MEMO at UCLA

The mission of Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach (M.E.M.O.) is to help underserved and underprivileged communities locally, in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles, and abroad, in Vietnam. There are currently three chapters of M.E.M.O.: UCI, UCSD, and USC. Throughout the school year, each chapter organizes a variety of events including volunteer events, fundraisers, professional development opportunities, and social events for their members. One of the biggest philanthropic opportunities is M.E.M.O.’s annual health fair in Orange County. Offering free medical, dental, and pharmaceutical care, volunteer healthcare professionals and students come together to make a difference in the local community. Then, at the end of the year, we host a fundraising gala to raise money for the annual medical mission trip. On this trip, a group of volunteer healthcare professionals and students travel to Vietnam. We host free clinics in a few rural areas of Vietnam, where over 2000 underserved locals can receive the treatment they have never had access to. Then with the money raised during the gala, we purchase and donate scholarships and school supplies to students who cannot afford another year of education. To be an official member and, therefore, be qualified to vote and hold office, one simply has to be an enrolled student at UCLA, agree to abide by the spirit of the club, and attend at least one meeting and one activity at least once per semester over the academic year. M.E.M.O. at UCLA is not discriminatory but open to all students. To ensure the sustainability of M.E.M.O at UCLA, the board will consist of a good balance between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen so that the following year’s board will contain officers with previous experience being on board. My drive behind starting a M.E.M.O. chapter at UCLA is derived from my experience in the summer of 2019. I was fortunate enough to attend the medical mission trip that M.E.M.O. holds every year. This opportunity was truly humbling as I helped provide medical and dental care to over 2000 Vietnamese people and extraordinarily memorable as I made long-lasting relationships with the other volunteers, doctors, and M.E.M.O. members from the UCI and UCSD chapters. As I researched this organization further, I discovered that M.E.M.O. not only provides services in Vietnam but also in the Orange County and San Diego communities through local programs that college students volunteer their time at. It was only recently that a M.E.M.O. chapter was founded at the University of Southern California (USC). I want to support and further expand M.E.M.O.’s impact on the Los Angeles community because I believe it will benefit not only the LA community but also UCLA students interested in pre-health or service in general. The goals of M.E.M.O. at UCLA will be to offer opportunities for members to volunteer their time to helping the underserved and underprivileged Los Angeles community as well as fundraise for the annual medical mission trip to Vietnam during the summer. M.E.M.O. will also serve as a resource for students to receive advice about the pre-health track and more importantly, a family who will support each other.

https://www.aboutmemo.org/
help@aboutmemo.org

Signatories: Nicholas Do, Isabella Do, and Cassie Nguyen

Advisor: Pamela R Cysner