Santa Fe Children’s Museum
Santa Fe, New Mexico/$200,000

The best learning takes place in an environment where people can motivate themselves, have fun, and experience the enjoyment of seeking answers to questions THEY formulate. Santa Fe Children’s Museum houses hands-on exhibits and activities that intrigue, delight, and challenge more than 68,000 schoolchildren, families and tourists each year. Ongoing outreach programs include, among others: Los Amigos Summer Day Camp; Museum-on-Wheels, serving children undergoing medical treatment in Albuquerque and Santa Fe; free daily art and science programming; monthly family performances; professional development for educators; and free passes and memberships to disadvantaged families.

Share Your Care Adult Day Services
Albuquerque, New Mexico/$4,500

Providing quality adult day care for the elderly living at home with their families, Share Your Care gives clients who are frail or who have Alzheimer’s Disease or other developmental or mental disabilities a safe place to be during the day while their families and/or caregivers are at work or dealing with other tasks of daily life. Two of the six sites are not equipped with administrative staff to answer telephones; direct care staff must take the calls. Funding goes towards the purchase of a telephone system that will automatically route calls to the appropriate departments. 

The Española Animal Shelter
Española, New Mexico/$30,000

EAS is recognized as the leading animal shelter in New Mexico in the promotion of spay and neuter programs; despite this record, intake numbers will not significantly decrease for at least 4-5 years.  Flying Puppies and Driving Doggies – an animal transfer program that drives animals to partner shelters and mobile adoption centers across the nation with better placement records – has saved the lives of over 6,000 animals since its inception.   The first van, provided by Frost, is in disrepair.  Current funding replaces that van and ensures continuation of the transfer program. 

New Mexico Women’s Foundation
Santa Fe, New Mexico/$15,000

Thousands of New Mexico single mothers are expected to raise their children on less than $10,000 per year.  NMWF is working to eradicate poverty among rural populations through the Women’s Cottage Industry program, dedicated to creating employment opportunities for women that allow them to remain in their communities.  Focusing on reviving traditional handmade crafts and/or by designing and developing new products, support is given to projects and organizations that lead to business opportunities and financial independence for participants.   

Trust for Public Land New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico/$20,000

The US Census predicts that New Mexico will be the second fastest growing state in the nation in the next ten years.  While not seeing the urban sprawl found in other western states – yet – TPL aims to protect and preserve New Mexico’s significant cultural, ecological and economic sites.  TPL’s conservation specialists are trained in real estate, land management and property law, and work with willing sellers, community groups, elected leadership and government agencies to identify conservation priorities and opportunities, find funding, and complete transactions. 

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana/$22,000

Higher than the national average, Louisiana’s mortality rate from breast cancer is attributed to the advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. There is an urgent need for more aggressive screening efforts, particularly for low-income and uninsured women. The Breast Cancer Screening Collaborative provides breast exams, mammograms and patient education through twice monthly screenings at various sites throughout the region. Foundation funds help cover the expansion of this service to more than 1,200 women.

Planned Parenthood of Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana/$25,000

With the third highest pregnancy rate among teens, and the eighth highest HIV infection rate nationally, the need for better reproductive health and education services in Louisiana is evident. Planned Parenthood offers free and reduced-cost services including birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, HIV testing and counseling, pregnancy testing and options counseling, pap smears, breast exams, colposcopy and cyrotherapy. Expansion of the size and scope of services includes moving to a renovated facility, which will permit for a 20% increase in the number of patients served.

Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic
Lafayette, Louisiana/$15,000

Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic provides free ambulatory medical and dental care, and free pharmaceuticals to the uninsured that earn low to moderate incomes living in Lafayette Parish.  Recently identified needs resulted in the initiation of three pilot programs: a sports clinic for middle-school children who want to participate in school sports but cannot afford the qualifying physical; dental hygiene prophylaxis and sealants for youth ages 7-13 without access to preventative health care; and dental hygiene and extraction clinics for the homeless population. 

Providence House
Shreveport, Louisiana/$100,000

Providence House is a residential development center for homeless families with children whose singular aim is to break the homeless cycle one family at a time.  The Child Development Center provides quality childcare to children at greatest risk of repeating their parents’ poverty.  Facing an emergency funding crisis, PH seeks operational support to continue to provide children with a solid educational start in life that will secure a productive future, and to provide parents with a solid model to raise their kids, encouraging more active engagement from both parents in the lives of their children.  

Covenant House New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana/$15,000

Covenant House helps homeless and at-risk youth ages 16-21 and their children build skills and resources for independent living.  It annually serves 750-800 youth and children in the emergency shelter, 60-80 in long-term transitional living programs, and hundreds more through a variety of outreach, job training, childcare and healthcare programs.  Foundation funds support general operating costs, including the Youth Empowerment Mall (an on-campus “high school” of educational and job training options); Cov Café, providing jobs for youth and an additional income for the center; and substance abuse programs.