CommonSpirit presents Health Equity grants to Utah nonprofits

February 13, 2024
Photo for web article on grant presentations, Feb. 2024

Leaders of CommonSpirit Health’s Greater Salt Lake Market presented two grants in October 2023 to local nonprofit organizations that are working to better our communities every day.

These grants, which are a statement of our healing ministry’s commitment to building healthier communities and social justice for all, are among eight that were bestowed on Utah nonprofits from our Health Equity & Advancement Fund. A total of $5 million in grants are being distributed across Utah, Colorado and Kansas from the fund.

The two recipients of grant presentations in October include:

Red Barn Academy

Men who have reinvented their lives after years of substance abuse and crime spoke about the transformational recovery they received at Red Barn Academy during a grant presentation there on Oct. 4, 2023.

Red Barn Academy is a licensed, two-year minimum residential life-skills academy that reinvents lives broken from addiction and crime by teaching honesty, accountability, and integrity in a farm setting.

The work of Red Barn Academy serves not only to improve and even save the lives of men in their recovery journey, but also improves our communities by leading men impacted by substance abuse to productive lives of service.

“We are only at the beginning of our mission in Utah to build healthier communities and improve the health of those we serve,” said Kevin Jenkins, Market CEO for the Holy Cross Hospitals. “This extends far outside of the walls of our hospitals and clinics as we build relationships with organizations that share our mission and values that are making our communities and our citizens healthier one person at a time.”

Alliance Community Services

Alliance Community Services provides health services in a culturally sensitive manner in Spanish, serving underinsured community members who may not otherwise seek care, at a health office in the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City.

“In 2021 we launched our Health Equity & Advancement Fund to support our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion across our vibrant communities,” said Dr. Ozzie Grenardo, SVP and Chief Clinical Officer in Colorado, Kansas and Utah, who also leads our ministry’s DEI work. “As a nonprofit organization, we do not answer to shareholders. We actively participate in our communities and improve lives.”

Learn more about the Health Equity & Advancement Fund