| Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation | |
| Founder: | Kal Rudman and Lucille Rudman |
| Location: | Philadelphia Pennsylvania |
| Key People: | Kal Rudman, |
| Area Served: | Local |
| Focus: | Education, Public Safety |
| Method: | Donations and Grants |
| Revenue: | $15,011[1] |
| Revenue Year: | 2016 |
| Expenses: | $420,834 |
| Expenses Year: | 2016 |
The Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation is a philanthropic organization community and throughout the Delaware Valley. The Foundation gives financial support to programs and causes, primarily in the fields of education and public safety. It was founded by Kal Rudman and his wife Lucille Rudman.
The programs supported by The Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation include:
Temple University in Philadelphia has formally announced a $1.2 million donation from the Rudmans for a new state-of-the-art digital media production center and television station - one of the largest gifts given by the Rudmans.
Called TUTV, the new station is housed in Annenberg Hall. It will air student films and news shows, showcase student artwork and musical pieces, and feature recruitment advertising for Temple.
Temple secured a digital license for the station from the city in January and is negotiating with cable companies. The station will give students experience in production and station management, including sales, marketing, promotion, and finance. As part of the Rudman gift, an internship and seminars in broadcasting topics will be offered.
Temple had a station in 1995, but it was discontinued. Drexel and La Salle Universities and Community College of Philadelphia currently have stations.[3]
The Rudmans have been involved in this unique program for 14 years now. The plan was inspired by Louis Lessick, a teacher at Olney High School. He wanted to give kids, especially at-risk kids, a reason to keep trying, a direction, and an exposure to a profession they could pursue all the way through school. But nobody would fund it. That's where the Rudmans and the Tenet Corporation (which owns St. Christopher's Hospital) stepped in. The program takes deserving students from some of the highest crime neighborhoods in the city and gives them the opportunity to work with health professionals, who double as their mentors. Each school year, 30 students get paid to work 16 hours a week at the hospital. Each summer, the number swells to 50. Graduates of the program have gone on to work in cancer research, as respiratory specialists, nurses, and a handful are preparing for medical school, among many other fields. The graduation rate for the students enrolled in Health Tech is 98 percent. The average rate for public high schools in Philadelphia just slipped to 57 percent.
"Ever since Kal came onboard we've stayed in business and expanded," Louis Lessick says. "He changed everything. And he isn't just the guy with the check. These kids can call him anytime. He'll talk to them like his own children. He's there when they need him."
Former Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools, Paul Valas, has called Health Tech "the most successful program of its kind that I have ever been involved with. I cite it as the national role model all the time." [4]