who is an incoming junior at Beckman High in Irvine, have now had three healthcare fairs through the nonprofit they started together, Project FairCare Health
The latest one, inside the Delhi Center in Santa Ana on Monday morning, drew dozens of participants interested in receiving free food. They were also able to register to receive services like doctor consultations, dental screenings and blood pressure measurements
The effort also attracted the interest of some sizable local healthcare partners. In the parking lot was an Allina Health mobile mammogram truck, while partners like Community Health Initiative of Orange County, CalOptima and Celebrating Life were also on hand to provide information
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
These were the kind of services that Sharma’s former nanny, Catarina Ixmata Lopez, didn’t necessarily have when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago
“My reason for doing this project is all her,” Sharma said. “I want to really help these people, and I want to make sure they have preventive healthcare so they don’t have to go through what she went through.”
The idea resonated with Martin, whose grandfather had suffered both a heart attack and a stroke and was fortunate to have access to healthcare
The teens’ Project FairCare Health nonprofit was created as part of a fellowship offered through the Dragon Kim Foundation, which seeks to inspire youth to impact their communities. Martin said some grant money has recently come through, but so far they have mostly relied on donations and partners coming through to run the health fairs, which run concurrently with food distributions
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
Delhi Center chief executive Christine Sanchez said she was happy to provide a venue for Project FairCare Health. The center serves about 1,000 clients a week through its food program, she said
Sanchez noted that the average income of people they serve is less than $20,000 a year, so the healthcare assistance is definitely appreciated
“When we first walked in today, one of the ladies recognized me and she hugged me,” Martin said. “We’ve kind of built a connection there. It’s really great. We get to practice our Spanish a little bit, and they teach us stuff sometimes. We’ve been here so many times that I recognize faces when I’m registering everyone and signing them up.”
Sharma added that they try to provide incentive for people to use the services, such as stickers attendees can collect at different stations that are redeemable for a $5 gift card from Target
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
Crystal Hermida, outreach coordinator for Community Health Initiative of Orange County, attended Monday’s event to provide information about her organization. CHIOC provides application assistance for affordable healthcare and social services
Hermida said it’s a great idea to provide access to food and healthcare services in the same place, adding that at first, she wasn’t aware her organization’s partners were high school students
“I didn’t know that they were 16 to 17 until I saw them,” she said. “I think it’s great to get the youth involved in social justice initiatives at a very young age. Statistically speaking, more and more younger folks are paying attention to where their dollar is going and how their dollar supports the community, so I think it’s great to also get them involved in the importance of actually starting their own movement. I wish that’s something that I would have had at a younger age.”
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
The Dragon Kim Foundation fellows program for this year ends in mid-August, but Martin and Sharma hope to continue holding fairs through Project FairCare Health
On Sunday, they will host a large-scale healthcare fair at Sports Basement in Fountain Valley in partnership with Saahas for Cause, a nonprofit that helps members of the South Asian community, and Sabil USA. The event starts at 7 a.m. and is scheduled to run until noon
(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)
