The Provident Foundation

04/19/2024

Our goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians, nurses and other professionals in the healthcare workforce in order to improve access to quality healthcare in medically underserved communities in Chicago.

04/19/2024

We are excited to announce that our Application for our 2024 scholarships is open! We will be awarding up to 4 scholarships of $3000 to qualified high school seniors and college students throughout Chicago!

April 19, 2024: Application period opens
May 31, 2024: Applications due by 11:59pm

Candidate Eligibility Criteria:
- Lives in the Chicago Metropolitan Area
- Senior high school student or freshman, sophomore, junior or senior college student
- Underrepresented in Medicine
- Has demonstrated leadership ability
- Committed to serving medically underserved communities

Apply today!

Our goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians, nurses and other professionals in the healthcare workforce in order to improve access to quality healthcare in medically underserved communities in Chicago.

12/07/2023

Provident Foundation is launching its Year-End Appeal with a $25,000 Challenge Grant from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation!

We are thrilled to announce the kick-off of Provident Foundation's year-end appeal, and we have exciting news to share! The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation has generously provided a $25,000 challenge grant to support our mission of empowering future African American and Latino healthcare professionals by providing access to education, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities.

Every donation you make during the month of December will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000, doubling the impact of your generosity.

This incredible challenge grant propels us toward our year-end fundraising goal and ensures that even more aspiring students can pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.

As 2023 comes to a close, we are inspired by the growth that our scholars have made. We look forward to even greater success in 2024 through additional programs and partnerships. Your continued support has been the driving force behind our achievements, and together, we can make an even greater impact in the coming year.

Join us in meeting this challenge head-on and help us shape a brighter future for the next generation of healthcare leaders.

The Provident Foundation is a non-profit that provides scholarships to students in the Chicago area to pursue careers in the medical field as well as preserve the history of Provident Hospital

05/22/2023

Our Scholarship Applications are due this week! Please spread the word to qualified students!

https://www.provfound.org/index.php/programs/scholarship-program

02/27/2023

Celebrating Provident Foundation's Legacy

"Anything is possible when it's done in love and everything you can do should be done in love or it will fail.” - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams

We conclude our Black History Month series celebrating our history through the mission and establishment of the Provident Foundation. James W. Myles and Edward G. Gardner founded the Provident Foundation in 1995 to preserve the historic legacy of Provident Hospital and the contributions of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams.

Myles was a member of the Board of Directors of the Provident Hospital at the time it was closed and later acquired by the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1987. He became the founding President of the Provident Foundation and served in this role for nearly two decades. He worked tirelessly to raise funds and build partnerships with other organizations and institutions. He believed that education was the key to achieving social and economic equality and saw the foundation as a way to empower young people and promote the legacy of African American achievement in medicine and healthcare. Prior to becoming President of the Provident Foundation, He served as Secretary/Treasurer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73. He also served as Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Northern Illinois University in 1996, and Chair of Academic Affairs Committee, the first African American to hold this position.

Gardner was a teacher and assistant principal at Chicago Public Schools for many years prior to founding Soft Sheen Products, Inc. along with his wife Bettiann in the basement of their home in 1964. According to Gardner, it was a family affair with their children pitching in to help with packaging the products during the early years. Soft Sheen later grew to become one of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses. Gardner's success with Soft Sheen Products made him a role model and inspiration for other African American entrepreneurs. In addition to his business success, Gardner was also a philanthropist and community leader. He was a firm believer in giving back to the community and using his resources to support causes that he believed in. Throughout his life, he engaged in various philanthropic endeavors, supporting education, economic development, and community empowerment.

The Provident Foundation, founded by James W. Myles and Edward G. Gardner, is a testament to the importance of preserving the legacy of Provident Hospital and Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, as well as the need to provide opportunities for young people in underserved communities to pursue careers in healthcare. James W. Myles passed away in October 2012 and in an effort to keep this critical legacy alive, Myetie Hamilton, the firstborn granddaughter of James W. Myles, has served as Board Chair of the foundation for the past 10 years and currently serves as Vice-Chair alongside an amazing and committed Board of Directors.

The Provident Foundation Scholars Program

The Provident Foundation Scholarship Program serves to increase the pipeline of underrepresented minority physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Scholarships are awarded to students in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, leadership, community service and interest in working in medically underserved communities.

The Provident Foundation Scholars Program offers long-term, longitudinal support throughout a Scholar’s journey to enter the healthcare field. Instead of simply receiving a one-time scholarship, Provident Scholars receive continuous resources in the form of mentoring relationships and cohort support.

Consider a gift to the Provident Foundation to continue the legacy moving forward. Help us secure an additional scholarship during this time of celebrating our significant history!

https://provfound.org/index.php/donate

12/31/2022

The Legacy Lives on

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams opened Provident Hospital and Nursing Training School in 1891 to address the discriminatory practices in Chicago's medical community and lack of quality health care available to African Americans.

Building on this historical legacy, the Provident Foundation has a mission to assist African American and Latino students in accomplishing their educational goals by providing scholarships, mentorship, and other forms of support needed to successfully complete their studies.

Many brilliant students of color pursuing careers in the health professions have only one wish this holiday season. That wish is to succeed in completing their medical education. Your contribution can make a student's holiday wish come true.

There is still time to help us reach our $20,000 target. Please consider making an investment of any amount to support our mission today.

Your 2022 tax deductible donation will greatly impact the lives of our scholars

12/31/2022

Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Holiday Season

The Provident Foundation has a mission to award scholarships and provide mentoring to bright and dedicated students of color who are interested in pursuing careers in the medical profession. Many of these students desire to practice in underserved communities. However, they often don’t have the money to finance their medical aspirations.

With your generous support, the Provident Foundation can ensure that our scholars have the support needed to help them attain their goals. These students will make a major contribution to addressing the nationwide shortage of healthcare professionals of color.

https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=EZ4H1SAidW1FJqZ5E8zi6R30SnnFkTni12z5kQNa0tSplKpvq8L9i3ZpF7ijCIpdd1IpwhkMXrP7uIdX

12/30/2022

Why health equity in underserved communities is important

More doctors, nurses, and other health professionals of color are needed to care for a growing population of diverse people. It helps when you have a medical professional that you feel comfortable with and who cares about your well-being.

Meet two of our Provident Foundation Scholars
Daijah Pierce is a freshman at the University of Illinois Chicago and plans to pursue a career as an Emergency Medicine Doctor. Jeremy Hall is a freshman at Morehouse College and plans to pursue a career as an Endocrinologist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-_8dwpLYPE

The Provident Foundation has a mission to assist African American and Latino students interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. Through the Provident Foundation, these students receive scholarships, mentorship, and other forms of support needed to complete their studies.

Please make your contribution to support these outstanding students who have made a commitment to working in underserved communities.

https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=EZ4H1SAidW1FJqZ5E8zi6R30SnnFkTni12z5kQNa0tSplKpvq8L9i3ZpF7ijCIpdd1IpwhkMXrP7uIdX

Daijah and Jeremy talk about their experiences as Provident Foundation Scholars.

12/30/2022

Our Foundation Continues to Help Make Dreams a Reality

All students should be able to live out their personal dreams. Yet many students pursuing health and medical careers often find their dreams deferred. Why? Because they lack the funds to pay for tuition, books, professional licenses and equipment needed to excel.

The Provident Foundation is here to provide much-needed support for African American and Latino students. With your financial contribution, the Provident Foundation helps to make these important dreams come true

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLeleoTCbDo

https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=EZ4H1SAidW1FJqZ5E8zi6R30SnnFkTni12z5kQNa0tSplKpvq8L9i3ZpF7ijCIpdd1IpwhkMXrP7uIdX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-_8dwpLYPE

The story of Provident is rich and inspiring; one that instills hope and possibility for our future. View our latest video to experience more of this remarka...

08/27/2022

The Provident Foundation will once again be joining , a national day of giving focused specifically on supporting Black-led and Black-benefitting organizations. To commemorate the fifth anniversary of , the giving campaign will run from August 27 to August 31, 2022. Our goal this year is to raise $1,500.00 by August 31.

isn't like other fundraising campaigns. Give 8/28 takes place during Black Philanthropy Month and commemorates multiple critical historical landmarks in Black American's march toward freedom:

● August 28, 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered by three white men, which became a "flashpoint in the civil rights movement."
● August 28, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.
● August 28, 2005: Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. The storm, which devastated New Orleans, inordinately impacted many of the city's Black residents.
● August 28, 2008: Then-Senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the first Black man ever to win the nomination and bid for the presidency.

2022 comes at a critical time. The disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Black communities, gun violence, inflation, and social injustice that Black communities face illustrate the vital need for resources in Black communities. This is why we need your support to continue the work.

Support The Provident Foundation this and help us continue to cultivate the brilliance of African American youth, and position them to become future doctors, nurses and leaders in healthcare. Our goal this year is to raise $1,500.00. The link below will take you to our personal Give 8/28 organization and donation page.

OUR LEGACY, OUR FUTURE The Provident Foundation provides access to education, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities for underrepresented Chicago area youth pursuing careers as next generation doctors, nurses, and other health professionals

08/24/2022

Please welcome our newest Provident Scholars!!! Emyly Benitez, Ajibola Junaid, Jeremy Hall and Daijah Pierce!!! Emyly and Ajibola weren’t able to make the in person New Scholar award, but we are super excited to have them part of the provident family!