The Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) has awarded $10,000 scholarships to 58 UCR School of Medicine students, for a total gift of $580,000.
The awards come from the S.L. Gimbel Foundation Scholarship Fund at Inland Empire Community Foundation, Where Giving Grows, with the goal of supporting low-income students at the UCR SOM.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Inland Empire Community Foundation for their generous gift to help remove the financial barrier for aspiring students to become physician leaders with a goal to create a healthier and more accessible healthcare system for the Inland Southern California community,” said Daniel Teraguchi, EdD, executive associate dean for Student Affairs and Salma Haider Endowed Chair of the Thomas Haider Program.
The organization initially supported undergraduate students at UCR and extended its support to SOM students in 2018. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the organization provided $15,000 of renewal scholarships for UCR medical students.
“The foundation has shown a strong commitment to UCR School of Medicine over the years, and we’re thankful for their dedication to helping our medical students ease the financial burden as they successfully become doctors who will give back to our community,” said Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, the vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin dean of the School of Medicine.
Xaida Wright, class of 2025, was one of the 2023 scholarship recipients. “It meant a lot to me that an organization such as the S.L. Gimbel Foundation felt compelled to offer scholarships to students within and from the community of the Inland Empire to promote future physician retention,” said Wright, who grew up in Rancho Cucamonga. “This scholarship will help me to pursue my future goal of becoming a neurologist by helping to alleviate some of the loans and costs for third and fourth year.”
The IECF, which was founded in 1941, collaborates with and supports local stakeholders in efforts to improve educational, environmental, health, and other issues in the Inland Empire. Since 2010, the IECF has partnered with the S.L. Gimbel Foundation to advance the arts, education, human dignity issues, and environmental causes both regionally and across the country. Its $5.3 million scholarship fund has awarded over $2 million since it was created in 2018.
For its 2023 awards, the foundation initially guaranteed $300,000 for UCR SOM students before choosing to award $580,000. The foundation is currently selecting students to receive an additional $200,000 in scholarships.
“The SOM financial aid team is overwhelmed with joy for our SOM students, and we have sincere gratitude for the generosity of the Inland Empire Community Foundation,” said Kathleen Buckner, director of financial aid. “We look forward to having the opportunity to work with them again in the future."
