Medical Center Neighborhood Fund
Dear Colleagues,
The Medical Center Neighborhood Fund (MCNF) was created in 1987 as a partnership among Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP), and the New York State Psychiatric Institute to foster the bond between the medical center and the community. For 35 years, generous contributions from faculty, staff, students, and others have helped support many important community causes. We are asking you to support our neighbors by donating to the MCNF today. Your help is urgently needed.
COVID-19 has hit our community especially hard as our surrounding zip codes have ranked among the highest in New York City for total cases. The economic consequences have also been striking, with many people out of work, unable to pay their bills and, in some cases, feed their families. The situation was further exacerbated as many of the community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve our neighbors curtailed programing or shut down altogether as a result of the pandemic.
For the past two years we have focused most of our MCNF efforts on providing financial support to local food pantries and collaborated with colleagues at the Columbia Morningside campus as part of the Columbia Neighbors Food Relief Fund. The response was outstanding as we raised over $125,000 in both 2020 and 2021, triple what we raised in 2019. Over 600 have people contributed with donations ranging from $10 to several that were four figures and above.
While food relief continues to remain a top priority, many CBOs have resumed their services and activities. The continued outpouring from the CUIMC community and generous additional support from NYP also enable us to fund additional community programming focused on the arts, recreation, job training, violence prevention and education, among other areas.
In addition, there are volunteer opportunities:
- Volunteering as a site visitor to advise the steering committee regarding applications and funding allocations
- Volunteering at many of the food pantries in our area
If you are interested in being a site visitor or supporting the community as a volunteer, please visit the Government and Community Affairs website for further information.
The MCNF is administered by staff volunteers, and 100% of the money we receive will go toward supporting our friends and neighbors. Giving is made easy through our PayPal site, which allows you to donate via PayPal or credit card. You can also donate by check or payroll deduction. Information is available on the Government & Community Affairs website or you can contact the office at 212-305-8060 or gca@cumc.columbia.edu for additional information.
Thank you in advance for your gift.
Sincerely,
Katrina Armstrong, MD
Chief Executive Officer and Dean
Lorraine Frazier, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA
Dean, School of Nursing
Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
Dean, Mailman School of Public Health
Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent
Dean, College of Dental Medicine
H. Blair Simpson, MD, PhD
Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Donna Lynne, DrPH
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, CUIMC
CEO, ColumbiaDoctors