(CENTENNIAL, COLO.), July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centura Health, the region’s health care leader, announced today a record 61 organizations will receive funds through its $5 million Health Equity & Advancement Fund. The program, which was created in 2021, extends Centura’s mission to do more to meet the profound mental health, food security and social justice and health equity needs in Colorado and western Kansas.
“By supporting 61 organizations through the Centura Health Equity and Advancement Fund, we are bringing new opportunities to enhance the health and wellbeing of our region,” said Oswaldo Grenardo, MD, SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Centura Health. “From feeding our friends and neighbors who face food insecurity to those battling to get equal access to health care, these new and expanded community partnerships allow us to reach people who might otherwise continue to struggle. It is truly a blessing to be here for those that our mission calls us to serve.”
The Centura Health Equity & Advancement Fund was created to extend the impact of community-based efforts focused on advancing social justice through initiatives that extend health equity across the region. The grants this year ranged between $25,000 and $148,192 and were awarded to programs that serve diverse and underserved populations, focus on diverse caregivers, and leverage collaborations with other partners to increase social impact. A total of 222 applications were received, equaling $29 million in requests.
“We recognize there is a tremendous need in our community to ensure every family, every neighborhood and every community has the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible, which is why Centura took the bold step in 2022 and raised the fund from $1 million to $5million,” said Dr. Grenardo. “As neighbors serving neighbors, our mission calls us to do more, and we are excited to see the positive impact our grants will have on the world around us.”
Grant recipients include 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofits, community organizations using a nonprofit 501(c)(3) as a fiscal sponsor based in Colorado or Kansas and within 50 miles of a Centura facility. Projects being funded will begin in the Fall of 2022 and must be completed by August 2023. The next Health Equity & Advancement Fund grant will open in the Spring of 2023.
See below for a complete list of grantees.
2022 Health Equity & Advancement Fund Recipients
Centura funded 19 organization dedicated to food security. They include the following:
- Brother Jeff's Cultural Center
- Coal Creek Meals on Wheels (CCMOW)
- Community Food Share
- Finney County CH Coalition
- Solid Rock Community Development Corporation
- Cultivate-Boulder
- Focus Points Family Resource Center
- Hunger Free Colorado
- Manna- the Durango Soup Kitchen
- Nourish Colorado (dba LiveWell Colorado)
- Project Angel Heart
- VIVE Wellness-Food Security and Mental Health
- Project Protect Food Systems Workers
- RISE Colorado
- Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance
- Sun Valley Kitchen Community Center (SVKCC)
- Tri-Lakes Cares
- Urban Symbiosis
- Jeffco Action Center, Inc. dba The Action Center
Centura funded 22 organizations dedicated to mental health. The recipients include the following:
- Center for African American Health
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
- Homeward Pikes Peak
- Rose Andom Center
- Side By Side
- Veterans Community Project
- Advocates for Victims of Assault
- Break the Silence
- Community Compassion Outreach
- Embark Peer Coach Academy
- La Raza Services-Mental Health
- LinkAGES Colorado
- Mountain Resource Center
- Muslim Youth for Positive Impact
- Therapist of Color Collaborative
- Wild Plum Center for Young Children and Families
- Latina Safehouse-Chairez-Moreno
- Face It TOGETHER, Inc
- Friends of Broomfield
- Safe Shelter of St Vrain Valley
- Domestic Violence Initiative; DBA The Initiative
- Para Ti Mujer
Centura funded 20 organizations dedicated to social justice and health equity work. The recipients include the following:
- Catholic Charities of Central Colorado
- Chanda Plan Foundation
- Heart Mind Haven aka: Heart Mind Connect
- International Rescue Committee (IRC)
- Posada
- Project Worthmore
- Second Chance Through Faith
- The PLACE
- Colorado Changemakers Collective
- La Raza Services
- Community Health Partnership
- Mercy Housing Mountain Plains
- Vuela for Health
- Treeline Pass
- Lil Friends
- Southwestern Colorado Area Health Eduction Center
- Lifespan Local
- Southern Colorado Community Action Agency
- The Justice Center - Pikes Peak Justice and Pro Bono Center
- South Metro Community Foundation
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ABOUT CENTURA HEALTH
Centura Health connects individuals, families and neighborhoods across Colorado and western Kansas with more than 6,000 physicians and 21,000 of the best hearts and minds in health care. Through our 19 hospitals, two senior living communities, neighborhood health centers, physician practices and clinics, home care and hospice services, and Flight For Life® Colorado, our caregivers make the region’s best health care accessible. We’re on a mission to build flourishing communities and whole person care. We’re Centura Health, and we’re your dedicated health partner for life. For information on Centura Health or any of the facilities in our network, please visit the Centura Health website.
