Western Colorado Community Foundation awards $40,000 to support health in Roaring Fork Valley
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
The Western Colorado Community Foundation (WCCF) has awarded $40,000 in grants to local organizations working to improve health and welfare in the extended Roaring Fork Valley.
These inaugural grants were made possible through the newly established Roaring Fork Valley Community Health Fund (RFVCHF), according to a Monday news release.
The RFVCHF is just one of more than 330 charitable funds managed by the WCCF, which oversees around $187 million in assets across western Colorado. The fund supports initiatives in workforce and health education, advanced primary care, safety net services and other health-focused efforts led by local organizations serving communities from Aspen to Parachute.
The WCCF administered this year’s grant review process on behalf of the RFVCHF committee, which is composed of local health professionals including Dr. Lauren Sontag, Dr. Jennifer Bouchet and Dr. Gary Knaus. Grants will be awarded through the RFVCHF annually, according to Emily Orbanek, WCCF director of programs and special projects.
“We had had an existing fund in the Roaring Fork Valley to support primary care and basic medical needs for a number of years,” Orbanek said. “There was new interest in kickstarting that concept again with this new generation of doctors, so this is a field of interest fund that focuses on community health aspects.”
Nine organizations received funding, including the Colorado River BOCES – Yampah Mountain Educational Foundation, Family Visitor Program of Garfield County, Inc. DBA Great Expectations, FocusedKids, Mountain Family Health Centers, River Bridge Regional Center, River Center of New Castle, Inc., The Meeting Place, Valley Meals and More and Valley Settlement. Grant awards ranged from $1,000 to $10,000.
“We’re really excited about this fund in particular because of the community health (aspect we’re) trying to support,” Orbanek said. “We understand that there’s tremendous need in the Roaring Fork Valley and this fund allows us to meet it in a way that the Western Colorado Community Foundation wasn’t able to previously .
“We’re really excited to have this fund on board,” she added.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.