For Arabia Laramore, volunteering with Innovations Ministries and its parent nonprofit organization, Generations Inc., was an easy decision.
“Once I saw everything that Innovation Ministries was doing, I knew I wanted to be involved,” said Laramore. “I love the outreach we do and how it changes people’s lives.”
Laramore is the office coordinator for inpatient admissions at Princeton House Behavioral Health. She became acquainted with Innovations Ministries through her church in Lindenwold, N.J. and she has volunteered during the past two years in efforts that included health fairs, a program to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to older adults, and educational workshops.
In 2019, Laramore helped to support one of those workshops by obtaining a grant from Penn Medicine CAREs, which provides up to $2,000 to fund the cost of supplies, resources, and other non-salary expenses related to Penn Medicine employees’ volunteer work in the community.
Laramore is one of 22 Penn Medicine Princeton Health employees and medical staff members who have supported their volunteer work through Penn Medicine CAREs. The grant for Innovations Ministries offset the cost of a six-week, virtual workshop titled Take Charge of Your Health that helps individuals acquire the knowledge and skills to take an active role in managing their care.
The workshop, also open to caregivers, is provided twice a year and designed for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. The sessions are led by certified peer leaders who volunteer their time to deliver practical, precise guidance on topics such as how to prepare for a doctor visit and managing day-to-day activities.
Applications for Penn Medicine CAREs grants are accepted throughout the year, with awards announced in March, June, September, and December. The web page detailing the Penn Medicine CAREs program is accessible through the Penn Medicine intranet or at https://tinyurl.com/1imosxsn/.
Projects that fare well include volunteer efforts that can demonstrate a positive impact on the community and address a health need identified in Princeton Health’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment, which is viewable at PrincetonHCS.org/Community.
Princeton Health Penn Medicine CAREs Grants in 2020
Virtual Food and Gardening Programs for Children
Supported remote lessons and provided at-home packets on cooking, gardening, and nutrition for Camden, N.J. school students and their families.
— Elizabeth Gross
Learning Lab at Bucks County, PA Emergency Shelter
Funded classroom supplies, cleaning supplies, technology, and PPE to enable children in the shelter to participate in virtual learning
— Carol Norris-Smith
Project Give a Mask
Expanded a program providing masks and gloves to homeless women and their children in Mercer County, N.J.-area shelters to also serve homeless men.
— Kafilat Ojo
Infirmary at St. Monica's Secondary School in Ghana
Helped to renovate the infirmary — fixing floors, painting walls, building shelves and cabinets — to ensure access to medical care.
— Gifty Oppong
Prevention With Precaution in Keesara Mandal, India
Purchased food that 90 children in foster homes would package and distribute, with help from local police, to underserved families.
— Sirisha Tenjerla
Dancing Classrooms Philly
Provided masks, sanitizers, dance shoes, and a portable speaker to support the program, which promotes a culture of mutual respect and well-being for middle school children through ballroom dance.
— Guilherme Valladares
Princeton Mobile Food Pantry
Purchased healthy groceries and Maseca (corn flour) in bulk, helping to replace a donor supply chain the food pantry lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Anna Westrick, MD
One Project
Purchased food and packing supplies for a faith and community coalition that packages more than 150,000 meals annually for low-income children in Mercer County, N.J.
— Tina Inverso