The Carolyn Smith-Tall Charitable Fund was founded in 2022 by Colonel Victor Tall in honor of his mother's (Carolyn Smith-Tall), significant contributions to the field of nursing, emergency medicine, and the general health and welfare of families and children.
Victor recalls his mother coming home from long shifts in the emergency room, often speaking about the painful realities of healthcare disparity. Out of those stories grew one of the purposes of this charitable fund to help reduce inequities in healthcare.
As a matter of background, Carolyn Smith-Tall, a true woman of God put her faith into action while passionately serving others as a nurse. Carolyn Smith-Tall is a proud graduate of the Freedmen’s
Hospital School of Nursing. While there, she excelled academically, joined the historic Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority, and was deeply involved in campus life. The Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing transitioned to become the Howard University School of Nursing after an Act of Congress in 1967. Consequently, another purpose of this charitable fund is to support the Howard University school of Nursing and nursing students nationwide.
She went on to break barriers as one of the first African American Head Nurses in Cleveland, Ohio, and served as an emergency room nurse, psychiatric ward nurse, geriatric care nurse, pathology nurse, and professor of emergency medicine. Therefore, another purpose of this charitable fund is to support the general field of nursing and emergency medicine.
Her commitment did not stop at the hospital doors—she led parent-based organizations, advocated for families, and championed children with passion and perseverance. For that reason, the final purpose of the charitable fund is to support the general welfare of children and families.
The legacy of Carolyn Smith-Tall lives on through this charitable fund. It empowers promising young nursing students to follow in her footsteps—entering the profession not only with skill, but with compassion, courage, and a calling to bring healing where it is most needed. Moreover, it advances the emergency medicine profession along with providing support for the well being of families and children.
On behalf of the Tall family we ask you to donate to support the legacy of Carolyn Smith-Tall.
Help us make this inspiring charitable fund a beacon of light to the world of nursing and bring wholeness to families and children by hitting the highlighted donation link!
