Thursday, January 28, 2021
Collaboration with UNCF is part of CVS Health’s commitment to social justice and racial equity
WOONSOCKET, R.I —-The CVS Health Foundation today announced it has established a five-year, CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship program, in collaboration with UNCF (United Negro College Fund). Scholarships will be awarded to Black and Latinx students pursuing an academic career in health care. The new scholarship program is part of CVS Health’s nearly commitment over the next five years to address inequity faced by Black people and other disenfranchised communities.
“This scholarship will feed a robust pipeline of under-represented students, which will in turn strengthen the pool of talented college graduates ready for today’s and tomorrow’s workplace,” said , Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, CVS Health. “Enabling students to excel in the workforce particularly people of color and those facing financial barriers advances our commitment to social justice and equity and will have a lasting impact.”
The CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship is being launched in collaboration with UNCF, the nation’s largest minority education organization supporting students’ education and development through scholarships and advocacy for minority education and college readiness. According to a report by UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, students who receive a UNCF scholarship outperform the national population of students in persistence through college and to graduation. In fact, 70% of African American freshmen who received a UNCF general scholarship graduated within six years, compared to only 38% of all African American students nationwide.
“This is an incredibly generous gift from the CVS Health Foundation,” said Dr. , UNCF’s president and CEO. “We know that African American, Latinx and other minority communities have been disproportionately impacted by the current pandemic. It’s particularly important right now to welcome as many students of color as we can into the health care field. The ripple effect of COVID-19 has the potential to discourage students from pursuing a college education and may prevent others from continuing their education. Recognizing these facts, the CVS Health Foundation is providing a pathway for successful applicants to continue on their journey to attain a college degree and become our next generation of pandemic frontliners.”