Young & Healthy Co-Executive Directors Shelley Boyle and Liz Arnold at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Phillip Lao, Huntington Health CEO John Corman, and Pamela Lee at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and Eddie Newman at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
U.S. Representative Judy Chu and Pasadena Councilmember Jason Lyon at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Florence Helmberger, Young & Healthy Co-Founder Dr. Don Thomas, Carrie Walker, Young & Healthy Co-Executive Directors Liz Arnold and Shelley Boyle at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Ann Rector, Young & Healthy Co-Founder Lorna Miller, and Don Miller at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Julianne Reynoso and PUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Mimi Orth Doctorow, Alma Stokes, and Kathy Onoye at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
L.A. County Supervisor Barger Representative Savannah Moore and California State Senator Pérez Representative Darla Dyson at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Pasadena Councilmember Jones Representative Lisa Barrios, Marjorie Diaz, Connie Lujan, Monica Lopez, and NC Iguanzo at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Kaya Haig and Jeannine Bogaard at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Darrell Done, Mary Donnelly-Crocker, and Ron Bailey at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Emily Dossett and Giancarlo DiMassa at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Mary Donnelly-Crocker, Pasadena Councilmember Jason Lyon, and Pasadena Councilmember Jones Representative Lisa Barrios at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Kaya Haig, Leonard Kim, and Phillip Lau at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
Carrie Walker and Allison Dietrick at Young & Healthy's Rooted in Care founders luncheon
More than three decades after a small group of Pasadena leaders first set out to address a dangerous healthcare gap for uninsured children, Young & Healthy gathered at the University Club Wednesday to honor the founders, physicians and partners who built what has become one of the community’s most enduring healthcare safety nets.
The nonprofit’s “Rooted in Care” founder luncheon brought together longtime supporters, board members, volunteer physicians and community leaders to recognize those who launched the organization 36 years ago and the hundreds of healthcare professionals who have since donated their time to care for children and families without access to coverage.
“We are gathered with the people who believed in this organization from the very beginning and those who help carry that belief forward over time,” said co-executive director Shelly Boyle. Boyle said the founders “imagined a community where children and families could access quality healthcare with dignity and continuity even when other systems fell short.”
Mayor Victor Gordo, who worked alongside early leaders when the program began, described the gathering as a reunion of people committed to helping others.
“Can you imagine how many children, how many families, how many lives have been touched by the work of the people in this room and the people who started Young and Healthy?” Gordo said. “On behalf of all residents of Pasadena, I say thank you.”
Young & Healthy was created after community leaders identified that many Pasadena children lacked access to medical care. The organization developed a volunteer-based model connecting children with physicians, dentists, mental health professionals and specialists willing to provide care regardless of insurance status.
Each of the board members who spoke emphasized that Young & Healthy’s success has depended on volunteer physicians, community partnerships and sustained support from donors and healthcare institutions. Boyle added that the model has allowed the organization to adapt to changing healthcare conditions while remaining focused on ensuring children receive care. She also added that a group like Young & Healthy might only thrive in a city like Pasadena.
“It’s just the right size,” she said, “and it’s a very caring and generous community.”
“Young and Healthy changed the healthcare situation for so many people in such an innovative way,” said Congresswoman Judy Chu. “Getting this whole network of physicians and healthcare providers to come and give their services pro bono was a true game changer.”
Dr. Giancarlo Dimassa, an emergency room physician, noted the real-world impact of gaps in coverage and the importance of Young & Healthy’s role in connecting children to care, including specialty services that families might otherwise struggle to obtain.
“The impact of Young and Healthy goes beyond clinical care,” Dimassa said, describing the organization as a resource that helps families navigate insurance, referrals and access to treatment.
During the luncheon, Young & Healthy presented its J. Donald Thomas Award to Huntington Health, recognizing a partnership that has helped provide emergency and specialty care for children referred through the organization for more than three decades.
Accepting the award, Huntington Health President Dr. John Corman said the organization shares Young & Healthy’s commitment to putting patients first.
“When you think about every decision that we make, if it does well for our patients, if it makes their lives better, then it’s a winning decision,” Corman said.
As the program concluded, leaders encouraged supporters to continue sharing the organization’s mission and helping expand its network of volunteer providers, ensuring the organization remains rooted for future generations.
