The United States and European Union are creating a new partnership to reduce the European continent’s reliance on Russian energy. This partnership is a step top officials characterized as the start of a years-long initiative to further isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.

The Roger Federer Foundation donated US$ 500,000 “to establish access to continued schooling for Ukrainian children.”

Australian professional cyclist Lachlan Morton is riding nonstop from Munich, through the Czech Republic and Poland and arrives at the Ukraine border at Krakovets. Morton’s goal is to raise US$ 50,000 over the 1,063-kilometer trip in support of Ukrainian war refugees.

FedEx Corp. shipped 76 tons of medical aid requested by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and provided by Direct Relief for Ukrainian refugees to Poland. The FedEx Express charter flight to Warsaw is a donation from the company, which has given more than $1.5 million to the relief efforts. The shipment includes 50 beds, IV poles and kits, defibrillators, tourniquets and oxygen supplies, as well as COVID-19 treatments, antibiotics, inhalers, wound dressings and medicines for heart, thyroid and respiratory conditions.

Open Society Foundations launched the Ukraine Democracy Fund with a US$ 25 million pledge, in hopes of raising US$ 100 million, earmarked for maintaining Ukraine’s culture and democratic foundations. The foundations, launched by billionaire investor George Soros, are now one of the world’s largest funders of democracy, human rights and justice groups.

News about grants, gifts

The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University received a US$ 20 million gift from Mike and Maria Repole and The Nonna’s Garden Foundation. The gift will help the Berrie Center to continue its work as a “one of a kind” family-centered resource for adults and children with diabetes.

Cal State LA received a US$ 10 million gift from alumna Mary Levin Cutler to establish the Mary Levin School of the Arts, the first named school in the university’s College of Arts and Letters. This gift brings Cutler’s total contributions to Cal State LA to US$ 14 million, more than any single donor in the history of the university.

Spain contributed €2.4 million (US$ 2.7 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme for critical humanitarian assistance to Sahrawi refugees in Algeria.The Spanish funds will help WFP provide monthly food rations to refugees, as well as prevent malnutrition and anemia among 8,600 pregnant and nursing Saharawi women.

Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro East received a US$ 8.5 million gift from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This gift is the largest-ever charitable donation the organization has received. The money will be used to create housing for low income families — especially historically marginalized communities of color who have been blocked from economic opportunities. This is part of a larger donation of US$ 436 million from Scott to Habitat for Humanity International and 84 of its affiliates.

Planned Parenthood North Central States received an unexpected donation of US$ 20 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the largest donation in the organization’s history. North Central States operates 28 facilities in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. This gift comes as part of an overall gift from Scott of US$ 275 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The Mission Continues will receive a $10 million grant from MacKenzie Scott. The organization will use the grant to make investments in innovation, data and technology, and in growing its ability to reach and impact an even larger number of veterans and communities across the country.

The People of Japan contributed US$ 1.4 million to the United Nations Refugee Agency for humanitarian assistance for vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers in Algeria in the areas of health and sanitation. This contribution will be crucial to ensure access of refugees and asylum-seekers to healthcare, hygiene, sanitation, and safe domestic fuel.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$650,000 contribution from the United States (through USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance), to provide cash assistance to around 18,500 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) residing in the WFP-supported Mantapala Refugee Settlement in Zambia. This contribution will allow WFP to continue cash assistance for up to three months.

West Ham United Football Club has made “significant” financial donations to nine animal welfare charities following the fine imposed on player Kurt Zouma for abusing his cat..

News about people, groups

Boxun Zhao, PhD received the ACMG Foundation/David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award for his featured platform presentation at the 2022 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, “Discovery and therapeutic implications of pathogenic retroelements in neurodegenerative diseases.” The cash award is presented by the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine.

Pengfei Liu, PhD, FACMG received the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine’s 2022 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine.

Inteleos named Trish Turner, BS, RDMS, RVT to its board of directors. Turner most recently served as the Chair of the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography Council (ARDMS), and has been an Inteleos/ARDMS volunteer since 2009 and served as Chair of the ARDMS Council from 2019. She is currently the director of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program at South Hills School of Business & Technology in State College, PA.

The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation named Nazli Azimi, Pharm.D., Ph.D., to its Leadership Board. Until its recent acquisition by Equillium Inc, Dr. Azimi was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc., and co-inventor of its platform technology that was focused on developing novel therapies for treating immune system diseases and cancer.

News about opportunities, initiatives

connectRN and StoryCorps are collaborating to record sessions with nurses and their families that, with permission, will be preserved in StoryCorps’ archive at the Library of Congress.

The Chinese American Service League has launched Change InSight, a HIPAA-compliant analytics platform that leverages data to identify and find solutions to the many significant inequities faced by Asian American Pacific Islanders and other immigrant communities. The program will collect disaggregated data to inform policymakers and the philanthropic community on the unique and unmet needs of specific populations.

Designed For Joy is collaborating with Shield NC on specific business training and consulting to combat sex trafficking. This program empowers places of business to identify and respond to potential survivors of trafficking, prevent trafficking, and offer a work environment in which people who have experienced trauma can thrive.

Closegap launched Closegap Insights. Insights builds on Closegap Essentials, currently used in over 3,000 schools in 25 countries to track, analyze, and manage individual students’ emotional health through daily self-reported check-ins. Insights utilizes the real-time responses from students to provide a wider snapshot of the wellbeing of students, grades, and schools to drive systemic change.

Portland CBD manufacturer The Brothers Apothecary will plant 42,000 trees for 4/20 this year in support of Trees for the Future (TREES) and their plans to plant millions of trees for Earth Day. The Brothers have worked with TREES in the past, nearing 100,000 total trees planted.

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