Ultimate Medical Academy Presents $5,000 Donation to Florida Suncoast Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
TAMPA, Fla., November 16, 2011 – Students, faculty, staff and friends of Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) rallied together to “Learn for the Cure” in October 2011, collectively raising $5,000 in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On November 10, UMA presented the donation to a local affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, an organization that is recognized as a global leader in the fight against breast cancer.
Katie Griffin, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Florida Suncoast Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, visited UMA in Tampa to accept the contribution. The donation was presented by Steve Kemler, CEO of Ultimate Medical Academy, and members of the student body representing UMA’s healthcare training and degree programs.
“On behalf of UMA, our staff and all of our students – whose hard work and dedication made the ‘Learn for the Cure’ campaign a success – I’d like to thank you and your organization for all that you do. We are happy to be able to support your efforts with this donation,” said Kemler as he presented the check to Griffin, who graciously accepted the contribution.
The Florida Suncoast Affiliate allocates 25 percent of donations to the national Komen Grants Program, which funds breast cancer research and other educational and scientific initiatives. The remaining balance supports programs within Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.
“This donation will be put to very good use – 75 percent of UMA’s contribution will stay here in the six-county area, where it funds programs that provide mammograms, diagnosis and treatment for medically underserved women and men,” explained Griffin. “All of our programs provide a full continuum of care; so when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she’s not on her own. Every penny helps, and I want you to know how hard we will work to make this donation go far. So, thank you all very much.”
The “Learn for the Cure” campaign was a system-wide fundraiser open to all students of UMA’s healthcare programs, whether they attend ground-based courses in Tampa or Clearwater or participate in online learning. UMA pledged to contribute $1 for every student who completed all weekly assessments, discussions and assignments between October 17 and 23.
In addition to the learning-based initiative, the campaign also had a social media component open to the entire UMA Facebook community. Friends and fans of UMA were encouraged to share their personal experiences relating to breast cancer, and how it affected them or a loved one. For every “Like” each story received during the campaign period, UMA promised to donate $1.
“As a result of our learning-based and social media programs, UMA was able to meet an ambitious $5,000 fundraising goal,” remarked Kemler. “Not only did ‘Learn for the Cure’ raise thousands of dollars for breast cancer research, diagnosis and treatment, but it also helped generate awareness both locally and nationwide. I’m proud of everyone who participated in our efforts – together, we proved we really can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer.”
