Centura Health Announces 61 Grant Recipients for its $5 Million Health Equity & Advancement Fund

July 19, 2022

(CENTENNIAL, COLO.) 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, Utah 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:

Centura funded 19 organization dedicated to food security. They include the following:

  1. Brother Jeff's Cultural Center
  2. Coal Creek Meals on Wheels (CCMOW)
  3. Community Food Share
  4. Finney County CH Coalition
  5. Solid Rock Community Development Corporation
  6. Cultivate-Boulder
  7. Focus Points Family Resource Center
  8. Hunger Free Colorado
  9. Manna- the Durango Soup Kitchen
  10. Nourish Colorado (dba LiveWell Colorado)
  11. Project Angel Heart
  12. VIVE Wellness-Food Security and Mental Health
  13. Project Protect Food Systems Workers
  14. RISE Colorado
  15. Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance
  16. Sun Valley Kitchen Community Center (SVKCC)
  17. Tri-Lakes Cares
  18. Urban Symbiosis
  19. Jeffco Action Center, Inc. dba The Action Center

Centura funded 22 organizations dedicated to mental health. The recipients include the following:

  1. Center for African American Health
  2. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
  3. Homeward Pikes Peak
  4. Rose Andom Center
  5. Side By Side
  6. Veterans Community Project
  7. Advocates for Victims of Assault
  8. Break the Silence
  9. Community Compassion Outreach
  10. Embark Peer Coach Academy
  11. La Raza Services-Mental Health
  12. LinkAGES Colorado
  13. Mountain Resource Center
  14. Muslim Youth for Positive Impact
  15. Therapist of Color Collaborative
  16. Wild Plum Center for Young Children and Families
  17. Latina Safehouse-Chairez-Moreno
  18. Face It TOGETHER, Inc
  19. Friends of Broomfield
  20. Safe Shelter of St Vrain Valley
  21. Domestic Violence Initiative; DBA The Initiative
  22. Para Ti Mujer

Centura funded 20 organizations dedicated to social justice and health equity work. The recipients include the following:

  1. Catholic Charities of Central Colorado
  2. Chanda Plan Foundation
  3. Heart Mind Haven aka: Heart Mind Connect
  4. International Rescue Committee (IRC)
  5. Posada
  6. Project Worthmore
  7. Second Chance Through Faith
  8. The PLACE
  9. Colorado Changemakers Collective
  10. La Raza Services
  11. Community Health Partnership
  12. Mercy Housing Mountain Plains
  13. Vuela for Health
  14. Treeline Pass
  15. Lil Friends
  16. Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center
  17. Lifespan Local
  18. Southern Colorado Community Action Agency
  19. The Justice Center- Pikes Peak Justice and Pro Bono Center
  20. South Metro Community Foundation

 

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