Tuesday, January 22, 2019



(Credit to Harriet Zucker for designing the Gala graphic)

The 2018 Keeping the Promise Clinic Gala: Planting Seeds for our Future was held on Friday November 16th, 2018, and went off wonderfully! The Gala dinner raised funds for the HIPHOP Promise Clinic Endowment, and celebrated the contributions of all who are critical to the success of the clinic. Two hundred and thirty-five members of the Promise Clinic family gathered to celebrate the achievements of Promise Clinic during its 13 years of service to the New Brunswick Community: 



In addition to the dinner, the evening included a raffle, an award ceremony recognizing exceptional work by students, and a keynote speech by a beloved former patient of Promise Clinic. We are grateful to Gambino’s Inn for hosting the Gala and catering a delicious dinner, and to Promise Culinary School for providing mouth-watering desserts!



Members of our faculty, administration, and larger Promise Clinic Community enjoying the Gala
Award Ceremony


(Top) Paul Lavadera (M3) and Dr. Karen Lin emceeing the student award ceremony.
(Bottom) Leela Biswas (M2) receiving recognition for her outstanding work on the Gala Planning Committee! 

Congratulations to the Award Recipients, who received recognition for exceptional patient care or the implementation of innovative projects:


Jacob Jaslove (MD/PhD, Year 5 in Promise Clinic, Community Outreach Member)
Ila Nimgaonkar (MD/PhD, Year 5 in Promise Clinic, Operations Member)
Stephanie Oh (MD/PhD, Year 8 in Promise Clinic, Operations Member)

Joshua Gilens (M4, Community Outreach Member)
Tom Kuriakose (M4, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Caroline Kwon (M4, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Rick Lang (M4, Student Doctor)
Kristin Raphel (M4, Student Doctor
Deesha Sarma (M4, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Aisha Van Pratt Levin (M4, Community Outreach Member and Student Doctor)
Benjamin Van Pratt Levin (M4, Communications Member and Student Doctor)

Laura DiTaranti (M3, Student Doctor)
Michael Enich (M3, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Nupur Gulati (M3, Operations Member)
Stephanie Latham (M3, Student Doctor)
Donald Langan (M3, Pharmacy Member)
Paul Lavadera (M3, Operations Member and Student Doctor)

Becca Berger (M2, Social Needs Member and Student Doctor)
Leela Biswas (M2, Student Doctor)
Danielle Flood (M2, Social Needs Member and Student Doctor)
Meagan Hawes (M2, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Pratheek Mangini (M2, Student Doctor)
Mariah McKevitt (M2, Social Needs Member and Student Doctor)
Delaney Scollan (M2, Operations Member and Student Doctor)
Kathy Zhang (M2, Specialty Care Member and Student Doctor)
Julia Zheng (M2, Specialty Care Member and Student Doctor)
Ruby Zucker (M2, Operations Member)

Denise Hernandez (Masters in Social Work Student)

Ileana Arce (PharmD Student, Pharmacy Member)
Hannah Lee (PharmD Student, Pharmacy Member)

Susan Giordano (HIPHOP Program Coordinator)
Dr. Karen Lin (Faculty Advisor, also known as Dr. “Never Sleeps” Lin)

Keynote Speaker



Jerzy Szypryt, a former patient of Promise Clinic, speaks about his experiences receiving care at Promise Clinic.

Some excerpts from Mr. Szypryt’s brave and touching testimony –

“My name is Jerzy Szypryt. I came to New Brunswick in 2016. Before New Brunswick, I lived in Ozanam Shelter for 14 months. I did not have health insurance. A social worker at Ozanam Shelter connected me to Promise Clinic. I remember meeting members of my team, including Bridget, Carla, Arjun, and Hersh. They were Promise Clinic team 14.”

“I had been in crutches for 8 years at that time. My legs were in a lot of pain and were very swollen… I was mopping floors and cleaning for my work, and every day I was in so much pain.”

“[My Promise Clinic team] cared a lot about me and prepared me for the surgery. They helped me figure out the paperwork and coordinate all the logistics to make my surgery happen.”

“After the surgery, the pain went away. Now people look at me and are amazed. …I’m back on my feet, and healthy. I am thankful to Promise Clinic and team 14 for helping me get my surgery and fixing my pain.”

A very heartfelt thank you to Mr. Szypryt for sharing your experiences with us at the Gala.



Students posing in front of the Gala photo booth!

Recognitions

We are extremely grateful to our donors, who have made the HIPHOP Promise Clinic Endowment a reality, and brought us closer to becoming financially self-sustaining!

Bronze level – Carole Bishop, Mary Burns, Andrew Cedarbaum, Jyoti Chopra, Barbara Jo McGarry, Iris Udasin, Michelle Wilson, Fran Yu, Aarti Gupta & Sharad Malik

Silver level – Nadia & Doug Braun, Frank Lavadera, Manuel Jimenez, Barbara Wadsworth, Pei-Ching Chu

Platinum level – Abharc Associates, Inc., J Knipper & Co, Inc., Karen & Kenneth Lin, John & Deborah Lynch, David E. Swee, Aristides & Elizabeth Georgantas, Angela Lin & Patrick Lenehan, Wei-Ching Lin, Jue-Chen Liu & David Lin

Gold level – Joshua Giles

Diamond level – Joseph and Marguerite DiSepio

The raffle items were generously donated by Omnitrance Solutions Inc.Peony’s Envy, Alisa Girard, Archana Nimgaonkar, and Nadia Braun.

Finally, we would like to thank Susan Giordano, HIPHOP Program Coordinator, for all of her work and guidance that helps Promise Clinic be the success that it is!



Thank you to friends of Promise Clinic for your support of our work!


With our sincerest gratitude,

The Keeping the Promise Gala Planning Committee
Planning Committee Members: Ila Nimgaonkar, Ruby Zucker, Leela Biswas, Paul Lavadera, Vaishnavi Warrier, Joshua Rowe, Daniel Kats, Joyce Lu, Chris Amro, Mike Jones, Caroline Kwon, Daniel Marino, Caesar Imperio










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