Bridging the Gaps Community Health Internship Program Symposium

Posted by on August 29, 2003

You are cordially invited to attend the 13th annual

Bridging the Gaps Community Health Internship Program Symposium

September 19th ? 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Rodeph Shalom
615 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia
 
A working conference to discuss strategies for improving the health of underserved communities

This symposium is based on the work of student interns from multiple health profession institutions in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie and is offered to the public free of charge. A newly developed Delaware program will also be represented. The Bridging the Gaps Program is committed to forging partnerships among those who are dedicated to the promotion of health in our underserved communities.

You are welcome to share this invitation with colleagues or friends. Limited parking available at Rodeph Shalom for elderly and handicapped. Public parking lots are available within walking distance. For more information please contact Timothy B. Campbell in the Bridging the Gaps Program Office by phone at (215) 898-4141, by fax at (215) 573-2265, or by email at tcampbel@cceb.med.upenn.edu.

The Bridging the Gaps Award is being shared by Jonathan Kozol and The Reverend Martha Rollins Overall. Mr Kozol will be unable to attend in person due to illness and The Reverend Overall will be accepting the award on behalf of them both. She will be speaking about their commitment to children, justice, and equality. The Institute for Safe Families will also be presenting their Peace in the Family Award to both Jonathan Kozol and The Reverend Martha Rollins Overall. The mission of the Institute for Safe Families is to end family violence and promote family and community health and well-being. We are pleased to share our recognition of the co-awardees with The Institute for Safe Families.

Jonathan Kozol is an educator and author of several books which focus on the issues of race, poverty and education. He has devoted over three decades to issues of education, civil rights, and social justice in America. He came to know St. Ann’s Church, its priest, The Reverend Martha Rollins Overall, and the children of Mott Haven in 1993. The struggles of the neighborhood of Mott Haven, and the trials through which the children of the community suffer, represent those of many disenfranchised poor, minority communities all over the United States, where the disparities between the wealthy and the poor increase exponentially each year.

Mother Martha, as she is known to those closest to her, received her law degree in 1976 and practiced law for thirteen years. She entered the Episcopal priesthood in 1991 and since 1993 she has been the priest at St. Ann’s Church in Mott Haven, whose 48,000 residents reside in the poorest congressional district in the country. Mother Martha’s church and community were the focus of Kozol’s 1995 book Amazing Grace and his 2000 book Ordinary Resurrections. She continues to be the priest at St. Ann’s Church in Mott Haven and has taken in a son, Joel Daniel Spearman, from among the children in Amazing Grace. He will be accepting the Bridging the Gaps Award with her.

Participating Institutions: Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the following: The 1957 Charity Trust; The Barra Foundation, Inc.; Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia; CIGNA; Connelly Foundation; The Douty Foundation; Eagles Youth Partnership; Federal Work Study Program; The Allen Hilles Fund; Independence Foundation; Patricia Kind, Edna G. Kynett Memorial Foundation; The Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation; Merck & Co., Inc.; The Nelson Foundation; Pennsylvania Department of Health; The Philadelphia Foundation; Tuttleman Family Foundation; and the Wachovia Foundation (list may be incomplete). Delaware Program: Medical-Dental Staff Council of the Christiana Care Health System; Health Care Commission of Delaware.