Increasing the Ethnic Diversity of the Be the Match Registry
The first initiative Bill created is to increase awareness and to diversify and grow the Be the Match bone marrow registry so that patients from any ethnic background can find a matching donor. During his battle with leukemia, Bill learned that an urgent need existed to diversify the Be The Match Marrow Registry. His foundation works closely with Be The Match and other organizations to support bone marrow drives in ethnically diverse communities. Since 2008, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation has helped organize hundreds of bone marrow drives and registered more than 26,000 people. So far, these drives have produced at least 149 donor/patient matches.
Helping Communities Celebrate and Preserve Their History
The second initiative is focused on historic research, preservation and historic and cultural heritage tourism. The William G. Pomeroy Foundation launched its first signage program – the New York State Historic Roadside Marker Grant Program – in 2006 to erect markers at historically important locations in towns and villages within Onondaga County, New York. In 2010, the program expanded to include the New York counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, and Oswego as eligible grant recipients. The program then added Erie and Genesee County in 2011. In April 2012, the program expanded to all municipalities and 501(c)(3) organizations as eligible grant recipients. Since its inception, the Foundation has funded over 2,600 markers and plaques in 49 states, all the way to Alaska. We have grown to offer six signature marker grant programs in addition to marker programs funded through partnerships.