The Gala’s Honored Organizations:

Boston University School of Public Health
As a top-ranked graduate school, Boston University School of Public Health offers access to innovative research, scholarship, and public health practice. BUSPH offers a top-tier education with an on-the-ground mission.

Together with the Tramuto Foundation, BUSPH supports students from a range of backgrounds. In 2013, the Tramuto Foundation endowed a scholarship fund at SPH to provide support for outstanding international students close to completing the MPH degree. As of 2020, five students have advanced their scholarship in promotion of social justice, human rights, equity across local and global communities. Visit: www.bu.edu/sph

Good Shepherd Food Bank
As the largest hunger-relief organization in Maine, Good Shepherd Food Bank provides for Mainers facing hunger by distributing nutritious food to more than 500 partner agencies across the state, including food pantries, meal sites, schools, health care centers, and senior programs. Together with its network, the Food Bank leads a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. In Fiscal Year 2020, the Food Bank distributed more than 27 million meals to families, children, and seniors in need throughout Maine.
 
Funding from The Tramuto Foundation has been instrumental in expanding the Food Bank’s cold storage capacity to safely store and extend the shelf life of perishable items – which are often the most nutritious. These items include dairy, eggs, meat, cheese, and fresh produce – much of which is sourced from local food producers. 
 
While the emergency needs created by the COVID-19 public health have presented numerous challenges, it has also strengthened the Food Bank’s resolve to end hunger in Maine. Central to Good Shepherd Food Bank’s strategic plan and innovative programming provide the most nutritious food for Mainers in a way that creates social connections and builds personal agency to help move families and individuals out of poverty.  Visit: www.feedingmaine.org  

Health eVillages
Founded in 2011, Health eVillages aims to address the fact that within our lifetimes, one billion people will go to their graves without ever having access to health care workers, medication, clean water or affordable health facilities. Health eVillages collaborates to advance health care access and improve the quality of care by providing state-of-the-art mobile health technology including medical reference and clinical decision support tools, as well as other community-focused resources, to medical and public health professionals serving the most vulnerable populations around the world.
Initially, Health eVillages launched pilots in Kenya, Uganda and Haiti. The impact was immediately realized as initial reports from doctors and nurses showed they were using the technology and medical apps to make informed, life-saving decisions. With the Tramuto Foundation, Health eVillages has since expanded into eleven countries and deployed 585+ content-enabled mobile devices worldwide.

It is our belief that by delivering technology, facilitating access and empowering health care providers, we can help “heal the villages” and move the needle on global health care. Visit: www.healthevillages.org

Jefferson College of Population Health
In 2008 Thomas Jefferson University established the nation’s first college of population health, with an unwavering focus on improving population health in the United States and around the world.

At Jefferson College of Population Health, our mission is to help prepare leaders for the dramatic changes occurring in our nation’s public health and healthcare systems. Through innovative academic programming, JCPH equips graduates to become the architects of transformational change that will improve the health and quality of life for all.

Thanks to the generosity of the Tramuto Foundation, JCPH has been able to provide scholarship support to bright and ambitious students pursuing graduate degrees in public and population health. Recent recipients include two foreign-born students who will be applying their new skills to make a difference in their home countries and three students who are the first in their families to attend college. As part of their educational experience, these students have worked directly with individuals struggling with poverty, addiction, and those who have been marginalized due to their race, sexual orientation or disability. We are grateful to work in collaboration with the Tramuto Foundation and its partner organizations to shape a more equitable and just healthcare landscape for the future. Visit: www.Jefferson.edu/PopulationHealth

Lwala Community Alliance
Lwala Community Alliance builds the capacity of rural communities to advance their own comprehensive wellbeing. Lwala was founded by Kenyans, and is community-driven. Lwala’s community-led health model has led to a significant reduction in child mortality, a 98% skilled delivery rate, virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and gender parity in primary school completion. Plus, research published in 2020 shows that women in Lwala communities are 2.6 times more likely to use a family planning method, and we know that this translates to better outcomes
for mothers and babies.

With Tramuto Foundation’s support, we have decreased maternal and child mortality by increasing health access and quality, and improving household food security and sanitation access.  Visit: www.lwalacommunityalliance.org

Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps

Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, an affiliate of the Dr. Franklin Perkins School, advocates for children and embraces all social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds in order to build healthier families, more responsible citizens, safer communities, and a more just society for us all. We believe in respecting the dignity and individuality of every human being, that all children have the right to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment, and that every person has the right to reach his or her full potential.
 
With the support of the Tramuto Foundation, we have enhanced and expanded training opportunities for staff in the areas of trauma informed care and vicarious trauma, in order to best serve the children in our care. Additionally,we are developing a new mentoring program for youth that have participated in our Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP) but require further supports to build the capabilities, connections, and personal health to successfully transition to adulthood. Visit: www.rfkchildren.org

Robert. F. Kennedy Human Rights
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change-makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to investment and educate millions of students about human rights and social justice. 

The Tramuto Foundation was essential in establishing our Workplace Dignity program, which offers organizations tools and strategies to honor the dignity—the inherent value and worth—of all employees, and celebrates those who uphold dignity in a range of workplaces. When organizations advance the dignity of their employees, they are more engaging, more equitable, and ultimately more successful. Additionally, the foundation supported the creation of the Donato Tramuto Human Rights Defenders Fund, which provides laureates of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award with a cash prize as well as ongoing support for their important work. The award recognizes those who embody Bobby Kennedy’s belief that the power of individual moral courage can overcome injustice. Visit: www.rfkhumanrights.org

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Saint Joseph’s College (SJC) is Maine’s only Catholic college, providing liberal arts and professional programs to students of all ages on campus and online. Through the generosity of the Tramuto Foundation and Health-E Villages, the College created the Institute for Integrative Aging (IIA)–a unique community with a holistic model that provides programs aimed to combat social isolation and loneliness while creating relevance and purpose for older adults.

IIA offers social & spiritual engagement activities, lifelong learning opportunities, and wellness & fitness classes. Intergenerational collaboration is present among our SJC students and older adults in the community through interdisciplinary courses, internships and volunteer opportunities. Plans for a future residential community for older adults that integrates people of all ages on campus and online is also underway.

IIA supports the college’s belief that we are not just a beautiful campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, at SJC, community grows our talents, sharpens our ambitions, powers our innovations and magnifies our ability to create a compassionate world. Visit: www.sjcme.edu