Skip to main content

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation Awards 11 Grants in the Fall of 2021

Back to Articles

The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation awarded 11 grants in the fall of 2021 to organizations working to improve the health of South Carolina’s economically vulnerable citizens.

Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) – To launch a scholarship program that will increase VCOM’s ability to recruit, retain and graduate underrepresented minorities in medicine (5 years).

Lions Vision Services: A South Carolina Charity - To increase South Carolina’s capacity to improve vision health for the economically vulnerable through vision screenings and eye exams, sight-saving surgeries and vision rehabilitation services (3 years).

University of South Carolina College of Nursing - To establish a pilot faculty pipeline program at the University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing to increase the overall number of faculty from their internal pool of doctoral students (3 years).

University of South Carolina Upstate Foundation - To address the nursing faculty shortage by increasing the number of nurses pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing Education by providing full-ride scholarships to students (2.5 years).

The Medical University of South Carolina Foundation - To establish a pilot Fellowship in Rural and Safety Net Dentistry in partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers, in order to increase placement of dental graduates within rural and safety net settings (3 years).

In addition to these projects, the Foundation awarded six grants supporting the following organizations to improve mental health and well-being of adolescents/young adults (ages 10 – 21) and their families, through the Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health Catalyst Grant Opportunity:

Carolina Youth Development Center – To expand mental health services and to launch the pilot, Strengthening Families Program (SFP) to serve children ages 12-16 at risk of entering the foster care system (3 years – Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester).

Communities in Schools of South Carolina – To promote schoolwide mental health awareness and pilot a peer support program to serve as a resource to help students access mental health resources (3 years – Berkeley, Charleston, Fairfield, Greenville, Hampton, Lexington & Richland).

Healthy Learners – To normalize the conversation around mental health and increase access to mental health care for adolescents through community engagement and Mental Health First Aid (3 years – Georgetown, Hampton & Marion).

South Carolina Department of Mental Health – To expand mental health services to youth ages 18 – 21 in Clarendon County through an expansion of a mental health wellness center at Central Carolina Technical College (3 years – Clarendon).

University of South Carolina Institute for Families in Society – To provide a continuum of universal and targeted parenting trainings to address common adolescent social, emotional and behavioral challenges through Teen Triple P in Lexington One School District. (3 years – Lexington).

FSG, Inc. – To provide evaluation support and grantee capacity building across adolescent mental health grantees (1 year)