BREAKING NEWS
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BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company employing more than 3,000 associates across Nebraska, has partnered with the Custer County Foundation to help fund higher education scholarships for students pursuing a career in the medical field.
Custer County Foundation has received a grant from the BD Community Investment Fund, which issued a total of $2 million in investments across 27 BD communities to support expanded access to preventative care, nutrition, housing and education.
Custer County faces a shortage of doctors, while the state of Nebraska is projected to lack over 5,000 trained nurses by 2025, according to the University of NE Medical Center, and the Nebraska Center for Nursing. The Custer County Foundation is working to address this shortage by providing aid for students in need to support their academic studies in medicine.
“BD has been part of the Broken Bow community for more than sixty years, and we are committed to advancing the health of the hometowns where we live and work every day,” said Sien Avalos, director of Social Investing at BD and vice president of the BD Foundation. “By partnering with the Custer County Foundation to advance access to education among underserved populations of students, we are supporting the next generation of health care leaders, and we are thrilled to play a role in their future.”
Executive Director of the CCF Rilee Daffer said they’re hoping the scholarships pay dividends in the future.
“So we were able to structure it, this grant money in the form of scholarships, to invest in our students that are entering the medical field and so we can put it back to them, and that way hopefully they will return to Custer County and we will get the fruits of that labor.”
Daffer said Custer County was awarded $20,000, which will be divided into 3 scholarships. Those chosen will already be enrolled in a college and seeking to pursue a medical degree.
“Scholarship winners will be announced at our scholarship ceremony on March 23rd at the One Box(Convention Center).”
BD has been a longstanding community partner in Nebraska for more than 75 years. Today, the company continues its commitment to advancing the health of these communities by providing grants and product donations to numerous local nonprofits, including the Nebraska chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Columbus chapter of the Center for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Survivors, United Way, Columbus Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity and the Humane Society, among others.
In addition to the Custer County Foundation, the Columbus Community Foundation in Columbus also received a grant from the BD Community Investment Fund to support affordable housing for Columbus residents.
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