UF Medical guild grant

By Melissa Moreno

The UF Medical Guild was formed in 1959 to promote friendship among its members and render service to UF Health and the communities it serves. In this past year, the Guild funded a total of $50,000 worth of grants to many organizations around the community - one of them being Children Beyond Our Borders, Inc.

Our very own health initiatives and grant writing interns, along with Dr. Diana Montoya-Williams, made this opportunity happen for our Children Within Our Borders program.

Dr. Montoya is originally from Medellin, Colombia and came to the US with her family when she was very young. She took advantage of all the educational opportunities the US had to offer her and ultimately ended up in medical school in Columbia University. Now in Gainesville, Florida, Dr. Montoya has lended her knowledge and passion for education, both locally and abroad, to CBOB in hopes of spreading our mission to the rest of the community. Dr. Montoya understands the value of education but she also understands the value of health care, which is something that not all children have access to in Alachua County.

Because of this pressing issue, CBOB started holding a Mobile Health Clinic where basic healthcare would be provided to the underserved and immigrant populations in Alachua County. In this event, we also create and educate a team of volunteers about the sociopolitical and health status of low-income children in the local and global community.

The aim for our organization and volunteers is to always serve those in need, but unfortunately we are unable to so without funding.

CBOB is fortunate enough to have such motivated and devoted volunteers like Dr. Montoya and our VIP team that work hard to make sure we have the funds to help those in need in our community.

The $1,500 grant that we received from the UF Medical Guild is an amazing success and something that CBOB is proud to share! We want to thank Dr. Montoya, our VIP team and the UF Medical Guild for giving us the opportunity to continue spreading the happiness and joy to the children that we serve.
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