Medline Community Impact Grant Program awards 2023 grants to address health challenges

Grants totaling $250,000 given to organizations strengthening health equity across the country

NORTHFIELD, Ill., Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medline today announced that it has awarded grants to 10 non-profit organizations through its annual Community Impact Grant program. This community centered, results focused grant program selects charities that help re-direct adverse outcomes and improve the wellbeing of people, families and communities at large.

This year's Community Impact Grants, totaling $250,000, will be evenly divided across 10 recipient organizations that are working to address social determinants of health—the economic and social conditions that impact disparities in health status and care, as well as life expectancy. Since launching in 2018, Medline's Community Impact Grant program has donated a total of $1.4M to non-profit organizations across the United States.

"Medline is proud to be able to aid all of these organizations with this grant," said Karen Frey, senior philanthropy manager, Medline. "When selecting the grant recipients, we look for organizations that have standing dedication and roots within their community and have proven time after time to be an important resource for the individuals they work with. We look forward to seeing the results this grant has on these communities."

The 2023 Community Impact Grant recipients, and how they will utilize their funding, are as follows:

• Room to Grow National Inc. (New York, N.Y.): Funding will be used to continue providing parents and caregivers with essential tools and support to connect low-income families with local resources in support of childhood development and overall family well-being.
• Project Angel Food (Los Angeles, Calif.): Grant will be used to support home-delivered medically tailored meals and nutrition services to individuals with severe illness. This commitment not only relieves the stress of food insecurity for clients and provides lifesaving food, but it also ensures regular wellness checks.
• Cradles to Crayons, Inc. (Chicago, Ill.): Funding will support the "Everyday Essentials" initiatives, which provides basic needs to low-income children. Through a collaborative approach, this program aims at reducing burden by meeting community needs to help children get more out of the items they need to keep them safe, healthy and ready to learn.
• Project Angel Heart (Denver, Colo.): Funding will be used to continue to deliver medically tailored meals to community members suffering from illness such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, or Alzheimer's. This program recognizes the important role that nutrition and education play in disease management, and strives to ensure clients have the tools they need to be set up for success.
• Youth Guidance (Chicago, Ill.): Funding will go toward a counseling program that partners with 201 schools to advance social and racial justices for young men and women of color through a healing centered, social emotional learning lens. Children and young adults are statistically more likely to succeed when they have a caring adult in their lives and are empowered to act on talents and strengths.
• Lift Orlando, Inc. (Orlando, Fla.): Funding will support the "Cradle-to-Career" education program created with the foundational belief that education is critical for empowering positive change to individuals and communities. This program provides resources, programs and services in 0-5 early learning, K-8 Literacy, and wraparound services.
• Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association, Inc. (Chicago, Ill.): As the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., Alzheimer's and dementia disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic communities. The grant will go toward the "Community Based Care Consultant" program to provide free programs and services that help individuals and families in low income communities better navigate care for this disease. Funds will also aid in recruiting, training and equipping volunteers to continue to scale impact.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (New York, N.Y.): Funding will be used to continue to fight systemic discrimination for Black Americans by providing aid in economic stability utilizing interventions to help individuals and families unable to afford healthy food, housing and healthcare. Using the power of law, narrative and research, the Legal Defense and Educational Fund defends and advocates the full dignity and citizenship of Black people in America.
• American Heart Association, Inc. (Chicago, Ill.): Funding will be used to invest in programs and partnerships with minority and economically disadvantaged communities that improve healthcare services and pass policies that transform neighborhoods by removing barriers to healthcare access and quality. This fund will be used to enable deeper engagement with community partners, which increases the capacity of identified high-risk neighborhoods to respond appropriately to a cardiac arrest, increasing chances for survival.
• Breast Cancer Resource Center (Austin, TX): Funding will be used to support their partnerships with community clinics and other healthcare organizations. Additionally, the grant will be used for their Certified Patient Navigators, who are breast cancer survivors, helping enable individuals going through their journey with breast cancer by providing guidance and education.

The Community Impact Grant program is just one program that Medline implements to address the social determinants of health. Medline has also supported over 150 charities with nearly 9,000 volunteer hours in 2022. Additionally, company volunteers travel internationally to aid health systems in impoverished areas, set up their facilities to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

In 2020, Medline launched the Medline CARES program, created to strengthen communities where employees live and work by providing resources individuals need to lead a healthier lives. Through food drives and blood drives, volunteers work to provide resources to vulnerable communities. To learn more about how Medline is advancing health equity in the U.S. and around the world, visit www.medline.com/about-us/esg/people-communities/.

About Medline
Medline is a healthcare company – a medical supply manufacturer, distributor, and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare. Partnering across the continuum of care, Medline helps providers to activate the clinical and supply chain resources needed to deliver their best care. With the agility to solve problems quickly and the scale to partner with providers for their sustained success, Medline is able to invest in its customers for the future and rapidly respond to a dynamically changing market with customized solutions.

Medline was most recently named to the Forbes America's Best Large Employers and Best Employers for Women lists, and was recognized for the 12th year by Chicago Tribune as a Top Workplace. Headquartered in Northfield, Ill., Medline has 35,000+ employees worldwide and operates in over 125 countries and territories. Learn more at www.medline.com.

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