Newswise — Medical students and a trained physician share their time and talents to care for the homeless in a comprehensive medical clinic operating out of a local Church. An information technology specialist and cancer survivor wakes up every morning to make cards to go in care packages for those fighting cancer before she starts her work day. A husband and wife join forces to create a sports and mentoring program for area youth. A patient access manager gives back to an association that helped her family and other Cambodian refugee families adapt to life in Philadelphia. 

These are just a few stories of work members of our community perform beyond the walls of our hospitals, clinics and classrooms year round. In honor of the season of giving, Penn Medicine debuts four new short videos of Penn Medicine CAREs-funded initiatives making a difference all year long.

Started in January 2012, The Penn Medicine CAREs program provides grant support to faculty, students, and staff who volunteer their time and talents to improve the health of the community. Grant recipients support existing community service programs and non-profit organizations across Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, and often use their grants to start new and innovative efforts to address community health and educational needs. 

Caring for the people throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey is Penn Medicine’s primary mission. Every day, physicians, nurses, medical students, researchers, and other staff volunteer their knowledge, skills, and time to benefit residents in the communities the health system serves. CAREs has been the catalyst for much of this work since the initiative was established in 2012, providing grants to over 272 unique service initiatives throughout the region. These projects funded food pantries, community gardens, mobile health clinics, pet therapy, health workshops, afterschool youth programming, and many other programs serving many of our friends and neighbors. Just this year alone, CAREs funded 62 projects, and shows no sign of losing momentum!

Details on some of the recipients can be read here. We will also feature some CAREs-funded initiatives in our annual Simply Because project due out in a few months. In the meantime, some programs are featured in this year’s book and past books.