Four local nonprofits were awarded tens of thousands of dollars in grants Thursday that will be used to improve and expand wellness services in La Plata County.
Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, which was formed in 2017, provides funding for health- and wellness-related causes on the Western Slope. The foundation awarded a total of $70,000 in the form of one-year grants to four local nonprofits.
“Wellness, in the broadest sense of the word, is something that we are committed to,” said Michaelle Smith, executive director of the foundation.
The foundation was formed after Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a nonprofit insurance company, was sold to UnitedHealthPlans. Money from that sale was set aside for the foundation because of tax requirements. The foundation has invested $32 million from the sale and will distribute grant funds in perpetuity, Smith said. The foundation expects to give away $1 million each year to the 22 counties on the Western Slope.
Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County received $20,000 to offer an after-school program called Sports Play and Active Recreation for Kids in Bayfield. The program will be offered two days a week and may grow to five days a week, said CEO Vaughn Morris.
The grant will function as seed money that will allow the organization to develop the program, Morris said.
A start date for the program has not been set, but it will be offered before end of the year. Programming won’t focus on traditional sports, but on games and activities that will draw in those who aren’t as interested in physical activity, he said.
It has not been determined if the Boys & Girls Club will serve elementary or middle school students, he said.
A regional nonprofit, 4 the Children, received $10,000 to expand services it provides to parents who must meet with their children in a supervised environment, said Ashley Hein, executive director of the nonprofit. The nonprofit serves many parents who have been ordered by a court to meet with their children in this kind of environment, she said.
“What we’re trying to do is create a warm and compassionate environment so that people can see their children and get their lives back together,” she said.
The organization has facilities in Durango and Cortez. The expansion will help the nonprofit hire staff and serve Archuleta County and other areas.
The La Plata Family Centers Coalition no longer provides supervised visitation, and 4 the Children has filled that role, she said.
Local First, a nonprofit that represents independent businesses, received $25,000 to complete a health needs assessment focused on the barriers small independent businesses face in providing affordable health care for employees. It plans to work with San Juan Basin Public Health and The Durango Network, an association of independent health care providers, on the assessment.
Local First is taking on the issue because it has heard from small businesses that health care and the rising cost is a major issue, said Monique DiGiorgio, managing director of Local First.
“Our members have been coming to us saying this is almost at a crisis level,” she said.
At a meeting in June, Local First and The Durango Network met with representatives from 30 businesses to discuss the issue. About 80 percent of those businesses saw an increase in health costs in the last year, and 57 percent were dissatisfied with the state of health care in La Plata County, according to data provided by Local First.
In addition to defining the problems, Local First will be asking businesses for their ideas and what investments they might be willing to make in providing health care, she said.
In the second and third years, Local First and its partners would like to pilot ideas to address the issue, she said.
Transportation
Southwest Center for Independence received $15,000 to operate Southwest Rides program, which serves veterans, the elderly and those with disabilities.
The center serves 300 people regularly, and the demand keeps rising, said Martha Mason, executive director. It is focused on providing transportation to medical appointments, among other needs.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
