Students in the University of Arizona Health Sciences colleges will benefit from a recent gift from Chicanos Por La Causa.
The Lorraine Lee Health Sciences Scholarship Fund, which will fund scholarships beginning in the fall, will benefit students who demonstrate a strong commitment to service in Hispanic areas of the state.
“Working together with organizations like Chicanos Por La Causa, we are able to make significant progress in our efforts to improve the health of all of our communities, including underserved people of the state,” said Leigh Neumayer, MD, interim UA senior vice president for health sciences. “They share our commitment and our vision for a healthier Arizona. This generous scholarship gift further demonstrates their long-standing commitment.”
The Lorraine Lee Health Sciences Scholarship Fund will help address the critical shortage of physicians and health-care providers in the state, giving students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health the financial support they need to make an impact throughout the state.
Chicanos Por La Causa, one of the largest non-profits in the Southwest, impacts more than 200,000 lives through four areas of community impact, which includes health and human services. Their focus on community health care led the organization to establish this scholarship in memory of Lorraine Lee, a passionate Southern Arizona community advocate, who died of cancer in 2007.
“Lorraine was truly a caretaker of her community. She recognized the power of education and worked tirelessly to advocate for the rights of all people. Lorraine believed, as we do, that health care is a basic human right. There is no better person to honor with this named scholarship and we know that she would have been pleased with the work that will be done in her name,” said David Adame, president of Chicanos Por La Causa.
About Chicanos Por La Causa
CPLC was founded in 1969 by a group of community and student activists to confront oppression facing the Latino community in South Central Phoenix. Since then, the organization has expanded its mission to promote stronger and healthier communities throughout the Southwestern United States, including Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.