Couple Fundraises for Nonprofit Through Registry in Lieu of Wedding Gifts
Donor Spotlight:
Dr. Louise Yeung
Louise & Nathan photograph courtesy Tyler Branch
ElevateMeD Donors never cease to amaze us with their support. As a nonprofit who seeks to provide funding for scholarships and programming, finding innovative ways to raise funding is both a joy and challenge as the world we know continues to change. We were ecstatic to learn our organization was granted more than $1,300 by way of one amazing couple, who opted to have their wedding guests donate to causes they loved in lieu of typical wedding gifts.
Meet Dr. Louise Yeung, an incredible general surgery physician who has served as a mentor of ElevateMeD since 2020.
The generosity of her, her husband, and those who contributed in their honor, has truly shown us how together we can give in creative ways!
We asked Dr. Yeung about her inspiration to give via her wedding registry, where she also shared insight into her journey of becoming an ElevateMeD mentor and what it has meant to her to give back to the future of medicine.
“My role as a mentor is just a tiny piece of what makes ElevateMeD such a great organization, and I stand in admiration and support of Dr. Porter-Umphrey, Dr. Umphrey, Dr. Vasquez and everyone involved in ElevateMeD for taking on such an important mission and making it a reality.”
Tell us about you and your spouse.
How did you and your husband meet?
Nathan is originally from the Washington, DC area and started out as a lawyer, before realizing his true passion and going back to school to chart a new course as an engineer in aerospace. He is now working on sending a spaceship to Mars! Louise grew up abroad and moved initially to the Midwest to finish up high school, attend college and medical school. Being a surgeon was the last thing she thought she’d be interested in, but surgery found her during medical school by way of an inspiring mentor. We both moved to Los Angeles for work, and that’s where we found each other!
Why did you choose to have your guests donate to a cause for your wedding?
We are both so fortunate in so many ways, especially in finding ways to have a life that is fulfilling to us. We get to experience the concept of “ikigai”, which really sums it up well. Because of this, we knew that both we and our close friends would appreciate acknowledging our happiness and celebrating our wedding with the opportunity to support a charitable cause. We each picked a non-profit that had personal meaning to us – Nathan’s was 826LA, where he had previously volunteered as a tutor to support kids developing writing skills, and Louise’s was of course ElevateMeD, where she is a mentor.
“It is so important that our patients are able to relate to and believe in our healthcare professionals, and those connections are facilitated and strengthened when our patients see themselves reflected in our physicians.”
Why is ElevateMeD important to you?
It’s important on so many levels – we have to keep striving to provide access to healthcare for everyone, especially populations that have difficulty, whether that’s due to availability, cost, mistrust/misinformation or any other reason. It is so important that our patients are able to relate to and believe in our healthcare professionals, and those connections are facilitated and strengthened when our patients see themselves reflected in our physicians. For those of us who are lucky enough to have found a field where they can happily practice in – our responsibility is to teach, guide, support and hopefully inspire just a little bit – the next generations of physicians to do the same – but even better!
Why did you become an ElevateMeD mentor? Share your experience.
Like so many things in life, I was lucky, and the opportunity to be a mentor found me. Through some seemingly chance connections, I was approached by the amazing Dr. Marissa Vasquez, who is an inspiration to everyone who has the privilege of knowing her. Although I had never met Dr. Vasquez before, this opportunity was exactly what I had been hoping to support. Through ElevateMeD I got to meet the very-soon-to-be-Dr. Shanita Thomas, who I am beyond excited to be welcoming to the field of surgery with her fantastic Match! I am so privileged to have gotten to know Shanita over the last two years, who is an incredible human being and will be an incredible surgeon. She is truly an inspiration to me, and has been the absolute best thing about being an ElevateMeD mentor. My role as a mentor is just a tiny piece of what makes ElevateMeD such a great organization, and I stand in admiration and support of Dr. Porter-Umphrey, Dr. Umphrey, Dr. Vasquez and everyone involved in ElevateMeD for taking on such an important mission and making it a reality.
Thank You!
We are thankful for the support from these newlyweds and send our congratulations!
Get involved:
If you’ve been wanting to get more involved with ElevateMeD, now is the time. If you’re interested in learning more about our Board of Directors or Advisory Board, please reach out to info@elevatemed.org. If you’d like to become part of our mentor database, please sign up here. Please follow us on social media and help us expand our reach by liking and sharing our posts.
ElevateMeD Scholars Program
The ElevateMeD Scholars program provides significant financial assistance to medical students while providing them access to mentorship, leadership training, and financial management education.
