Emerson Challenge Helps Secure Funding For Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute
Nazareth College is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised more than $800,000 in new gifts and commitments to secure a $300,000 challenge grant from the Fred L. Emerson Foundation of Auburn, N.Y., for a total of approximately $1.1 million toward the Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute (WRI). The final gift of $150,000 that put the funding initiative over the top came from M&T Bank, a longtime supporter of the College.
Issued in early April, the Emerson Foundation challenged Nazareth to raise $700,000 before September 1, 2014 to secure the challenge, which would complete funding for the WRI. The Emerson Foundation Challenge drove volunteers, donors and staff to action, which resulted in $880,735 in gifts.
"We are so grateful to all of our supporters who generously stepped forward with donations and enabled us to exceed our goal in meeting the challenge,” said Nazareth College President Daan Braveman. “We reinforced the message that WRI will bring together our wide array of health and wellness programs in one facility, thereby enhancing the ability of our students to learn in a collaborative, inter-professional setting. The hundreds of clients served in the WRI clinics will benefit greatly from the strengthened high-quality, patient-centered services and facilities. We know our donors were excited about being part of making WRI a reality, and we thank them."
“Nazareth offers such a unique mix of health and human services programs—art therapy, music therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, and speech-language pathology,” said Anthony D. Franceschelli, president of the Fred L. Emerson Foundation. “Our foundation is proud to help bring them under one roof—literally—to enhance collaboration, expand the number of students trained in these important fields, and serve more area residents needing care.”
“Our local team decided putting Nazareth College over the top for this challenge grant was important to us because this project will help our community succeed in a number of ways,” said M&T Bank Rochester Region President Dan Burns. “The new Wellness and Rehabilitation Center helps Nazareth reach a major development goal, while also providing innovative new opportunities for local students to train for health and human services jobs.”
Scheduled to open in fall 2015, the innovative $16.5 million Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute builds on Nazareth’s existing strengths to create an innovative, world-class model for education and health care. It significantly expands the College’s ability to meet the demand for highly qualified health care professionals capable of leading in today’s rapidly changing medical environment, and brings together academic and clinical programs to collaborate, creating a distinctive model for the education of health and human service professionals. The Institute allows Nazareth’s School of Health and Human Services to significantly expand enrollments in vital health profession programs, increase opportunities for students to be involved in research designed to improve clinical practice, and enhance opportunities for underserved members of our community to access quality therapy services.
The Fred L. Emerson Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1932 by Fred L. Emerson. The Foundation provides support to not-for-profit organizations in Auburn, New York and the surrounding Central New York area where its founder lived and worked.
For More Information
Alicia Nestle: (585) 389-2457 or anestle5@naz.edu
Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.
