CLEVELAND/EWORLDWIRE/March 30, 2009 --- In conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic, Health Legacy of Cleveland (HLC) announces the fourth Award and Scholarship Dinner to be held on Sunday, April 26, 2009, from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center. The event reflects the organization's mission to promote diversity in medicine and dentistry through partnerships within the Cleveland community.The event will honor Dr. Oscar E. Saffold, a founding member and president of Personal Physician Care of Ohio, one of the foremost African American physician-owned and operated HMOs in Ohio. Saffold will be presented with the Award for Excellence.
The evening will include remarks from keynote speaker Dr. Alvin Poussaint, esteemed author, psychiatrist and educator, who is one of the country's leading authorities on communication with regard to racial and family dynamics. Poussaint has worked with Bill Cosby on programs like, "The Cosby Show," to portray positive images of African Americans and will present on the topic of Health Care and Cultural Competency.
The Cleveland Clinic is the event's Presenting Partner and grantor of a $25,000 annual renewable gift, which HLC hopes to match through similar donations. In addition, the Cleveland Clinic has collaborated with HLC for the Charles R. Drew Saturday Academy, supporting African American and Hispanic high school students in Cleveland who demonstrate an aptitude for a career in medicine. The Academy is designed to support the development of African American and Hispanic physicians and scientists.
Individual seating for the dinner begins at $150. Corporate sponsorships begin at $1,500 and are available for company tables, student seating, scholarships and programming in education or diversity. Online event registration and scholarship applications are available online at 'http://www.healthlegacycleveland.org'">http://www.healthlegacycleveland.org'.
Since 2004, HLC has raised more than $400,000 for direct scholarships from the Health Legacy of Cleveland Award and Scholarship Dinners. There are currently 15 Health Legacy Scholars pursuing professions as physicians or dentists and three recently degreed professionals, including two who practice in the Cleveland area.
About Health Legacy of Cleveland ('http://www.healthlegacycleveland.org'">http://www.healthlegacycleveland.org')
Health Legacy of Cleveland, founded in 1993, is one of the few African American funded non-profit, private foundations that awards scholarships to African American graduate students pursing professions as physicians and dentists who intend to return to the greater Cleveland area to practice. Its mission is to increase the pool of African American physicians and dentists in the Greater Cleveland area. The mission reflects the past, present and the future of African American youth, men and women who want to pursue health care professions and return to serve the greater Cleveland area.