Johns Hopkins honored by Associated Black Charities for community programs

The Associated Black Charities recently presented three Johns Hopkins leaders with its Community Investors for More in the Middle Award in recognition of the university and health system's HopkinsLocal initiative, and for the health system's role in launching Maryland's Population Health Workforce for Disadvantaged Areas program.

Image caption: From left: Robert Wallace, president of BITHGROUP Technologies, Inc; Mimi Roeder Vaughn, president and CEO of Roeder Travel; Paul Rothman; Ronald Peterson; Ronald Daniels; and Chineta Davis, ABC’s board chair of ABC and retired vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Corporation

The award is given to organizations that have taken specific and concrete action to increase the access and opportunities for African-Americans to achieve a measurable difference in wealth and health. These programs demonstrate a commitment to local hiring and procurement, and in doing so, increase the economic health of their communities.

Ronald J. Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University; Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine; and Ronald R. Peterson, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, received the award June 11 at the ABC Black and White Gala.

"It is an honor for Johns Hopkins to be recognized by the Associated Black Charities, which has long been dedicated to building stronger community ties and promoting economic opportunities in Baltimore," Daniels said. "Through HopkinsLocal, we are committed to working with community partners to create transformative opportunities for our city and its residents."

HopkinsLocal leverages Johns Hopkins' economic power to expand participation of local and minority-owned businesses in construction opportunities; increase the hiring of city residents, with a focus on neighborhoods in need of job opportunities; and enhance economic growth, employment, and investment in Baltimore through purchasing activities.

The Population Health Workforce for Disadvantaged Areas program seeks to create hospital jobs that create employment opportunities in economically challenged areas as well as community-based jobs that can contribute to improving the community's health.

Since its founding in 1985, the Associated Black Charities has been dedicated to creating strong, healthy, and economically viable communities in order to create a better life, especially for African-American children and families. Under the direction of President and CEO Diane Bell McKoy, ABC's signature mission platform "More in the Middle" aims to expand the assets of those with low income, the working poor, and the fragile middle class.