President's Report 2018-2019 | Page 14

FOUNDERS’ SOCIETY DINNER Gwynedd Mercy University honors its benefactors at the annual Founders’ Society Dinner. The ceremony recognizes new members of The Founders’ Society and The Founders’ Society Circle of Mercy.  THE FOUNDERS’ SOCIETY CIRCLE OF MERCY  The Founders’ Society Circle of Mercy was created to honor donors who have contributed a total of $1 million or more in lifetime gifts.  The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Charlotte Wilson Newcombe was born in 1890 in Philadelphia. Although she never attended college, Charlotte sent the children of several friends to college and took an enthusiastic interest in their progress. Upon her death in 1979, Charlotte divided her estate between Princeton Theological Seminary and her charitable foundation, established to continue her scholarship gifts. Independence Blue Cross Foundation  The Independence Blue Cross Foundation funds programs and initiatives that advance caring for our region’s most vulnerable, enhance health care delivery, and build healthy communities. For more than 20 years, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation provided scholarship support for our students and operational funding for the Gwynedd Mercy University Adult Health Center located in Lansdale, Pa.  Charlotte’s legacy continues under the stewardship of the Foundation’s Trustees and the thoughtful leadership of Executive Director Gianna Durso-Finley, PhD, and Associate Executive Director Lindsey Bohra.  Today, the Foundation’s Nurses for Tomorrow program supports nursing education to help increase the number of nurses pursuing faculty roles and clinical practice by providing scholarships to GMercyU students enrolled in our undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. Through the Blue Safety Net initiative, the Foundation has provided incredible financial support for the Gwynedd Mercy University Adult Health Center, which is dedicated to meeting the health care needs of the greater North Penn community by serving all patients regardless of income.  Since 1981, The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation has provided more than one million dollars in scholarship support for mature students at Gwynedd Mercy University.  12 PRESIDENT’S REPORT