The CMA Foundation proudly provides grants to California medical student organizations in support of projects that promote innovative methods of enhancing community health and well-being. Grant applications are reviewed on a semi-annual basis, with the next application deadline being May 29, 2015. Newly-funded programs include:

Willow Clinic Veteran’s Day Health Fair provides screening, health education and referrals to Sacramento’smilitary veterans, who make up a large portion of the city’s homeless and uninsured population. The clinic is run by students from UC Davis School of Medicine.

Lennox Health Fair is run by students from UCLA School of Medicine and focuses on chronic health issues faced by the Latino community in Los Angeles’ Lennox neighborhood.

UC Riverside School of Medicine: 2nd Annual Health Fair is organized by the American Medical Student Association chapter at UC Riverside School of Medicine. This event provides health services, such as vaccines and free prescription glasses, to residents of San Bernardino County.

UC Irvine SuperKids Fun Run is an annual event hosted by UC Irvine medical students and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach to promote local community awareness and health education regarding childhood obesity. In addition to promoting fitness through the fun run, this event is accompanied by a health exposition.

Orange County Needle Exchange is being established by the Physicians for Human Rights chapter at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. The needle exchange will provide sterile drug use supplies, HIV and hepatitis C screening, vaccination and safer sex supplies via a mobile clinic.

Cuerpo, Mente y Alma is a Spanish radio segment aired bimonthly by UC Irvine medical students in partnership with an Orange County radio station. Students assess the health needs of the community and then develop a 30 minute educational segment on topics such as nutrition, vaccines and homelessness.

Doctors 4 Diversity (D4D) is an outreach group of the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter. D4D provides elementary and junior high students, predominantly from African American and Latino backgrounds, with early exposure to age-appropriate human biology and encouragement to consider higher education.

Teaching Medical Students Health Advocacy will provide advocacy training to a cohort of first year medical students at UC Irvine School of Medicine through a series of lectures, small groups, speaker panels and health advocacy projects.

Connecting Californians to Care, a student group formed by UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, trains student volunteers on Covered California topics. These students will assist with direct enrollment at seven events during Covered California’s open enrollment period.