“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” –Hellen Keller

2021 has brought focus to the world’s greatest challenges and, hence, many opportunities to be seized. As the year comes to a close, it is important to take a moment to reflect on the many reasons we have to be proud. Each of our accomplishments this year marked a milestone in the Foundation’s legacy, each achieved as a result of the tireless efforts of our donors, partners, volunteers and staff. Our commitment to making a global impact has never been stronger, which is why on behalf of the Board of Directors I want to thank each of you for your hard work and generous support as we continue our global mission to advance urology and improve urological health care for patients worldwide.

Research

In 2021, the Foundation remained a driving force in the discovery of advancements in our understanding and management of urological disease. The pursuit of this new knowledge must be supported, and your Foundation continued to encourage young talented researchers by providing nearly $1.5 million in urology research funding. These gifts not only fund the best research from talented scientists, but also help foster and support long-lasting research careers. Our awardees this year included: 43 Research Scholars, 6 Residency Researchers, 4 Rising Stars in Urology Research, 1 Physician Scientist in Training and 12 Summer Medical Student Fellowships.

Patient Education

The Urology Care Foundation continued to make a difference throughout 2021 with efforts to increase visibility and awareness of our immense portfolio of patient education materials. With more than 500 total pieces, the Foundation remains the single largest repository of urology-specific patient education in the world. We successfully translated nearly 100 patient education pieces and expanded our language offerings to include Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Hindi, Italian, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese. The drive to translate our materials is based upon the recognition that lack of information and knowledge continues to be a major factor in health care disparities. The Foundation’s vision is to meet the needs of patients worldwide; therefore, our focus is serving people from multiple countries, cultures and backgrounds who speak many languages.

Further, the Foundation continued to dedicate time and effort to raise awareness of urological health through multiple national public health campaigns and publications. Online and print materials produced by the Foundation are based on information from the AUA’s Clinical Guidelines, which is why they remain the go-to place for not only patients and caregivers, but also health care providers who feel good knowing their patients have the most reliable, clinically approved information about urological conditions and diseases.

Humanitarian Efforts

In 2021, the Urology Care Foundation provided recognition and support to those who offer urology-specific humanitarian work in underserved communities around the globe. Dr. Catherine deVries received our first Humanitarian Recognition Award for her lifetime of urological volunteer work in under-resourced communities across the globe, and Drs. Una Lee and David Rapp were both selected as our 2021 Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Grant recipients for their true spirit of humanitarianism. As part of our mission, the Foundation recognizes the critical need to identify and encourage humanitarianism in an effort to eliminate health care disparities. This impact goes beyond the mere physical, providing hope, dignity and quality of life, and we look forward to recognizing and supporting many more for their work in 2022.

I am humbled by the achievements this year and feel deep gratitude for the many individuals, organizations and corporate partners who generously gave their time, talents and financial support to further our crucial mission. I am very grateful to our staff, leadership and Board, and to our donors both large and small, new and longstanding, for keeping our focus on how we can solve problems and seize opportunities to improve more lives.

Throughout the Foundation’s history, our donors have been the source of the Foundation’s success. Year-end giving is your chance to invest in the future and to save lives. Making a gift to the Urology Care Foundation gives motion to your money and intentions, pushing it forward toward the greater good of our wonderful community. I invite you to learn more about our work, our partners and our stewardship by visiting: UrologyHealth.org/Donate.

Your support is essential as we move from what we have achieved to what we can achieve.