Women's Circle Mission Moment Meetup: An exciting evening of impact

The Circle of Women's Health Philanthropists gathered for its 2023 Mission Moment Meetup on June 28, 2023. A recap and photo gallery of that event are shown below. 

Members of the Summa Foundation Circle of Women’s Health Philanthropists gathered for a Mission Moment Meetup on Tuesday, June 27, at the Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Tower on the Summa Health System – Akron Campus. 

The Circle is a network of women leaders who share a philanthropic vision of improving the overall health and well-being of women in the community. Members contribute a tax-deductible donation of $2,500 annually and $1,000 for young professional members under the age of 40. These gifts are then combined to fund a specific need related to women’s health, determined by a vote of members.

Since 2014, The Circle has awarded $863,228 in grants to many areas of Summa Health from the Summa Health Women's Health, Family Medicine and Traumatic Stress Centers to palliative care, research, neuroscience, pastoral care and more. 

The Mission Moment Meetup event provided an opportunity for members to hear firsthand about the impact of grants the group recently awarded:

• Naomi Alestock, practice manager with the Summa Health Women’s Health Center, shared with the group how The Circle’s 2022 grant totaling $43,228 has assisted in supporting limited English proficient services for the center.
• Dr. Shannon Perkins, director of Summa Health Behavioral Science and associate director of Summa Health’s Family Residency program, talked about the impact of two grants that were awarded 2020 and 2022 for a total of $100,000 in support of the Medical Legal Partnership at the Summa Health Family Medical Center. 
• Dr. Jennifer Eaton, vice president of Summa Health’s Translational Research Center, also gave an overview of the impact of two Circle grants—$50,000 in 2019 and $50,000 in 2020—which have supported personalized cancer therapy research with zebrafish for the Research and Cancer Institutes. 

Following the presentations, members browsed the expanded Akron Campus Gift Shop and visited the latest exhibition in the Summa Health Gallery. Ivana Medukic, coordinator of Summa Health’s Healing Arts Program, shared that this exhibit features stunning photography from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and will run through July 11.