Donor Spotlight Dr. William Young

Donor Spotlight: Dr. William Young

08/28/2018

Radiologist William Young, M.D.’s impact on our community will be long remembered. His philanthropic imprint on Des Moines and specifically on Mercy is significant, transformative and meaningful.

Dr. Young recently accepted a position at Huron Valley Radiology at Trinity Health in Michigan and moves there this fall with his family.

Dr. Young made his first gift to Mercy Foundation in 1995. He designated it to the House of Mercy, for the purposes of remodeling its clinic. That one gift began a tenure of philanthropy so impactful that over the course of his 23 years at Mercy, he has given more than $404,000 to Mercy Foundation for the purpose of transforming Mercy Medical Center, especially those most vulnerable here.

His motivations for giving were two-fold, he says. He felt very fortunate to make a living doing what he loved doing and wanted to give back, and he deeply appreciated Mercy’s mission-driven focus.

“It’s not just about how good of a doctor I can be, but also how good of a person I can be,” he said.

His areas of philanthropic passion included House of Mercy, Mercy Children’s Hospital for the PICU renovation, and the establishment of the William and Marcia Young Endowed Scholarship Fund for radiologic technologists.

One of Dr. Young’s most recent, meaningful gifts was in 2016 to the Comfort Health Center for Women – through which he honored his late grandmother: Rachel Hitchman, one of the first females to graduate from Bowling Green University in Ohio and the daughter of an Ohio Supreme Court Justice. In fact, there are many attributes of Rachel Hitchman that remind us of Dr. Young:

  • A strong individual with the highest level of integrity, care and principles.
  • A person who garnered a tremendous amount of respect from family and the community.
  • … And extremely generous.

To those considering making a gift, Dr. Young has some advice.

“There is never a better time to be philanthropic than right now,” he says.

“I got to practice my profession and be rewarded for that. I used some of those rewards to give back. That is what life is about, and that is what makes me satisfied.”

 For more information about making a gift, please contact Mercy Foundation at foundation@mercydesmoines.org or (515) 247-3248.