New Haven, Conn. – The Community Fund for Women & Girls has awarded its single-largest and first-ever multi-year grant to Women’s Health Research at Yale, signaling the start of a new partnership advancing health equity for women.
The Community Fund for Women & Girls is a component fund of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The Fund promotes the advancement of women and girls, including physical and emotional health as well as social and economic well-being, through strategic philanthropy, advocacy and collaboration.
“This grant is a clear and forceful statement by our Fund that women can use their philanthropic power to improve health and well-being for women,” said Helene Robbins, Chair of the Community Fund for Women & Girls’ Advisory Committee.
The contribution from the Fund will help sustain the ongoing work of Women’s Health Research at Yale. This interdisciplinary research program, which raises its own funds to initiate biomedical studies on women’s health, focuses on gender differences in health and disease. A growing body of evidence, including the program’s research findings, demonstrates the critical importance of considering the effects of sex and gender on health.
Support for Women’s Health Research at Yale also allows the translation and dissemination of the research findings, enabling community members to become more knowledgeable about their health.
“This new grant is an investment in the long-term aspirations of both of our programs,” said Dr. Carolyn M. Mazure, Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale. By design, the grant must be matched by the research program’s supporters. “Through this matching initiative, we hope to prompt increased philanthropic efforts by women who wish to play a role in science that is advancing the development of gender-specific medicine,” Mazure said.
“The core missions of our organizations are aligned. Together we can help improve the well-being of women and girls, champion the cause of health equity for women, and help inform the community about the practical benefits of our Program’s latest research findings,” Mazure said. “We are grateful for the generous support from the Community Fund for Women & Girls, and look forward to the success that will come from joining together to multiply our efforts.”