The annual Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employee Charitable Campaign is beginning at UMass Medical School on Monday, Nov. 5. The statewide campaign, which runs through Nov. 21, allows UMMS employees to contribute to any of more than 1,000 screened local, regional, national and international nonprofits dedicated to supporting a wide range of needs. UMMS has traditionally been among the leading sources of donations to COMECC.
The North Quadrant Support Services initiative is one choice that is “right in our backyard,” according to Kola Akindele, JD, assistant vice chancellor for city and community relations. It was launched by UMMS last year with initial funding from the Remillard Family Foundation to address some of the socioeconomic barriers to academic success faced by many students in the North Quadrant of the Worcester Public Schools. With more than $50,000 donated by UMMS students and employees during the 2017 COMECC campaign, the initiative has already enabled projects addressing issues ranging from food insecurity to homelessness that students face.
“While we may not recognize it each day, the reach of our medical school is quite profound,” Chancellor Michael F. Collins said. “We infuse the North Quadrant with our talent, showing its students that their hopes can become expectations.”
Visit the UMMS COMECC page at www.umassmed.edu/comecc for more information. The full list of COMECC charities can be viewed, and pledges or donations made, at https://www.umassmed.edu/COMECCDonate with the same user name and password used to log in to UMMS accounts.
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