Established in 2005 and funded for four years by The Duke Endowment, a South Carolina Diversity Coalition was formed in each of the four SC AHEC regions. Each coalition established goals, objectives, implementation strategies and outcome measures for collaborative programs designed to increase the number of minority students choosing to enter healthcare careers. Coalition membership includes representatives from healthcare professions, hospitals, educational programs, faith-based organizations, businesses, industries and others. Five strategies were identified as focus areas for community projects: Parental Involvement, Student Motivation, Public Policy, Community Awareness, and Academic Performance. Sustainability has always been a high priority.
Since their inception, the four Coalitions for Health Careers have had success in the development and facilitation of a variety programs with initiatives designed to:

• Raise the awareness of opportunities within the health professions field by students, parents and the community,
• Increase the academic performance of elementary and middle school students, and
• Expand advocacy for the exploration of health careers within schools, faith-based and other community organizations.

In the fall of 2009, each regional Coalition was asked to prepare a Blue Paper for sustainability and include lessons learned, obstacles to avoid, recommendations for success, specific plans for coalition continuation, and highlight community projects. The Blue Paper concept is intended to support the continued refinement of the implementation of projects while serving as a blue print for replication. The following Blue Papers represent four of several accomplishments designed, planned and implemented by the Coalitions. The Blue Papers (below) were highlighted as a demonstration of outcomes during the presentation of "South Carolina Diversity Coalitions: A Statewide Approach for Extending the Outreach to Under-Represented and Minority Students", a workshop to be lead by the South Carolina AHEC as a part of the National AHEC Organization conference in Las Vegas, NV June 20-24, 2010.