PHILADELPHIA—When a youth baseball player in Mt. Airy steps into the batter’s box, the field will be clean and first aid kits will be stocked. When West Philadelphia residents seek assistance on coping with trauma, or GED assistance, additional help will be there. And when youths age out of Philadelphia’s foster care system, potentially losing eligibility for government services, they will be met with new opportunities for job training, professional development and more, supported by the Penn Medicine CAREs program.
From providing clothing to promoting health literacy, the Penn Medicine CAREs Program is providing new and recurring support to 31 employee and medical student service projects aimed at giving back to the communities Penn Medicine serves.
Kayla Butts, a clinical research coordinator with the Perelman School of Medicine, will use her CAREs grant to support The Counseling Education Program (TCEP). The West Philadelphia program facilitates initiatives aimed at building capacity in the community around education, health and wellness and community resources. The CEP has hosted workshops and provided informational resources on emergency preparedness, mental health, housing, and education/literacy. Additionally, The CEP has facilitated: support groups for men, women, and tweens; low or no cost travel opportunities, free tutoring, and more.
“This grant will afford The Counseling Education Program the opportunity to develop a user-friendly website such that the program can reach a broader audience. Additionally, this funding will allow the opportunity to secure updated supplies, furniture, and/or equipment that will allow for quality programming.”
Eric Trumbower is manager for quality and patient safety with Penn Medicine Hospice and a director at Camp Erin Philadelphia. He also serves on the board of The Monkey and The Elephant, a coffee shop in Philadelphia’s Brewerytown neighborhood. The shop serves as a workforce development program for youths who have aged out of the foster care system and are no longer eligible for services from the government.
“This population faces a variety of mental and physical health problems at rates greater than the general population,” Trumbower noted. “This grant will help support new youth in the program, including job training, professional development programs, and more.”
Other projects receiving CAREs funding this quarter include:
- Kami’s Closet is a family nonprofit providing clothing to individuals living in shelters. Samboun Bo, a clinical practices administrative support supervisor, volunteers with the group and will help direct the grant support to provide essential undergarments as an alternative to pre-worn options from donation bins.
- The Christian Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) has counted psychiatry resident Atasha Jordan, MD, MBA, as a director and volunteer for more than two years. As part of her work with CMHI, Jordan will use this support to help promote mental health literacy as well as access to and awareness of mental health and trauma resources within Philadelphia’s faith communities. CMHI will host its first Faith, Meds, and Therapy: Virtual Mental Health Symposium on Saturday, May 13th.
- Mt. Airy Youth Baseball supports both the immediate health and physical fitness needs of children as well as a sense of community for both children and parents. Mark Mumbauer, a member of Penn Medicine’s Information Services team who works as a local support provider in Academic Computing Services, is also Mt. Airy Youth Baseball volunteer. He will use these CAREs funds to provide field maintenance (such as rakes and topsoil) as well as first aid kits.
Since its inception in 2012, the CAREs grant program has provided over $900,000 to more than 900 initiatives serving people and communities across Penn Medicine’s service area. CAREs grant funding can be used for projects big and small, as well as for new or existing efforts. Grants are distributed based on the quality of the program, the need it aims to address, and potential overall impact.
To view all of the recent CAREs Grant recipients, visit PennMedicine.org/CAREs. For more information on the CAREs Grant or community outreach programs, visit PennMedicine.org/Community.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.