News

Foundation awards grants to engage disconnected youth in the region

September 8, 2015

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recently awarded eight grants for more than $655,000 under the Healthy Relationships Priority Area – IGNITE Initiative. The goal of the IGNITE initiative is to improve health outcomes of disconnected youth through participation in high quality out-of-school programs in the Paso del Norte region.

Funded organizations are:

Boy Scouts of America Yucca Council - $130,256.50 Unidos Prosperamos To recruit 100 new, disconnected boys in the far east El Paso and southwest New Mexico to become part of the Boy Scouts of America program.

Centro de Asesoria y Promoción Juvenil, A.C. - $119,900.00 Creating Positive Environments through youth, schools, and community participation To recruit and retain 875 disconnected youth ages 11-18 through out-of-school workshops in five community centers in Ciudad Juárez, MX.

The FEMAP Foundation - $88,570.00 FEMAP in Connection 2015 To continue to implement an out-of-school program for 310 disconnected children and youth in the URBI Villa del Campo community in Ciudad Juárez, MX.

Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest-Southern New Mexico & West Texas Inc. - $93,860.80 Troop Pathway Specialist To create 30 self-sustaining troops via 300 girls and 60 adults in Doña Ana, Luna, and Otero counties in New Mexico, and offer the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to disconnected girls.

Ngage New Mexico - $38,060.00 Policies Affecting Youth Impact - DAC To conduct a thorough review and analysis of policies that contribute to disconnection and identify policies that reduce youth disconnection in Doña Ana County, NM.

Organización Popular Independiente, A.C. - $113,817.00 Development of Positive Environments for Children and Youth in Ciudad Juárez, MX To provide after school and summer programming to 350 youth in Ciudad Juárez, MX through music, art, dance and sports activities.

Patronato del Museo del Niño de Ciudad Juárez, A.C. - $18,763.45 Turning Disconnected Youth into Museum Guides To recruit and train 120 disconnected youth from Ciudad Juárez, MX to serve as museum guides at La Rodadora, the only interactive museum in Ciudad Juárez and the largest museum in the state of Chihuahua and El Paso, TX.

The University of Texas at El Paso - $52,366.00 Connection Matters: A study of school districts’ self-interest and policies To conduct a comprehensive analysis of regional school district policies that contribute to or reduce youth disconnection through out-of-school programming.

For more information on these grants, call Bianca Aguilar, Associate Program Officer for the Paso del Norte Health Foundation at 915-544-7636 or baguilar@pdnhf.org.