In the News

In an article for Healthcare Brew, Cassie McGrath reports on Helmsley and the Civica Foundation’s new pilot program to make generic medications more affordable and accessible for rural and critical access hospitals.  Read the full article.  

As reported by Zablon Oyugi for Farmers Review Africa, a new initiative by Nuru, backed by a $7.5 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, aims to demonstrate that economic opportunity can become a powerful pathway to stability and resilience.  Read the full article.  

Local news plays a critical role in keeping communities informed about the issues and policies that matter to their health and wellbeing. But with local news outlets on the decline, rural communities are at risk of being cut out of important conversations.  A recent Inside Philanthropy article by Martha Ramirez details how philanthropies like the Helmsley Charitable Trust support journalism…

In philanthropy, innovation is sometimes thought of as investing in new technologies or breakthrough medical procedures. While less visible, however, investments in systems that coordinate people, protocols, and institutions already in place can yield significant and measurable improvements in outcomes.  “For philanthropic organizations, this work underscores an important lesson: meaningful improvements in health outcomes often depend less on new interventions and more…

Helmsley Type 1 Diabetes Program Officer James Reid joined Jayasree Iyer on the Access to Medicine Foundation’s Health Equity Podcast to talk about closing the gap in type 1 diabetes care for people in low- and middle-income countries.   As James puts it, “What really matters is how we align our resources, our will, and our efforts to make sure…

It’s time for philanthropies to invest and build roots in rural America. Studies have shown that a decade ago, rural areas received just 6-to-7% of grant dollars from large foundations, even though rural Americans make up nearly 20% of the population. Now, preliminary findings suggest that number may have dropped to just 3%. “If philanthropy wants rural insight at the…

Hadassah Medical Organization in partnership with the Helmsley Charitable Trust has opened Hadassah-Helmsley Netivot, a new medical center intended to bring advanced diagnostics, treatment, and care close to home for communities in southern Israel. The Jerusalem Post recently reported on the medical center’s opening ceremony, which featured leaders in government, science, philanthropy, and health.   Helmsley is committed to improving healthcare…

In a recent piece for The Daily Yonder, Madeline de Figueiredo reported on Helmsley-funded Virtual Crisis Care (VCC) programs in South Dakota and Wyoming, which provide immediate behavioral health support for individuals in crisis. By connecting law enforcement officers with virtual behavioral health professionals on an as-needed basis, VCC is reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and confinements in jail for rural communities…

Patients treated in their own communities, surrounded by support networks and local practitioners heal and recover faster. This belief has driven Helmsley’s long-term commitment to expanding rural healthcare access and fostering community grown workforce development.  Marianas Variety has covered the latest efforts towards this goal, featuring a recent Helmsley grant to the Northern Marianas College nursing program, supporting the development…

When Patsy Hudkins of Velva, North Dakota, went into cardiac arrest while mid-conversation at work, her community instantly acted to save her life—calling for an ambulance and beginning CPR. Within minutes, Sheriff’s Deputy Adam McTaggart was on the scene with an automated external defibrillator (AED) that helped to save her life.  Patsy’s story represents just one of the estimated 90…

About 70,000 students and patients in the Mumbwa District of Zambia now have access to reliable drinking water every day, following the successful piloting of a results-based contracting model to address long-standing water supply challenges in rural schools and health facilities. As highlighted in a recent article for the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), following the success of this pilot,…

BOSTON, Jan. 23, 2026 — GentiBio, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering engineered regulatory T cell (EngTreg) therapies, today announced that Breakthrough T1D, with support in part from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, has awarded a grant to support the company’s POLARIS clinical trial evaluating GNTI‑122, an autologous EngTreg investigational therapy designed to preserve endogenous insulin production…

As the global incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) continues to rise, innovative strategies for early identification, prevention, and treatment are urgently needed. The PROMISE (PRediction and PRevention through Omics, Microbiome, Immune System, and Environment) Consortium, is a collaborative initiative led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Supported by Helmsley, PROMISE aims to advance…

Helmsley Trustee Walter Panzirer recently sat down with Nevada Week’s host Amber Renee Dixon on Vegas PBS to discuss Helmsley’s work in Nevada over the past five years, including the recent grand opening of Nevada State Park’s Valley of Fire Visitor Center.

The Jewish Agency for Israel has received a grant of $1.5 million from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in support of the Security Fund, one of the most far-reaching Jewish security initiatives in the world.