India COVID Relief Fund
May 3, 2021
Dear Penn Medicine Colleagues,
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on countries across the world. While here in our region and across the U.S., vaccines are being widely deployed to millions and cases are falling, India is suffering amid the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak yet. This current wave of infections is overwhelming their nation’s public health, medical, and infrastructure capacities.
Many among our faculty and staff are working tirelessly to share medical and public health expertise with peers in India. And still we’ve heard from many of you who want to learn how you can do more. Penn Medicine is committing $25,000 in matching donations for funds raised to provide the urgent and essential needs for health care infrastructure and medical supplies in those areas of India where residents are most in need of support. The University of Pennsylvania is pledging an additional $25,000 to match Penn Medicine and to enable us to get to a $100,000 total donation.
Penn has long had a deep commitment to India, starting in the late 19th century when we became one of the first U.S. universities to teach Sanskrit. In more recent years, Penn’s Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI) in Delhi have nurtured collaborative research and scholarship across both our nations. Additionally, thousands of Penn faculty, staff, students, and alumni who hail from India are being impacted by this crisis personally, and we are holding them and their families and friends in our thoughts.
We’ve been inspired by the many members of our community for whom this issue hits close to home, including Ruchika Talwar, MD. A Urology resident at Penn Medicine, Ruchika has been closely following the COVID-19 pandemic rage across India. After hearing from family members connected to the Indian hospitals she was compelled to act. She solicited fellow doctors, staff, and family for monetary donations to increase the much-needed supply of oxygen concentrators. Following her viral tweet, donations quickly poured in. Recently, Ruchika was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer for her efforts.
Let’s show the world what the power of the Penn community can do when we come together. The University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine will match dollar for dollar the first $50,000 in community donations. The funds raised will be divided between the Indian Red Cross, UNICEF, and the International Medical Corp who are all on the ground supporting the urgent and essential health care infrastructure and medical supply needs in those regions of India where residents are in desperate need of support. Help us meet our goal as a global community to send $100,000 or more to organizations who can get necessary supplies to the people who need it the most right now.
In gratitude,
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Executive Vice President, University of Pennsylvania for the Health System
Dean, Perelman School of Medicine
Kevin B. Mahoney
Chief Executive Officer, University of Pennsylvania Health System