Massachusetts Medical Society and Alliance Charitable Foundation announces grants
Assistance for runaway youth, rape crisis and domestic violence services, childhood hunger, health services for underserved populations receive support
Waltham, Mass (PRWEB) September 27, 2003 -
The Massachusetts Medical Society and Alliance Charitable Foundation announced today it has awarded five grants totaling $81,500 to nonprofit organizations in the Commonwealth.
Established in 2000, the Foundation is a supporting organization of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide membership group of physicians, and the MMS Alliance, the organization of physiciansÂ’ spouses committed to promoting good health among the citizens of Mass. and to advancing the health and well being of the medical family.
The FoundationÂ’s mission is to support the charitable and educational activities of the Society and Alliance and address issues affecting the health, benefit, and welfare of the community.
The first round of 2003-2004 grants include:
Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Cambridge, was awarded $20,000 to support its Medical Advocacy Program, which provides hospital accompaniment, immediate health information, and emotional support to recent survivors of sexual assault. Established 27 years ago, BARCC serves some 8,500 women, men, and children annually throughout Greater Boston. The agency serves populations who speak English, Spanish, French, and Haitian/Creole.
Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger, Boston, the stateÂ’s leading anti-hunger organization with emergency food programs, food source hotlines, and public policy and community education initiatives, received $16,500 for its Pediatric Hunger Prevention Project, which addresses hunger in a community health care setting. The project will train pediatricians to identify families unable to meet their basic food needs and help them access emergency and long-term food resources. This project aims to demonstrate the connection between children hunger and health and that hunger prevention can lead to improved health outcomes for children in low-income families.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Boston, received $15,000 for basic medical care, education, and prevention services in the agencyÂ’s Bridge Healthcare Program, which includes its Mobile Medical Van, Free Dental Clinic, and In-House Medical Clinic. Founded in 1970, Bridge serves 4,000 homeless, runaway and troubled youths each year with education and career development, substance abuse counseling, residential and day programs, and medical services.
Mujeres Unidas en Accion, Women United in Action, Dorchester, received $5,000 to support its domestic violence program. The grant will provide workshops on domestic violence issues with individual and group counseling to clients. MUAÂ’s mission is to provide a means for Latina women with limited education or English language skills to effect social and political changes in their families, their community, and in society.
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship was allotted $25,000 to support the Boston Schweitzer Fellows Program, one of seven such programs in the U. S. The Fellows Program supports students in medical and other health professions engaged in community service projects that promote health and improve access to health care for underserved populations. The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship was founded in 1940 to help Dr. Schweitzer's hospital in Africa after the outbreak of World War II.
These five grants bring the FoundationÂ’s total allotments since its inception in 2000 to more than $411,000, supporting such services as medical care for the uninsured and underserved, shelter for the homeless, rape crisis services, childhood injury prevention, services for battered women, medical interpreters, and hunger prevention. More information on the MMS and Alliance Charitable Foundation may be found at www. mmsfoundation. org.
The MMS and Alliance Charitable Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors consisting of members from the Society and the Alliance. All decisions on funding are made by the board, currently led by Chairman John M. Crowe, M. D. of Canton and Vice-Chair Vanessa P. Kenealy of Hopkinton, president of the Alliance.
Remaining board members include Anne-Marie J. Audet, M. D., New York City; Margaret Igne Bianchi, Boston; Jack T. Evjy, M. D., Windham, N. H.; Barbara A. Herbert, M. D., Cambridge; David R. Jackson, M. D., Northampton; Beverly A. George, Plymouth; Subramanyan Jayasankar, M. D., Weston; and James F. X. Kenealy, M. D., Hopkinton.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 18,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians and patients of Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, the MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. The Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters, AIDS Clinical Care, and produces HealthNews, a consumer health publication. For more information, visit www. massmed. org.
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