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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Students Receive Guidance on Future Medical Careers

This is a regular feature on philanthropic activities by Valley-area businesspeople and companies. Physicians from a local Kaiser Permanente hospital recently taught Pacoima students about entering medical field. The Hippocrates Circle program at Kaiser’s Panorama City Medical Center aims to give disadvantaged children a head start in pursuing their goals of obtaining medical degrees. Forty-six students from Maclay Middle School in Pacoima were the latest group to complete the program on May 18. Through the program, the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth- grade students met with a diverse group of physicians from the Panorama City hospital. The physicians told the students about the challenges they faced in achieving success due to their cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. A representative of the Health Education Department in Panorama City also gave the bi-lingual presentation to the students and their parents about the application process for loans, grants and scholarships On May 5, the students took a tour at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Medicine. Dr. Juan Vargas, who graduated from the school and now practices family medicine at Kaiser’s Panorama City Medical Center, led the tour. “I see myself when I look in the faces of these kids,” Vargas said. “Words really can’t express the personal joy and professional satisfaction I get from being able to help nurture their goal for a career in medicine.” On May 7, the students also toured Kaiser’s Panorama City hospital, where they got to interact with health care professionals. Lowe’s Gives School Grants The Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation awarded several local schools for their parent-initiated school improvement projects. Encino Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Glendale, North Hollywood High School and West Ranch High School in Stevenson Ranch received Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grants. The local schools received grants for an Out of the World Science Center, a vegetable garden, a school orchard and an online library, respectively. Those grants ranged from $2,900 to $6,200. “Through Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant program, we are acknowledging parent-initiated efforts that enhance the lives of children in the communities we serve,” said Marshall Croom, chairman of the Lowe’s foundation. The Lowes foundation awarded a total of 53 grants during its spring 2011 grant cycle. Cydcor Holds Fundraiser Cydcor recently held a casino night to raise funds for a children’s medical charity Operation Smile. The nonprofit organization provides free cleft-lip and cleft-palate reconstructive surgeries worldwide. Westlake Village-based Cydcor is a provider of outsourced sales team. The “Casino Night” was part of Cydcor’s long-term goal of raising $150,000 to fund a medical mission to remote locations in Peru, Cambodia or Rwanda. The company has been raising money over the past several months. The event was planned entirely by Cydcor team volunteers. More than 50 people participated in the event, which included a poker and blackjack tournament, a raffle and prizes. Donations from sponsors included Dodgers tickets, restaurant gift certificates, teeth whitening services from a local dentist, a gym membership, a tanning gift certificate, a tennis racket and an American Airlines gift card Vera Quinn, Cydcor’s vice president of sales operations, said everyone came together for the company’s fundraising goal. “We’re almost there and it’s such an accomplishment,” Quinn said. “It shows that people working together make the biggest differences.” Credit Union Shreds Paper Water and Power Community Credit Union committed to providing free document shredding services to the Sun Valley community on June 4. The services were offered to those attending Canyon Plaza Shopping Center Family Fun Day. The purpose of the paper shredding services was to help residents safely dispose of financial statements, billing records and other sensitive paperwork while reducing identity theft. Each person was allowed to bring up to five bags or boxes of documents to shred. The credit union also offered free reusable shopping bags to the first 100 participants. -Jessica Vernabe

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