2023 ANNUAL REPORT
A LETTER FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR and CEO
Susan Melendez - Board Chair
Tracy Yellen - CEO
Dear Friends:
The Paso del Norte region is home to the most well-respected bootmakers in the world. Handcrafted, durable, and resilient, cowboy boots are symbolic of our special region – and the work of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Health Foundation) and our community partners to promote health and prevent disease in our binational, tri-state region.
Since our inception in 1995, the Health Foundation has invested more than $249.9 million in grants and charitable expenses in partnership with hundreds of grantees and community stakeholders to make a significant community impact. We ended 2023 with $282.2 million in assets, up from $130 million in 1995. We were thrilled to honor past board chairs this year – celebrating 28 years of leadership and service.
IN 2023, THE HEALTH FOUNDATION INVESTED $12.8 MILLION IN SUPPORTING 111 GRANTEES IN THREE PRIORITY AREAS:
Healthy Living
Disease Prevention and Management
Health Leadership
Funding awarded in 2023 included support for leadership projects made possible thanks to the generous $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott in 2022.
To our board members, staff, community partners, and grantees who make us unique and strong – just like our cowboy boots – thank you for working with us to make an impact.
We invite you to learn more about our impact in 2023 through our strategic grantmaking, collaboration, and communications at pdnhf.org.
Respectfully,
Susan Melendez
Chair, Board of Directors
Tracy J. Yellen
Chief Executive Officer
Grant Information and HIGHLIGHTS
Healthy living
To support efforts that promote positive behaviors to prevent disease, including healthy eating, physical activity, smoking/vaping prevention, and positive opportunities for youth.
In 2023, the Health Foundation invested $4.17 million to support 46 grants under the Healthy Living priority area.
HEALTHY LIVING – ORGANIZATION GRANT LIST
Healthy Eating
To make healthy eating a priority in our community through health education, policy, and promotion.
Border Partners
Border Partners launched a new grant effort to promote healthier futures for school children across Palomas, Mexico. This initiative empowers healthy eating habits by creating a healthy school environment, which includes more than 700 school children, their teachers, parents, families, and school cooks in nutrition and gardening classes and growing their food at an on-site greenhouse in their community.
Border Partners is a nonprofit organization uniting people from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border by sharing resources, ideas, and experiences to improve the lives of people living in poverty along the border.
La Semilla Food Center
La Semilla Food Center is committed to building strong relationships and creating empowering spaces for youth and families to grow and cook good food, make positive changes, and foster connections among food, health, and local economies. Their programming provides gardening, nutrition, and cooking training to more than 1,500 students, teachers, and families in El Paso, Texas, and Doña Ana County, New Mexico, each year, thanks to support from the Health Foundation.
Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is one of 40 schools served by La Semilla in 2023 with funding support from the Health Foundation. Students of all grades put on their gardening gloves, shoveled, raked, and used a wheelbarrow to fill beds with soil, create irrigation pods, and plant herbs, flowers, and trees. They also took turns on a bike blender, making watermelon smoothies and healthy refreshments for all as a reward for their hard work.
Healthy Kids
To improve health outcomes by engaging disconnected youth ages 5-17 in high-quality programs during out-of-school hours and supporting opportunity youth ages 16-24 who are not in school and not working.
The Boost Network
Evidence indicates that youth who are involved in out-of-school programs are less likely to use drugs or alcohol or be involved in criminal activity. Well-designed youth activities increase the protective factors needed to lead healthy and productive lives.
The BOOST Network kicked off its second annual Kids Night Out by hosting 1,500 children and youth in Out-of-School Time (OST) programs in El Paso at UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium for a fun night of football and 1,500 children from Cd. Juárez for the FC Juárez Bravos vs. Pachuca soccer match at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juárez. The kids received a unique experience and created fond memories.
Funded by the Health Foundation in partnership with the United Way of El Paso County, the BOOST Network is a hub for all out-of-school time providers that work together to identify, explore, and create opportunities that increase the quality and effectiveness of afterschool programs for youth and families in the communities of west Texas, southern New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.