NAACP Honors Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine for Community Service
The Community Service Award was Presented for TouroCOM’s Commitment to Underserved Communities
New York, N.Y. – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Mid-Manhattan Branch has honored the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) with its distinguished Community Service Award. The Award was presented at the organization’s 14th Annual Freedom Fund Luncheon held recently at the elegant Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
The Award was presented for TouroCOM’s commitment to training osteopathic physicians with an emphasis on practicing medicine in underserved communities and to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and African Americans in medicine.
“TouroCOM has excelled in its commitment to expanding educational opportunities and careers in medicine, science, research and technology to underrepresented minorities and African Americans while also establishing linkages and programs for elementary and high school youth,” said Geoffrey E. Eaton, president of the NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch. “We salute your place in history and trumpet your achievements.”
At the luncheon, attended by more than 400 civic and community leaders and elected officials, TouroCOM’s many community service efforts that include work with youth in the community and fundraising for underrepresented minority students were detailed and hailed as significant achievements
“This is an award that was earned through the unified efforts of our students, faculty, staff and administration,” said TouroCOM Executive Dean Robert Goldberg, DO. “It would not have been possible without the wisdom, guidance and support provided by our wonderful community advisory committee, led by Dr. John Palmer. This recognition proves that with will, determination and fellowship, amazing things can happen!”
Among TouroCOM’s accomplishments noted at the luncheon were its success with MedAchieve, an after-school mentoring program for underserved Harlem high school students interested in medicine; Mentoring in Medicine, another program that brings high school students to TouroCOM’s anatomy labs and inspires them to pursue careers in medicine; and the Fund for Underrepresented Minority Students, which has held successful fundraising events in Harlem to fund scholarships for underrepresented minorities to attend the medical school. This year, the Fund has raised approximately $160,000 by bringing together community leaders who want to help underrepresented minorities attend TouroCOM, graduate with minimal debt, and serve their own communities in an effort to improve public health.
About the Touro College and University System
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, and Paris. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.
