OCOE Events

In order to expand community outreach capacity we aim to build sustainable outreach and research capacity with diverse communities in Washington State. By pooling resources through the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium, we are working to build greater cohesion between local communities and the research enterprise.

Since January of 2014, we have been working on this endeavor by:

• developing and disseminating a small grant RFA to fund community organizations to implement a program in their communities (grants have ranged from $2,500-$8,00);
• implementing two-day grant-writing workshops to train community partners to write a grant (community partners are paired up with a Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium faculty member to help them through the process);
• providing technical assistance to community organizations as they implement their programs.  

In order to build visibility and trust in the community, we have partnered with Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium entities and community-based organizations to host an annual health and wellness festival at the Rainier Beach Community Center in Seattle since April 2015.  This geographic area includes Asian, Hispanic and Black community members.  We bring in entities who can offer health screenings and information that is relevant to these community members. 

In an effort to bridge community and the research that goes on at Fred Hutch, we have been hosting an annual symposium that provides a forum for community-based organizations and researchers to learn from each other.  We started the first symposium in 2014 in partnership with the Behavioral Outcomes Research Group.  In 2017 we started awarding the Beti Thompson Community Trailblazer Award at this annual event.  In 2018, the symposium officially became the “Pathways To Equity Symposium.”   

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month we have been partnering with local and regional partners to host the Latina Health Symposium in September. This annual Symposium provides a forum for participants to come together to learn and discuss health-related topics that impact Hispanic/Latina women.  We have been involved in planning this event since 2013 in the Greater Seattle area (including Fred Hutch in past years).  In 2014, we expanded to offer a second Symposium day in Central/Eastern Washington at the KDNA/NW Communities Education Center in Granger.