Huntsville teen collects excess medications to help those without insurance | WAFF.com

By Sarah Grace Kennedy

Published: Feb. 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM GMT+5:30

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - A local high school student is making sure uninsured individuals in the community have access to medication.

The 16-year-old collects a surplus of unexpired and unopened prescriptions to donate to free clinics in the area.

Adi Gowda is a junior at Randolph School in Huntsville and is behind this program.

Gowda started a program called “Donate your Meds” as a freshman in high school.

Gowda started the program after noticing that extra medications were collecting dust at local health clinics.

Rather than letting those prescriptions expire, those clinics now leave their extra medications in a box for Gowda to collect when it’s full.

He then takes those medications to the Clinica Medica Moscati and the Huntsville Community Free Clinic.

In just two years, this program has already provided over $200,000 of donated medication and medical supplies to those who need it.

Gowda said his mom, who works at the Huntsville Hospital Endocrinology & Diabetes Clinic, would tell him stories about how there are often more medications on shelves than people need.

“Meanwhile, I keep seeing patients who don’t get all the medications they need at the CMM,” said Gowda. ”I started wondering after a while, what if I could get some medications from my mom’s place and bring them over To the CMM”

After hearing this, he came up with the idea to collect that extra medication from his mom’s clinic so it could be put to good use.

“So my mom takes me over to the CMM,” said Gowda. ”We have it all checked, and it all looks pretty good. We’re having it sorted and everything. And it was pretty awesome. So I thought, ‘What if I can do this for other clinics?’ And so Donate your Meds was created.”

There are currently six collection boxes across Huntsville and Madison, along with one in Hartselle, where anyone can drop off their unwanted and unopened prescription drugs.

Gowda said he is grateful for the community support and the donations that are going to those who need it.

After Gowda drops off the medications the clinics verify if the prescriptions are unexpired and unopened before giving them to patients.

He follows all state health guidelines when picking up these drugs.

Source : WAFF