Mission Magazine - Najim invests in building healthy future for children

Najim invests in building healthy future for children

January 2013

by Rosanne Fohn

Harvey Najim

Harvey Najim learned two lessons early in life: hard work pays off and that you have to make your own way in life to be successful. Najim applied those two principles and built a billion-dollar company, Sirius Computer Solutions, in San Antonio.

"For more than 30 years I focused on building a successful business, but later in life I realized that I wanted to achieve something more. I wanted to become a community leader who supports the needs of others," Najim said.

In 2006 he created the Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation focused on children’s health and education. This year, his generosity included gifts for two programs at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio honoring Charles Butt and the Charles Butt and H-E-B Excellence Fund for the Future of Health.

Gary Guest, D.D.S., professor and assistant dean for Predoctoral Clinics in the Dental School, received $5,000 for the annual Dental Sealant Program. Each February, about 650 second-graders from the Edgewood Independent School District ride the bus to the Dental School where they receive dental screenings, fluoride treatments and sealants from dental students and dental hygiene students. The grant provided dental equipment and supplies for the clinic, and toothbrushes, toothpaste and educational coloring books for the children to take home.
Rebecca Huston, M.D., M.P.H., clinical professor of pediatrics, received a $5,000 grant to purchase 2,397 books for children who receive care at four clinics run by the School of Medicine. Health care professionals and medical residents from the Health Science Center "prescribe" reading developmentally appropriate books and provide a beautiful new board book at each well-child checkup. Affiliated with the national, nonprofit Reach Out and Read organization, the program aims to improve literacy and school readiness for preschoolers, especially those from low-income families.

"We are grateful to Mr. Najim and the Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation for recognizing the value of these two programs that help make lives better for our youngest patients," said President ad interim Kenneth L. Kalkwarf, D.D.S., M.S. "These programs not only improve children’s health but help prepare them for a successful future."