FRESNO – The Fresno Sunrise Rotary Club recently recognized the UCSF Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research with a $2,000 contribution for its Doctors Academy Program at Sunnyside High School. John Marinovich, principal of Sunnyside High School, and Bertha Dominguez with the Latino Center accepted the check.
“This year, Rotary placed an emphasis on health,” said Gayle Merritt, community service chair for the Sunrise Club. “We are very impressed with the work of the UCSF Fresno Latino Center, particularly its Doctors Academy Program and efforts to improve the health of our community.”
UCSF Fresno's Latino Center started the Doctors' Academy Program in 1999 with the overall mission of academically preparing educationally disadvantaged students for careers in health and medicine and encouraging them to return to the San Joaquin Valley to care for community members. To date, 100 percent of the program’s graduates have been accepted into four-year colleges or universities.
A community service organization, Fresno Sunrise Rotary, was formed in 1983 and currently has approximately 50 members. Over the past few years, the club has contributed to numerous local charitable causes such as providing elementary schools with library books, donating hundreds of Thanksgiving baskets to area residents, and constructing ramps for wheelchair users to name a few examples.
For more information, please contact the UCSF Fresno Latino Center at (559) 241-7670, or Fresno Sunrise Rotary Community Service Chair Gayle Merritt at (559) 227-9772.
