Paso del Norte Health Foundation Awards Over $557,000 to Advance Regional Health

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation is awarding more than half a million dollars in grants to seven organizations working to improve health across the Borderplex region. A total of $557,902.83 will support efforts in three priority areas: Health Leadership, Disease Prevention and Management, and Healthy Living.

Health Leadership, one of the Foundation’s three priority areas, focuses on equipping healthcare and nonprofit leaders with the tools and training necessary to strengthen their organizations and deliver meaningful impact. The following organizations received funding to advance Health Leadership:

• BorderRAC - $25,000 - To support the Regional Whole Blood Program Coordinator, a clinical and administrative professional responsible for the coordination, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Regional Whole Blood Program.
• Fundación Paso del Norte para la Salud y Bienestar, A.C. - $15,991.97 - To prepare new board training facilitators and offer board training to at least 70 unique individuals in Cd. Juárez, MX.
• United Way of El Paso County - $118,396.96 - To provide nonprofit board training for 260 unique participants in El Paso, TX.

The Disease Prevention and Management priority area supports efforts to help community members prevent or manage diabetes and expand access to mental health and emotional well-being resources. Grant recipients in this area include:

• UTHealth Houston - $70,013.90 - To conduct a needs assessment to inform the development of an initiative that supports healthy eating to prevent or manage disease in the Paso del Norte region.

Two additional grants support the Healthy Living priority, which encourages individuals to make healthy choices every day, starting in childhood. Grantees include:

• Action for Healthy Kids - $233,500 - To provide at least 2,000 adult parents and caregivers, school personnel, and community practitioners with vaping and tobacco prevention information that builds skills for youth prevention, early identification, and intervention across the Paso del Norte region.
• Reconnecting with the Disconnected - $25,000 - To support its leadership development and community engagement and clean-up program for at-risk youth, defined primarily as youth in credit recovery, truancy prevention, or community service engagement as directed by either the school system or the courts.
• A&M University Colonias Program - $70,000 - To provide 800 parents and caregivers with bilingual education on youth vaping prevention to support awareness, prevention, and early intervention in the Paso del Norte region.

“Our region’s health depends on strong leadership, prevention efforts, and daily healthy choices,” said Tracy Yellen, Paso del Norte Health Foundation CEO.

“This funding supports the hands-on work happening across our community to prevent disease, improve mental health, and strengthen local leadership. Together, we are creating lasting impact across the region.”

To view more about funding opportunities, click here.