CHESTER – What do repurposed shipping containers, a group of Aggies dedicated to doing good in the world and a famous philanthropic YouTuber have in common? The city of Chester, that’s what.
In the middle of February, the new community clinic, which is led by Timber Wright, a nurse practitioner and Chester native, was opened in grand fashion, and drew the community out to enjoy the fellowship, some good food and the sounds of Noah Jackson and his full band. Those in media who were tasked with bringing this dispatch of good news to the world outside of Chester were asked to stay mum on the topic for a bit, due to the involvement of one “MrBeast.”
MrBeast, which is the nom-de-net for YouTube personality James Stephen “Jimmy” Donaldson, is a businessman and philanthropist, who founded Beast Industries, a conglomerate with a diverse array of efforts to its credit.
Donaldson recently paired with Texas A&M University and its BUILD program to help bring clinics to areas around the world in need of medical care.
The student-run Aggie group, which was founded in 2013, has committed to converting 40-foot shipping containers into portable Texas Aggie Medical Clinics (TAMCs) to be deployed worldwide.
The funding has come primarily from donations, and at the end of 2023, two members of the group reached out to various philanthropic leaders, one of whom was Donaldson, whose Beast Philanthropy nonprofit has donated in excess of $300 million to various causes since 2020 when it was established.
Chris Permetti, who is the CFO of BUILD, said that he and another member sent a direct message to Donaldson, and a half hour later, a response of “Yeah, why not?” was received.
On Sunday, April 26, the MrBeast Philanthropy YouTube channel broadcast its “We Built Lifesaving Clinics Around the World” video and has already amassed more than 2.7 million views.
In the video’s description, Donaldson stated the origins and impetus for the project. For the Chester clinic opening and video, Majd Khader, an influencer known on YouTube simply by his first name, was present.
Khader was a contestant in MrBeast’s fitness transformation challenge, in which he endeavored to lose 100 lbs. to win a quarter-million dollars. He currently has his own channel, “Fitness With Majd.”
The video’s description notes that basic medical care is not accessible in many parts of the world, with people living hours away from the nearest doctor. Although Chester, in Tyler County, is nearer to healthcare than some locales, with Woodville located not far up US 287 from the city limits, the video noted how two medical incidents at Chester ISD saw ambulance availability at an hour or more to arrive on scene.
Along with Chester, the clinics were also opened in Nigeria; Kenya and in a housing village in Massachusetts. The BUILD crew, along with the MrBeast efforts, also provided medical supplies to war-torn Ukraine.
Donaldson said on the video that more than 10,000 people were likely to be directly impacted, or utilize the services, of the clinics in the next year. “Pretty crazy this all started with a group of college students,” he said.
The BUILD organization began, according to a press release from Texas A&M, to honor the 12 fallen Aggies, who died in the school’s 1999 bonfire tragedy. Initially, the organization set a goal to build 12 of the TAMCs to honor the 12 students, but has continued, with more than 20,000 Aggies participating since the group was founded, to produce 60 of the clinics, thus impacting more than 200,000 people in 24 countries around the world.
“It’s special that students are still doing this. This project could have died out after the initial group left, but now, year-after-year, students say, ‘No, I want to take this on.’ It requires grit,” Permetti said.
