Single acts of community service can start like a lone drop of water flowing into a vast ocean. Taken together, those acts can inspire a tidal wave of gratitude.
The Penn Medicine CAREs grant program is a shining example of how collective support for individual service projects can drive inspiring outcomes.
More than 100 participants from the Penn Medicine CAREs grant program recently joined their colleagues and University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) CEO Kevin B. Mahoney to celebrate their dedication and commitment, as well as honor seven CAREs recipients who went above and beyond.
Digging in to giving back
The Penn Medicine CAREs program provides institutional support for employees and medical students who volunteer their time to support neighborhoods across the region served by UPHS.
Founded in 2012, the CAREs grant program was developed to recognize and support that work, while at the same time helping local organizations who continue to find ways to address unmet community needs. The program has provided over $1.4 million to initiatives in the communities Penn Medicine serves, including in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Chester County, and southern and central New Jersey, including the Princeton area. This year, with the addition of Doylestown Health as part of Penn Medicine, several recent grants have been awarded for efforts in Bucks County.
At the annual CAREs grant reception, Mahoney recognized seven projects that stood out as CAREs Community Champion Award winners. The honor is given annually to programs funded by the Penn Medicine CAREs grants that have shown exceptional growth and outcomes. The seven winners represent a cross-section of service that stretched across the health system.
"The work you do within our health system is extraordinary, but what you carry to your neighbors is how healing reaches beyond the walls of Penn Medicine," Mahoney said. "From hospital to hometown, you're helping to build something lasting in the lives we've touched, the care we've given, and the futures we've transformed."
Choosing CAREs community champions
CAREs Community Champions are chosen from previous CAREs grant recipients and then scored based on volunteer history and partnership with organization and community; quality and expressed need of program; program growth and outcomes; and increased Penn Medicine engagement beyond the grant.
"It's really a testament to the spectrum of dedicated people we have at Penn Medicine that so many CAREs recipients went above and beyond the original charge of their awards," added Laura Kim, associate director, Community Relations, who leads the CAREs program. "They embody that mission everywhere they go."
