Beyond Medicine: The Philanthropic Endeavors Of Dr. Michael Everest And His Contributions To The Community

One of the defining traits that makes us human is our ability to solve problems. Most of the things we have in our lives, from the products we use to the services we rely on, have found their inception in the same process of recognizing a problem and finding a solution.

Not all problems are the same, of course, and not all solutions bear the same weight. The invention of sliced bread didn’t alleviate world hunger. Norman Borlaug’s work with wheat varieties did. But at the core, both were propelled by the same desire to make something better.

For Dr. Michael Everest, the problems that prompted him to take action were in the medical field. Having been in the business of helping students land the residences they studied so hard for, he saw that the system had some flaws.

“I saw the need to level the playing field and address the significant doctor shortage. To achieve this, I founded a non-profit foundation aimed at assisting international doctors and created a pathway to give them a fair chance,”  Dr. Everest says. 

Through the work of The Everest Family Foundation, Dr. Everest and his family have been instrumental in funding various graduate medical education initiatives around the globe. Soon, however, the Foundation’s work extended beyond the medical field and into the community wellbeing sphere.

The Foundation organized food drives in Los Angeles during the pandemic. It supported the Hope of the Valley homeless shelter “Bibles and Tacos” initiative. It delivered meals to homeless veterans in West Los Angeles.

“We are also working with this group called the Children of Fallen Heroes, where our veterans that have died doing service to our country, we’re doing a day of STEM where we’re doing robotics with their kids at Universal CityWalk,” says Dr. Everest. “And they’re just going to go, and they’re able to be kids. They’re going to have fun, and we’ll get a celebrity attached to it, and they’ll go and be kids for a day.”

Dr. Everest carried the same ethos to his latest business endeavor, edYOU. Dubbed the “face of Safe AI,” it’s an education platform that leverages artificial intelligence to facilitate a better learning experience and improved educational outcomes. It aims to do it in a way that can help students and teachers, too, so that both get the support they need.

Even though it was not strictly a charitable endeavor, Dr. Everest’s work with edYOU and artificial intelligence was founded on the same principles guiding his work with the Foundation.

“My passion lies in helping humanity, providing a voice to the marginalized and disadvantaged. By doing so, we have produced some of the best doctors, breaking barriers and creating opportunities for those who otherwise might not have had a chance,” Dr. Everest explains. “With edYOU, the motivation remains to help individuals who need support and resources in their educational journey. By offering a platform like Hannah, we aim to empower students and teachers alike, ensuring everyone has access to quality education and the tools they need to succeed.”

With an ethical approach rooted in his ethos as a Christian, Dr. Everest uses the principles of love, compassion, and helping one another to guide his business decisions and his philanthropic endeavors. It served him well, allowing him to create successful businesses and giving him more resources to siphon into philanthropy.

“All these businesses get to feed the Foundation, so ultimately, we have this ecosystem that’s helping humanity, and that humbles me. I find it my life’s calling to do that,” Dr. Everest explains. “It’s fulfilling to know that we can positively impact so many lives through our work.”

The people he helped along the way also went on to make a difference in the communities they served. Much of his work in the medical field revolves around alleviating the country’s shortage of medical doctors, and by giving a chance to the marginalized and disadvantaged, his work has been instrumental in producing great doctors, breaking barriers, and giving them and their patients the help they need. And in that sense, there’s no difference between the Foundation and edYOU — as both are vessels to help others.

“Because, in a capitalistic society, the first one that gets the word out is the one that can really help, and we’re doing it from a real altruistic standpoint,” Dr. Everest concludes. “Yes, it’s a business, it makes money, but to make money and help humanity and then with the money you make fund a foundation that further helps humanity on a philanthropic level is really fulfilling for me.”

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