Project HOPE Announces $1 million Endowment from North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation in Honor of Dr. Charles A. Sanders

Funding dedicated to nurturing a new generation of physicians from North Carolina to provide health education and care to the needy on five continents

Project HOPE today announced a $1 million endowment from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to establish the Dr. Charles A. Sanders/Project HOPE International Residency Scholarship Program to help North Carolina’s young  physicians bring health education and improved care to needy communities worldwide.

The first-year Residency Scholarship Program will further the legacy of Dr. Charles A. Sanders, the longest-serving Chairman of the Board at Project HOPE.  Dr. Sanders dedicated his career to expanding the benefits of medical care to people and communities in need around the world, and to advancing the role of physicians in this humanitarian effort.

“Dr. Sanders has played a pivotal role in HOPE’s growth and international expansion as a global leader in health education, humanitarian assistance and health policy.  The Scholarship Program will give young, talented physicians the opportunity to fulfill the legacy Dr. Sanders has established and to gain valuable experience addressing health challenges in the developing world,” said John P. Howe III, M.D., President and CEO of Project HOPE.

The Dr. Charles A. Sanders/Project HOPE Residency Scholarship will provide a prestigious, highly visible educational program and international training opportunities for medical residents and fellows from North Carolina’s top academic institutions, at the University of North Carolina, Duke University, Wake Forest University and East Carolina University.  The highly competitive scholarship will be open to applicants who can demonstrate an interest and commitment to the practice of medicine in a low-resource international setting.

“The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation is honored to announce this unique opportunity to North Carolina’s best and brightest medical residents and fellows who share Dr. Sanders’ passion for health education and advancing the role of physicians in the delivery of medical care, particularly in the developing world,” said Robert A. Ingram, Chairman, North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation.

Project HOPE will determine the site assignments for the selected scholarship recipients.  Other criteria, including foreign language skills, will be established by Project HOPE in consultation with the program Advisory Board.

The $1 million grant was announced at a Project HOPE gala in New York City, where the launch of the HOPE in the Face of Crisis Campaign was also announced.   That campaign aims to raise $30 million by 2013 to expand HOPE’s global reach to combat disease, provide disaster relief and to bring medical care to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Sanders’ knowledge and commitment have been employed in the corporate sector (including leadership positions at Glaxo and directorships at several biopharmaceutical companies); academic medicine (University of North Carolina Health Care System, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital); national research organizations (National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine); and the international NGO sector (a member of the Project HOPE Board of Directors for 21 years and Chairman of the Board for 18).

Project HOPE, a global health education and humanitarian assistance organization, works in 36 countries worldwide – with program sites in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, China and Southeast Asia, Russia/Eurasia, and the Middle East.  The site selected for each rotation will have a clinical program in which a medical resident can make a material contribution to the local health education and health care delivery systems.

About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing solutions to health crises, with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now conducts land-based medical training and health education programs in 36 countries across five continents.