The California Community Foundation awarded a grant of $500,000 to the Center for Health Services and Society in the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. The gift will be used to coordinate with community partners to provide screening and care for depression among underserved populations in the Centinela Valley under the direction of Dr. Bowen Chung.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation made a multi-year commitment of $750,000 to the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases. With this gift, facilitated by Dr. Ray Irani and Ghada Irani, the Division can seize opportunities each year that will have a lasting impact on unparalleled care, innovative research and exceptional training in gastrointestinal medicine. “It means a great deal to us to know that the best medical facility and the finest doctors anywhere in the world are so close and so accessible,” says Dr. Irani.
 The Katz family. Photo: Courtesy of Katz Family |
Todd and Randy Katz wanted to honor the philanthropic work of their parents, Ronald and Maddie, — the founders of UCLA Operation Mend — and also set an example for their own children and the community about the importance of compassion and gratitude through giving. Along with their own families, Todd and Randy made a multimillion-dollar gift to create the Ronald A. Katz Center for Collaborative Military Medicine at UCLA. In May, Ronald Katz was honored by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) with the 2013 IAVA Community Leadership Award.
Lori Jacobson and Jason Kogan have made a bequest to benefit the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology and the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center. Earlier this year, Jacobson also joined the advisory board for the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center, contributing a three-year gift. The couple made their initial donation in 2012 as members of the One-to-One Club, which provides one patient or family member free services of the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center. Services can include psychological support and counseling, spiritual care, and integrative medicine for one year.
The Melvin and Bren Simon Charitable Foundation made a commitment to establish the Melvin and Bren Simon Digestive Diseases Center. Under the direction of the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases' Co-Chiefs Drs. Gary Gitnick and Eric Esrailian, the multidisciplinary center has already made an impact in advancing innovative diagnoses, treatments and therapies. Bren Simon’s gift is made in appreciation for the care her late husband, Melvin, received at UCLA.
UniHealth Foundation awarded $549,329 over two years to fund the Partnership for Community Wellness: Psychosocial & Behavioral Summer Camp Program. The program is under the direction of Dr. Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus in the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. Funds will be used to create a culturally tailored, multi-dimensional summer-camp program for K-5 underserved Latino and Korean students at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Pico-Union/Koreatown. This community-outreach and pilot program is aimed at being a first step in creating therapeutic summer camps for children with chronic illnesses, particularly mental health and behavioral disorders.
