Clorox Company Foundation Grant Supports the SMU Center for Community Engagement and Ethnic Health Institute

Thanks to a generous multi-year grant from The Clorox Company Foundation, Samuel Merritt University (SMU) is excited to announce the implementation of new programming that will expand the reach of three critical community initiatives overseen by the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) and the Ethnic Health Institute (EHI).  

“We are so grateful for the Clorox Foundation’s transformational support of our birth equity, human trafficking response, and heart health programs,” explains Dr. Sam Alavi-Irvine, the Founding Director of Center for Community Engagement and the Ethnic Health Institute.

“Clorox’s partnership enables SMU to expand our reach and deepen our impact in disease prevention and the dismantling of pressing health disparities for our most vulnerable and underserved communities, and beyond.” 

The grant funding will enable the university’s Birth Equity Initiative to deepen its impact by training the next generation of healthcare workers to provide direct care to underserved families while addressing issues of maternal mortality and pre-and-and-mental health disparities among vulnerable communities. 

Support for SMU Human Trafficking Response and Prevention Initiative

A large portion of the funding will also go towards the Human Trafficking Prevention & Response Initiative, which offers training for healthcare providers to identify the chronic physical health conditions that survivors face and address them through trauma-informed care.

With Clorox's support, the initiative will expand case-based learning opportunities about human trafficking prevention and response, in addition to patient simulations that will be practiced by nursing, physician assistant. and social work students in SMU’s Health Science Simulation Center.

These pedagogies will help inform training practices for local hospital partnerships such as Highland Hospital and Sutter Health, and will be scaled for implementation at other institutions to maximize statewide impact.   

Addressing Cardiovascular Disease Through Community Care

The third initiative to be funded by the grant addresses cardiovascular disease, currently one of the leading causes of death in communicates of color. Through Hypertension and Wellness Sundays, a hypertension and heart health initiative, SMU’s CCE offers free annual blood pressure screenings at more than 20 faith-based and community partner sites across the Bay Area and Sacramento.

Funding from Clorox will enable the program, which currently reaches 500 people annually, to expand access to at-home blood monitors for individuals identified as high risk at free screenings, pilot support initiatives for longer-term care navigation, and develop programming that aligns with community needs.

To learn more about Hypertension and Wellness Sundays, read this recent SMU News story about the initiative.  

Transformational Philanthropy

By supporting these three initiatives, the Clorox Company Foundation’s transformational gift enables the CCE and EHI to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, reduce preventable chronic disease, and promote culturally responsive healthcare through workforce development and sustained community outreach.   

SMU President and CEO, Dr. Ching Hua-Wang celebrates the gift as one that is deeply aligned with the university’s mission, stating “Clorox’s generous donation is not just an investment in our institution, but a powerful commitment to supporting our healthcare programs and the communities who benefit from them. We are deeply grateful for their contribution, which will play a critical role in increasing access to equitable healthcare and empowering the next generation of healthcare leaders.”