Month: April 2025

April is National Volunteer Month, and Covia wants to take a moment to celebrate all of our amazing volunteers! Covia’s team members are actively involved in their communities and take great pride in the work they do to strengthen our connection to those communities. We are particularly excited to honor our Volunteer of the Year, David Morris from Covia’s Cleburne, Texas Plant, as well as the winners of the President’s Volunteer Awards, which recognize those who contributed 200 or more volunteer hours in 2024. This year, we are proud to recognize the following team members who have qualified for the award.

• CaryAnn Bruce – North Carolina Home Office
• Curtis Petrey – Independence, Ohio
• Darik Corson – Oregon, Illinois
• David Gatto – Havelock, Ontario
• David Morris – Cleburne, Texas
• *Josh Lipe – Tamms,  Illinois
• *Natalie King – North Carolina Home Office
• Sheryl Etienne – Huntingburg, Indiana 

*Previous Volunteer of the Year Winner

Covia would like to congratulate this year’s award recipients and express our gratitude for their impactful contributions to the communities in which we live and work.

For more information about the Covia Foundation, community impact and philanthropy, please visit https://www.coviacorp.com/esg/positive-social-impact/.

This year’s Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit in Atlanta emphasized the importance of advancing prevention in the U.S. South, a region disproportionately impacted by HIV. We joined advocates, community partners and healthcare leaders to discuss the future of prevention and to drive meaningful action – and the energy in the room was palpable. By working closely with the communities most affected, we aim to ensure everyone receives the care and services they need to help end the HIV epidemic.

Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. 

Originally published by Gilead Sciences

• Grants awarded to seven Florida organizations to support those facing hunger
• Grants allow the continuation and expansion of food programs for children, adults and seniors

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 22, 2025 /3BL/ – The Duke Energy Foundation announced $125,000 in grant funding to nonprofit organizations that help get food on the table for those in need. These contributions add to last fall’s $100,000 donation to Feeding Florida in response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Duke Energy Florida is proud to support local nonprofits dedicated to providing food and fighting hunger on behalf of Floridians during difficult times,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “Together, with these organizations, we can decrease the number of families in our community that are experiencing hunger.”

The Duke Energy Foundation supports individuals and families having access to healthy meals as a critical measure to support the success of the communities the company serves. Grants have been awarded to the organizations below that provide necessary food and nutrition to people of all ages, from children to seniors:

• Feed Hunger Now: $10,000
  This Seminole County organization will use funds to further its sustainable food garden, which supports its 115-bed homeless shelter, as well as other local food agencies.
   
• Backpack Buddies: $10,000
  These funds will be used to continue operating their existing “kids pack” program and expand it to an additional school, providing school-aged children with food for the weekends in Volusia County.
   
• Seniors First: $20,000
  Seniors First operates Orange County’s Meals on Wheels program, as well as an Emergency Meals on Wheels program. This funding will fund nutritious meals to senior citizens in their long-term program or for 30 days after facing a crisis.
   
• Osceola County Council on Aging: $40,000
  The Osceola County Council on Aging has community drive-through food pantries, as well as mobile food pantries for those with transportation challenges. This funding will support the continuation of these operations.
   
• Council on Aging of Volusia County: $5,000
  The Council on Aging of Volusia County serves vulnerable seniors. This grant will support their “Aging with Dignity” program that provides critical nutrition through protein drinks, along with incontinence and hygiene products, to senior citizens who would otherwise not be able to afford these necessities.
   
• St. Petersburg Free Clinic: $30,000
  Funds will support the organization’s We Help FRESH Pantry and Skyway expanded food bank locations, which provide free nutritious, fresh groceries to Pinellas County residents.
   
• Metropolitan Ministries: $10,000
  Funds will support the organization’s hunger relief program for residents in Pasco County.

“Both our Meals on Wheels and Emergency Meals on Wheels programs are a critical lifeline to vulnerable seniors in our community,” said Marsha Lorenz, president of Seniors First. “The support of the Duke Energy Foundation will allow us to continue providing healthy meals and well-being checks to allow underserved older adults to age with dignity and independence.”

Duke Energy Foundation

Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Ana Gibbs
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Email: ana.gibbs@duke-energy.com
X: @DE_AnaGibbs

View original content here.

Chemistry touches virtually every aspect of modern life, but its transformative role in unlocking sustainability often goes unnoticed. In the latest podcast episode of Five Lifes to Fifty, Jenny Liu, Head of Sustainability for Chemours’ Advanced Performance Materials business, takes listeners on a journey through the power of chemistry—not just as a science, but as a driver of innovation, decarbonization, and sustainable solutions.

“More than 95% of all manufactured goods are touched by the business of chemistry. Chemistry is essential for everything we depend on in modern society—and I believe it’s essential for decarbonization as well.” 

Jenny Liu, Global Sustainability Senior Director – Advanced Performance Materials

From electric vehicles and semiconductors to the hydrogen economy, Jenny highlights how advanced materials are shaping the future. Chemours is a leader in this space, leveraging bold sustainability goals and data-driven methodologies to ensure its products not only meet the high-performance needs of customers but also contribute meaningfully to global sustainability efforts.

For instance, Jenny discusses how Chemours works collaboratively to address sustainability challenges across the product lifecycle, applying advanced chemistry and material science knowledge to accelerate next generation technologies. As an example, Jenny discusses how Teflon™ fluoropolymer binders can revolutionize lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing for hybrid and electric vehicles. This innovation reduces production costs, eliminates solvents harmful to workers, and improves battery performance—all while shrinking the physical footprint of manufacturing lines by 75%. It’s a clear example of what Jenny describes as enabling sustainability “through our products and applications.”

Listeners will also learn how Chemours measures its progress through the EVOLVE 2030 portfolio sustainability assessment methodology, which is used to evaluate the environmental and social impact of its product offerings and product development pipeline in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. EVOLVE 2030 was developed by Chemours in partnership with Anthesis Group and has received third-party assurance. Jenny’s insight into embedding sustainability into every stage of product development, from ideation to implementation, underscores the company’s commitment to advancing circularity, reducing emissions, and scaling solutions that matter.

“Sustainability is a journey,” Jenny reflects. “It takes hard work, leadership commitment, and communication. And it requires embedding these principles into the systems and processes that drive business decisions every day.”

If you’re passionate about ESG strategies, sustainable innovation, or the future of advanced materials, don’t miss the latest episode of Five Lifes to Fifty, “Chemours’ Jenny Liu on the Power of Chemistry to Shape a Sustainable Future.”

Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter Anthony Hamilton underwent a colonoscopy for the first time in his mid-20’s, right around the same time as his first record deal.

“I was having digestive issues and when the doctors did a colonoscopy they found polyps,” he remembers. “Ever since then I’ve been really aware of how I feel, trying to live right and eat right and stay ahead of problems whenever I can. Regular colonoscopies help me do that.”

In the 30-or-so-years since his first colonoscopy, Hamilton’s doctors found polyps during several checkups, and they discovered more at his most recent exam in early 2025. But that checkup was different than all the rest.

“One of the polyps we found was pretty hard to see,” said Dr. Lanre Jimoh, a gastroenterologist at Carolina Digestive Health Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina. “But with the help of the GI Genius™ system, we were able to find it and others and removed them all. Everything went very well.”

The math that can help prevent cancer

The Medtronic GI Genius™ polyp detection system that Dr. Jimoh used during Hamilton’s procedure is a first-of-its-kind system which deploys artificial intelligence (AI) to help doctors identify polyps that might otherwise go undetected. It works much like facial recognition technology. Scientists and engineers input a large variety of pictures of polyps, with different colors, sizes, shapes, textures and more. Then, using more than a dozen complicated mathematical formulas known as algorithms, the system “learns” to recognize a polyp.

“The technology is called ‘deep learning’ and it’s like pattern recognition on steroids,” explained Dr. Ha Hong, chief artificial intelligence officer in the Medtronic Endoscopy business unit. “The GI Genius™ system can analyze thousands or millions of images—exponentially more than a person ever could—and recognize the patterns of a polyp.”

During an actual procedure, the GI Genius™ system analyzes images from inside the colon and in real time highlights suspected polyps within a green box so doctors can take a closer look. That’s exactly what Dr. Jimoh saw during Hamilton’s checkup.

Getting results

“We did a three-month pilot with the GI Genius™ system and we saw results almost immediately,” said Dr. Jimoh. “We’re finding more polyps and we’re finding more pre-cancerous polyps (adenomas). We are very confident that this is the right direction in terms of innovation in gastrointestinal medicine..”

Studies are finding that the GI Genius™ system is increasing the Adenoma Detection Rate (ADR) during colonoscopies by up to 14.4%¹, and that every 1% increase in ADR decreases the risk of cancer by 3%^2,3,4.

When Dr. Jimoh first told Hamilton about using the GI Genius™ system during his procedure, the singer was all about it.

“We use a lot of AI-related technology in the music industry, and I’m a huge fan,” he said. “I never put AI and colonoscopies together in my head, but I’m glad it’s available and now I can move ahead with even more confidence than before.”

He paused for a moment and then smiled.

“I’ve been nominated for 18 Grammys and I finally won one so I could bring it home. But I’d rather have a healthy colon over all of it.”

This is one in a series of stories about how Medtronic is using artificial intelligence to diagnose disease. Learn more about how math can help detect heart disease even before you know you’re sick.

Are you interested in a GI Genius™ system colonoscopy? Check out www.medtronic.com/genius

Indications, Safety, and Warnings

GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module

Indications

GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module is a computer-assisted reading tool designed to aid endoscopists in detecting colonic mucosal lesions (such as polyps and adenomas) in real time during standard white light endoscopy examinations of patients undergoing screening and surveillance endoscopic mucosal evaluations. The GI Genius™ computer-assisted detection device is limited for use with standard white-light endoscopy imaging only. This device is not intended to replace clinical decision making.

Contraindications and warnings

GI Genius™ system is intended to be used as an adjunct to colonoscopy procedures and is not intended to replace endoscopist assessment or histopathological sampling. GI Genius™ system does not make any elaboration or alteration of the colonoscopy video streaming, it only overlays graphical markers.

Danger: Do not use this system for any purpose other than its intended use.

Danger: The system does not perform any diagnosis.

Caution: The sale, distribution, and the use of the GI Genius™ system are restricted to prescription use in accordance with 21 CFR 801.109.

Caution: The device is not intended to be used as a stand-alone diagnostic device.

Caution: The device is not intended to characterize lesions in a manner that would potentially replace biopsy sampling.

Caution: The device is not intended to replace clinical decision-making.

Caution: The device is not intended to be used with equipment that was not tested against it during validation activities.

Caution: The device has not been studied in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), history of CRC, or previous colonic resection. The device performance may be negatively impacted by mucosal irregularities such as background inflammation from certain underlying disease.

Caution: Users should be aware, when using automated systems such as the GI Genius™ that provide assistance in identifying suspicious lesions, that a high level of reliance may be placed on the system output, potentially leading to user complacency and a bias towards accepting the system output results, rather than using the device as intended. The device is intended to provide adjunctive information to the endoscopist who performs endoscopic evaluations with an expected high level of clinical expertise. Placing too much reliance on the system in this way may lead to an unacceptably low level of procedural oversight (situational awareness), sub-par evaluation of the patient, and eventual endoscopist skill degradation, following which retraining may be necessary.

Danger: Using incompatible equipment can result in patient injury or equipment damage and makes it impossible to obtain the expected functionality.

Risks

Electrical risks

Danger: Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may place the patient and medical personnel in danger of electric shock. Keep fluids away from the system. If fluids are spilled on or into the system, immediately stop any operation of the system. If fluids are spilled on or into the system, immediately stop any operation of the system and contact support.

Danger: Do not use the system when not properly closed. Do not touch electrical contacts inside any component of the system.

Fire or explosion risks

Danger: In order to prevent fire and explosion, do not expose the system where:

There is a high concentration of oxygen

Air contains oxidizing agents (e.g., n2o)

Air contains any flammable gases

There are flammable liquids nearby

Interferences

Warning: System may interfere with other equipment.

Caution: Electromagnetic interference may occur to this instrument when it is placed near equipment marked with the following symbol electromagnetic interference symbol or other portable and mobile RF communications equipment such as cellular phones. If radio interference occurs, mitigation measures may be necessary, such as reorienting or relocating this instrument or shielding the location. Do not use GI Genius™ system and its cables closer than 30 cm (12 inches) to the equipment with the following symbol electromagnetic interference symbol.

Electromagnetic fields

Warning: Do not use the system where there is a strong electromagnetic field (e.g., magnetic resonance, wireless devices, microwave-emitting devices).

Mechanical forces

Caution: While pressing buttons or touching the system, do not use hard or pointed objects or apply excessive force otherwise damage to the equipment will occur.

Connection and disconnections

Caution: Do not connect/disconnect any cable of the system while any component is powered on, otherwise damage to the equipment will occur.

¹ Repici A, Badalamenti M, Maselli R, et al. Efficacy of real-time computer-aided detection of colorectal neoplasia in a randomized trial. Gastroenterology. 2020;159:512–520.e7
² Corley DA, Jenson CD, Marks AR JR, et al. Adenoma detection rate and risk of colorectal cancer and death. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:2539–2541
³ Corley DA, Jensen CD, Marks AR, et al. Adenoma detection rate and risk of colorectal cancer and death. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:1298–1306
⁴ Recipi A, Badalamenti M, Maselli R, et al. Artificial intelligence for colorectal polyp detection: high accuracy and detection anticipation with CB-17-08 performance. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. June 2019.

LINCOLN, Neb., April 22, 2025 /3BL/ – In a matter of months, the Arbor Day Foundation’s corporate partners have committed a combined $2.35 million to the nonprofit’s campaign, aiming to plant 10 million trees in states impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Truist Charitable Fund, MathWorks, Bank of America, and Target all committed to the hurricane recovery initiative after it was announced by the Foundation in late October.

“We felt a strong pull to make a commitment to long-term recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and clearly, we weren’t alone. In the face of devastation, these companies have made the bold choice to step up and invest in a better future,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Thanks to their leadership and the collaboration of our local planting partners, we can accelerate our effort to restore what’s been lost, enhance community resilience, and replant hope.”

The new funding from Truist Charitable Fund, MathWorks, Bank of America, and Target was supplied in addition to the projects these companies already support through the Arbor Day Foundation. Because of their support, tree recovery work began in the fall and will continue this spring in communities impacted by the back-to-back hurricanes, like Asheville, North Carolina.

The Arbor Day Foundation aims to plant 10 million trees over next four years in communities and forestlands in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Foundation has been heavily invested in assisting disaster-affected communities and forestlands since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005 and has planted and distributed millions of trees as a result. The work has aided recovery efforts following hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods.

There is still a great need for support as the Foundation seeks to replant hope following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Click here to learn more about how to help build towards better days in the region.

About the Arbor Day Foundation 

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners. And this is only the beginning.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.

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