TAMPA, Fla — Two Tampa Bay area high school students are making a difference in the community by providing free health screenings to people experiencing homelessness in downtown Tampa.
Sydney Love, 17, and Percy Wells, 16, began their mission after interning with Dr. Traci's House and volunteering at Nameless Ministries. Their first health screening event was in July, and they screened 30 people.
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"It was a combination of like love for medicine and then community service and really wanting to help the people who needed it the most," says Wells.
The teens are now partnering with Nameless Ministries and Dr. Traci's House to offer the free screenings to Tampa's homeless population.
Both students grew up together and were encouraged by their parents from a young age to give back to their community. Wells recalled how his mother first introduced him to community service.
"My mom came to us one Friday night and told us that we would be waking up at 8:30 in the morning to go and just serve the community, and we went down there, and then once we started to connect with the people, then I thought, OK, this is something I can do every Saturday morning," says Love.
Now the teens run their own organization, Pulse 4 Gen Z, with support from Dr. Traci Thompson and her clinic.
"It's just been wondrous to be there to cultivate their passion and help them really bring their vision to life," Thompson said.
The second health screening event will take place on Saturday from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in partnership with Nameless Ministries and their community food outreach program. The teens plan to distribute 250 hot meals to those in need alongside the health screenings.
The address of the event is 707 E. Harrison Street in downtown Tampa.
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