UAMS Cancer Institute Auxiliary Presents Grants to Three Northwest Arkansas Organizations
| LITTLE ROCK – Three northwest Arkansas organizations were presented grants totaling $26,000 from the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
The organizations received the grants for programs providing a positive impact on the lives of cancer patients:
• HOPE Cancer Resources of Springdale – $15,000 for emergency and prescription assistance
• Cancer Support Homes of Fayetteville and Bentonville – $6,000 to provide wigs for cancer patients in active treatment
• Reynolds Cancer Support Home in Fort Smith – $5,000 to provide travel assistance for patients
The grants are made available, in part, with proceeds from the Auxiliary’s Partners Card fundraising project.
Partners Card has been offered for five years in northwest Arkansas and has raised $88,000, which was returned to the community as grants for direct cancer patient services.
Total grants given to northwest Arkansas organizations during the past five years equal $121,000 and include funds raised at other Auxiliary events throughout the year.
For 10 days each fall, shoppers who purchase the $50 cards receive a 20 percent discount at dozens of area stores. All proceeds from the sale of the Partners Cards go to the Cancer Institute Auxiliary to fund projects that directly benefit cancer patients. Partners Card also is offered in central Arkansas.
The UAMS Northwest regional campus in Fayetteville offers educational opportunities for students in the UAMS Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Related Professions. Eventual enrollment at the regional campus is expected to be between 250-300 students.
The Cancer Institute Auxiliary has about 600 members. About 100 members provide day-to-day patient support services such as greeting guests and working in the gift shop. About 400 additional auxiliary members participate in fundraising events throughout the year.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.