UC Merced Magazine | Volume XVIII, Issue IV

(Continued from page 13)

“ e cultural element o ered by the promotoras is critically important,” added UC Merced Health Sciences Research Institute Executive Director Trevor Hirst. “ ey are a ecting their communities because the way they communicate is di erent, and that is bringing the community up as a whole.” Camarena Health Community Engagement Manager Claudia Chavez has observed the positive e ects of the work for both the volunteers and the community members. “ e project not only empowers the promotoras with the tools and resources to help people in their communities, but also makes a tremendous impact on the participants’ lives in managing their health conditions,” she said. “To be able to watch promotoras share their stories of the impact they have made on participants’ lives is immeasurable.”

is latest grant from Genentech is a continuation of its commitment to Manzo’s community-engaged research, with a prior grant contributing support to her project “Promotoras and Community Based Education.” at grant, totaling nearly $500,000, provided funding for the initiative that paired community health workers and medical students in the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) to address asthma-related health disparities and deliver asthma-management education to the Valley’s underserved populations. Maria Meraz, who participated in the initial project and will continue serving as the lead promotora at Camarena Health, noted the impact of the work on the local community. “It was satisfying to know that this collaboration allowed us to bring information to minority communities,” she said. “ e comments we received

were positive, and people were happy to receive education from promotoras because they inspired con dence.” “We are deeply grateful to Genentech for its exceptional investment in UC Merced and Manzo’s work to address health inequities by promoting community health workers whose cultural and linguistic competencies help engage the diverse individuals and families of our region,” said UC Merced Vice Chancellor and Chief External Relations O cer E. Edward Klotzbier. “We look forward to nding new opportunities for collaboration that build on and further grow these important e orts.” Genentech’s $1 million grant is among the pivotal philanthropic gi s that are advancing Boldly Forward: e Campaign for UC Merced. Boldly Forward aims to raise $200 million over the next decade, with gi s and pledges received since the campaign's launch nearing $100 million.

The promotoras have played a crucial role in increasing the number of people in Merced County who got COVID vaccines and in sharing important health information with people who might not otherwise have access.

14

UC MERCED MAGAZINE // UCMerced.edu