Dr. David Young, a surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Fresno, has a special place in his heart for people needing medical care but without means to pay.

Young has traveled to Africa regularly since 2004 to provide free medical care, including to Nebobongo, a remote area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people of Nebobongo, he says, have "stolen my heart."

Motivated by his Christian faith, he also has performed hernia repair surgeries for free for Valley residents without medical insurance.

For his charitable surgeries, Young is recipient of the 2012 David Lawrence Community Service Award, presented by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals Board of Directors. The award is named after David M. Lawrence, former chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente.

Young is one of 14 Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians throughout the country selected to receive the award. Kaiser Permanente has more than 16,000 physicians nationally.

He becomes the second Fresno physician to receive the award in two years. Dr. Tom Kaschak, a podiatrist, received the award in 2011. Kaschak makes recurring trips to Vietnam and has established a nonprofit organization to assist with foot and ankle problems.

"This illustrates the supportive environment that exists here at Fresno Kaiser Permanent for this sort of activity," Young says.

As part of the Lawrence award, Young will receive a $10,000 donation to an organization of his choice. He plans to give the money to Medical Ministries International, a nonprofit that collects excess and reusable medical supplies and ships them overseas to mission clinics and hospitals in the poorest parts of the world. MMI has a warehouse in Clovis. He wants more medical supplies to be sent to the Nebobongo area.

"Diligent is the word that comes to mind when I think of Dr. Young," says Melanie Anderson, a staff member at MMI in Clovis. "He is probably the most compassionate doctor I've worked with -- very diligent and very faithful to make sure the people in Nebobongo have exactly what they need.

"As a small nonprofit that relies on donations, that is a significant gift for us. It is extremely meaningful to us as you work to provide help, hope and healing to the people of Nebobongo. We are honored he would partner with us."

Born to help

Born in Bryan, Texas, Young was raised in Southern California, the oldest of three children to LeVern and Mary Young.

His mother has the kindest heart and taught in elementary school.

"If she met you a second time, you were a friend," David Young remembers. "The third time -- you were her good friend."

His father wanted to be a missionary. Instead, LeVern Young became a college biology instructor.

They also were part of starting three Baptist churches in Southern California.

Their passion for missions influenced their son. His hero growing up was Bill Wallace, the missionary surgeon to China who was martyred.

"From the time I started college, that was my goal," he remembers.

Young graduated from University of California San Francisco Medical School in 1973. He completed a surgical residency in Fresno in 1978 and became board certified in 1981.

His early post-residency experience included being a missionary surgeon for six years, 1978 to 1985, at Jibla Baptist Hospital in a rural village in Yemen. His wife, Neta, and their children, Sarah and John, served there with him.

Young's parents also came for a five-month visit, when LeVern volunteered in the hospital lab.

In 1985, Young and his family returned to the United States, and he began a private surgical practice in Fresno.