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24 Robert WoodJohnson
I
MEDICINE
The Three Doctors Foundation
N
ine years after their graduation from University High
School, the three doctors graduated together again, at
the same commencement, from what was then the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. They
had fulfilled their pact, but their allegiance to one another
was about to give rise to a new dream. One year later in
April 2000, with $1,000 earned at speaking engagements,
they cofounded the Three Doctors Foundation.
"One year out of medical school, we were probably the
poorest philanthropists in history," says Dr. Davis with a
laugh. They considered starting community clinics or fund-
ing scholarships. Instead, they decided to create a not-for-
profit organization that would infuse the principles of their
pact into the community. Within the framework of the foun-
dation, they could build programs that would help disad-
vantaged youth value their own worth and academic poten-
tial, set a high bar for their future, develop a strategy, and
work with mentors to meet or surpass their goals.
Their books, motivational speaking, and the Three
Doctors Foundation carry a powerful message. "It tran-
scends financial, racial, and social lines," says Dr. Davis.
"We've received mail from impoverished kids in Mississippi
and wealthy kids from Short Hills." But primarily, they have
focused on youth growing up in the urban core, facing the
same challenges they faced: absent fathers, poverty, arrests
in their teens, and a street- and peer-centered value system
that discouraged--at best--professional ambitions.
This past May, at the ImPACT Gala, the foundation cel-
ebrated its 17th anniversary, honoring people, corporations,
and community service groups that reinforce its goals.
Notably, the organization is entirely staffed by volunteers,
including Windy White, who has served as its executive
director from the start. Outreach programs through-
out the year reflect the principles of the three doctors'
original pact. The Positive Peer Pressure Challenge
recognizes and rewards outstanding young people
who, as individuals or in small groups, organized an activity
focused on health, leadership, education, or mentoring. Past
winners have been recognized for organizing study groups,
antidrug activities, and walkathons.
The foundation's annual Healthy Mind Body Charity
Walkathon, cosponsored and hosted by Seton Hall
University, includes a 10-lap walk, as well as a full day of
family activities. Mentor Day annually pairs students with a
career professional. At roundtable discussions, students
learn from professionals including engineers, physicians and
nurses, architects, journalists, and small-business entrepre-
neurs. "You can't be inspired by what you can't see," says
Dr. Davis.
"We're having the time of our lives," says Dr. Jenkins.
"We invite kids from the neighborhood and across the tris-
tate area to come visit the college campus. They need to see
that it's not the way other kids told them: `You can't keep
up. You won't fit in. You'd have to change once you get
there. You can't afford it. You'll end up back here anyway.'
We take the fear away and push them along, the way we
pushed each other."
M
M
T
he three doctors created a not-for-profit organziation that
would infuse the principles of their pact into the community.
n
Left: The Three Doctors Foundation annual Healthy Mind Body
Charity Walkathon, cosponsored by Seton Hall University,
includes a 10-lap walk and a day of family activities.
n
Above:
The three doctors celebrated the 17th anniversary of their
foundation, with foundation executive director Windy White, at
the ImPACT Gala in May.
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