News
Kids prepare healthy snacks after school
May 23, 2023
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, and variety is as important as quantity. Recently, Desert Spoon Food Hub shared a healthy snack of fruits and vegetables with kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of El Paso in their afterschool program. Kids mixed apples, tangerines, berries, honey, and mint for a tasty and healthy dish that is easy to recreate at home. Desert Spoon Food Hub was established in 2015 to build a more local and inclusive food system. They created the Taster Space program to encourage students to explore the food frontier through fun food exploration,…
Students work together to build their school garden
May 23, 2023
Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces has a new school garden thanks to the help of La Semilla Food Center. Students of all grades put on their gardening gloves and participated in shoveling, raking, and using a wheel barrel to fill beds with soil. They learned to create irrigation pods and planted herbs, flowers, and trees. For their hard work, students took turns on a bike blender, making watermelon smoothies as a refreshment for all.
La Semilla is a grantee of the Health Foundation’s Healthy Eating Initiative and provides gardening, nutrition, and cooking training to…
Mental Health support is available in our region
May 23, 2023
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and the Health Foundation is proud to support several nonprofit organizations throughout the region focused on mental health and well-being. Below are a few nonprofit organizations working to make an impact in the community.
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness El Paso (NAMI El Paso) offers free educational classes, presentations, advocacy programs, community forums, and support groups in both English and Spanish.
- Centro Caritativo para Atención de enfermos de Sida’s “Plena-Mente” program delivers Mental Health First Aid training to teachers,…
Sharing our community stories
May 23, 2023
In early January, El Paso was selected as a stop in StoryCorps’ mobile tour to collect stories from people in our community. The Paso del Norte Health Foundation and Paso del Norte Community Foundation were invited to help bring to life the verbal stories of several of our community partners, grantees, funds, and friends.
StoryCorps’ mobile tour has traveled across the United States collecting stories from people in every corner of the country to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to…
A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity for El Paso
April 27, 2023
Following a series of community meetings earlier this year, planners have developed guiding principles and preliminary programming concepts for the Downtown Deck Plaza. These concepts are the next step in an on-going study of the feasibility of creating El Paso’s next great public space over Interstate 10 between Campbell Street and Prospect Street. The Deck Plaza would reconnect neighborhoods, provide opportunities for inclusive economic development, and create a regional amenity for residents and visitors to enjoy.
In support of the City of El Paso, the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation…
Foundation staff gather to learn from each other
April 24, 2023
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation and Paso del Norte Community Foundation staff recently participated in their yearly staff retreat. Dr. Melanie Longhurst, assistant professor and licensed clinical psychologist in the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Department of Psychiatry, presented the importance of managing stress, mindfulness, and mental health. After the presentation, the staff participated in a team-building activity at the Red Door Escape Room.
Thank you to El Paso Community College Administrative Service Center for allowing us to use their facility.
The BOOST Network, a one-stop shop for summer programs
April 22, 2023
As the summer break approaches, the search for programs for children and youth can be unwieldy. The BOOST Network offers a practical solution for parents and youth to find the program best aligned with the interests, budget, and location of its seeker through the Spring Into Summer campaign.
This awareness campaign promotes enrollment in summer programs offered by the region’s out-of-school-time (OST) providers. The BOOST Network compiled a comprehensive list of summer programs in the Paso del Norte region (El Paso, southern New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez). The Summer Resource Guide can…
Ribbon Cutting celebration of Segment II of Playa Drain Trail
April 22, 2023
In partnership with the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, the City of El Paso celebrated the addition of Segment II of the Playa Drain Trail with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Health Foundation senior program officer Jana Renner provided comments during the ceremony, joining City Council Representative Henry Rivera, neighborhood association leaders, city staff, and members of the community.
The newly completed segment stretches from Knights to Yarbrough Drive near Mission Valley’s Shawver Park. The $1.2 million investment allows visitors to walk, jog or cycle, and includes amenities such as…
Health Foundation awards more than $1.2 million in grants under Healthy Kids Initiative
April 22, 2023
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recently awarded 12 grants totaling more than $1.2 million under the Healthy Kids Initiative. This Initiative works to improve a range of health outcomes by engaging disconnected youth and young adults in the Paso del Norte region in high-quality programs during out-of-school hours. The Health Foundation refers to “disconnected youth” as people between the ages of 5-17 who are not involved in out-of-school activities or not working and to “disconnected youth adults” as young people between the ages of 16-24 who are not in school and not working.
**Boy…
REALIZE Executive Cohort Engages in Interactive Activities to Build Leadership Skills
April 22, 2023
Recently, the REALIZE Executive cohort participated in an off-site retreat in Marfa, Texas. The cohort engaged in leadership development activities rooted in the theatrical arts to positively influence executive presence, successful interactions with team members, communication, office culture, and more. With a background in counseling, theater, and trial consultation, Monica Mojica led the interactive lessons.
REALIZE Executive inspires already effective leaders to become transformational leaders to benefit the region’s health. The Health Foundation funds the REALIZE program, which is…
