Last fall, Durham based organization Black Physicians Of Tomorrow applied for a grant under the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF), in the grassroots innovation stream; and was recently awarded funding by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Black Physicians of Tomorrow is an organization with the mission to grow the number of Black students who are applying to and graduating from health professional programs/schools in Ontario. By conducting research to identify and address barriers that discourage Black youth (age 13-19) from obtaining careers in these fields, their goal is to facilitate programs, provide resources and opportunities that will reduce systemic barriers, improve STEM literacy and life skills for Black youth (age 13-29) and their support systems in the Durham and East Toronto (Scarborough) Regions. Their YOF proposed initiative will receive $210,000 over the next three years. Plans are underway to a public launch of their community outreach program this fall.
If anyone is interested in helping to facilitate the research component of this initiative or the outreach program please visit www.bptcommunity.ca for more information.