Project C.U.R.E.

Project C.U.R.E

Motto	Delivering Health and Hope to the World
Formation	1987[1]
Type	INGO
Legal status	501(c)(3) nonprofit
Headquarters	Centennial, CO
Location	Arizona (Phoenix), Colorado (Basalt, Centennial, Grand Junction), Florida (Sarasota, Tampa), Illinois (Chicago), Kentucky (Lexington), New Mexico (Albuquerque), New York (Brooklyn, Ithaca), Pennsylvania (Harrisburg), Tennessee (Nashville), Texas (Austin, Houston)
President/CEO	Douglas Jackson, PhD, JD[2]
Parent organization	Benevolent Healthcare Foundation
Website	http://www.projectcure.org

PROJECT C.U.R.E. (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) is the registered trademark of the Benevolent Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, humanitarian relief organization based in Denver, CO. It is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the world that delivers medical supplies and equipment to developing countries.^[3] Its main purpose is to collect and sort donated medical supplies and equipment from manufacturers, hospitals, and surpluses and then distribute the supplies and equipment to developing countries based on a needs assessment of the local hospitals and clinics in those countries.^[4]

History

The idea of PROJECT C.U.R.E. was created in 1987 by the founder, James W. Jackson while working as an international economic consultant with heads of governments in developing nations. During a trip to Brazil, Jackson observed how many of the clinics in rural areas were unable to accommodate many of the patients due to the lack of medical supplies and equipment and the large number of people seeking medical attention. When Jackson returned home to Colorado, he collected about $250,000 worth of donated, surplus medical supplies in under a month. He then personally paid for the shipping costs of the medical supplies to Brazil. Since that first shipment in 1987, PROJECT C.U.R.E. has expanded and now works in over 130 countries around the world.

Location

PROJECT C.U.R.E.’s headquarters is located in Centennial, CO, outside of Denver. Distribution centers are located in Centennial, CO, Phoenix, AZ, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Chicago, IL. Project C.U.R.E. maintains collection centers in Albuquerque, NM, Austin, TX, Basalt, CO, Brooklyn, NY, Grand Junction, CO, Harrisburg, PA, Ithaca, NY, Lexington, KY, Sarasota, FL, and Tampa, FL.^[5]

Financial Accountability

PROJECT C.U.R.E. uses the majority of its funding into the completion of its projects. 98.6% of PROJECT C.U.R.E.’s total annual spending is made up of program expenses. Administrative expenses total 0.7% of the organization’s budget and fundraising expenses constitute 0.6% of total annual spending.^[6]

Programs

ProCURE

ProCURE is the name of the project in which PROJECT C.U.R.E. collects new and overstock medical supplies and working equipment from manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, hospitals, clinics and individuals. The goods obtained from ProCURE are then sorted and inventoried at PROJECT C.U.R.E. distribution centers before being sent to hospitals and clinics in developing counties.

Corps

The C.U.R.E. Corps is the volunteer member group for PROJECT C.U.R.E. made up of individuals, families, civic and church groups. Volunteer tasks include contacting hospitals and doctors for donations, collecting donations, sorting supplies, packing boxes, and loading supplies onto cargo containers to be shipped.

Cargo

Cargo containers for PROJECT C.U.R.E. are the size of a semi-truck trailer. Each container holds an average of $400,000 in medical supplies and equipment. On average, PROJECT C.U.R.E. delivers two cargo containers a week to developing nations.^[5]

Kits

C.U.R.E. Kits are boxes which contain essential medical supplies and equipment to be carried as luggage on an international flight. C.U.R.E. Kits are designed to meet the needs for short-term medical missions abroad and can be shipped directly to the traveler’s home.^[5]

Clinics

C.U.R.E. Clinics prove an avenue for volunteer medical professionals to travel to developing countries where they are able to offer medical services. Location in which PROJECT C.U.R.E. Clinics have operated include: Guatemala, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Bolivia, China, and Togo.

Kits for Kids

C.U.R.E. Kits for Kids is a program where drawstring backpacks are filled with personal hygiene and basic "medicine cabinet" items that are scarce in the third world. Kits for Kids gives parents the supplies they need to care for their children at home. Each bag has a tag, which allows for tracking as it makes its way across the world and into the hands of a family in need.^[7]

Recipient Countries

PROJECT C.U.R.E. has delivered medical relief in over 120 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bali, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, DR Congo, Dominican Republic, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Union of Myanmar, Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Palestine/West Bank, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, Netherlands Antilles, Samoa, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia/Somaliland, South Africa, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau Islands, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe ^[8]

Leadership

James W. Jackson

James W. Jackson is the founder and chairman emeritus of PROJECT C.U.R.E.’s board of directors. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1963 and completed his Master of Arts in 1964. He completed postgraduate studies in economics and the University of Colorado and received a Doctor of Humanities degree from Colorado Christian University in 1997. Jackson has been awarded the Colorado “Ethics in Business Award,” the American Red Cross “Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award,” and Regis University’s Civis Princeps Award for his efforts in changing lives around the world.

Dr. Douglas Jackson

Dr. Douglas Jackson, son of the Founder James W. Jackson, became the Chief Executive Officer and President of PROJECT C.U.R.E. in 1997. Before coming PROJECT C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson was Provost for Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. And prior to this position, Douglas was the Director of the Fermanian Business Center at Point Loma University in San Diego, California. Douglas Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Northwest Nazarene College in 1982, with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. In 1985, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and received the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in the study of law. After becoming an attorney, Douglas directed the legal affairs for the international agricultural firm, Chore-Time/Brock (CTB), Inc. in Milford, Indiana. In 1992, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and econometrics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Douglas is a member of the Alpha Delta Sigma and the Beta Gamma Sigma national honor societies. For nearly 15 years, Dr. Jackson taught at the university level in the disciplines of finance, investments and legal issues. Dr. Jackson is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, and a director of the Denver Rotary Club #31. He is a Director of the Institute for International Education which administers the Fulbright Scholarships. He is a member of the National Who’s Who, Registry #57689, and is a graduate of the community leadership program, LEAD San Diego. He has also served as a director for such organizations as: HOPE International, Christian Executive Officers, YMCA, and the Leadership Denver Association.^[4]

References