The Herald Times: Bloomington Health Foundation announces $1M in grants for community efforts (6.5.18)
Bloomington Health Foundation President and CEO Jonathan Barada celebrates the official launch of the renamed foundation Tuesday at the Monroe Convention Center. H-T Staff Photo
The Bloomington Health Foundation announced more than $1 million in grants Tuesday evening during its official launch celebration at the Monroe Convention Center.
Previously the Bloomington Hospital Foundation, the rebranded organization celebrated its expanded focus by announcing $500,000 in gifts to Indiana University Health and programs under its umbrella, as well as an additional $500,000 to groups and organizations around the community.
“This expanded focus affords us the opportunity to provide cross-sector leadership, collaboration and coordination in addressing our community health needs — everything that directly and indirectly benefits the hospital and certainly our community at large,” said Angela Parker, BHF board chairwoman.
The investments come from the foundation’s newly formed High-Impact Community Health Solutions Fund, which will be used to address some of the most pressing health needs within the community, BHF President and CEO Jonathan Barada said to a crowd of more than 200 individuals.
“While every community has its challenges, ours belong to us. The Bloomington foundation is putting a
stake in the ground and saying, ‘We are here to make a difference. We see these problems every day, and the Bloomington Health Foundation is here to do something about them,” Barada said.
Although the foundation officially broke off from IU Health Bloomington Hospital five months ago, Barada said the organization will continue to support the hospital. The BHF announced a more than $212,000 gift to the IU Health Olcott Center, which provides support free of charge to individuals with cancer.
IU Health Community Health and the Monroe County Public Health Clinic will receive $80,000 to provide 1,600 free cribs to infants’ families who otherwise cannot afford a crib, in an effort to curb sleep related deaths in infants locally.
Additionally, the BHF announced a $13,000 grant for Volunteers in Medicine to conduct a feasibility study, a $47,000 gift to Centerstone and the City of Bloomington to continue a work program for individuals in addiction recovery and $50,000 to the city and the Bloomington Parks Foundation to provide free sunscreen at Bryan Park Pool and Mills Pool for the next five years.
Barada then got emotional announcing two investments addressing mental and behavioral challenges in the community.
First was a $181,500 investment to Monroe County United Ministries over three years to provide a full-time early childhood mental health therapist for pre-kindergarten children in MCUM’s day care.
Secondly, a $264,000 investment over three years to Catholic Charities to hire a caseworker and an additional mental health therapist to increase local mental health therapy capacity by 1,600 visits each year.
A million dollars is a big amount, both Barada and Parker said, but it’s just the start. After all, Tuesday was only the launch party.
“We’re going to take some chances. We’re going to probably miss the mark maybe once, maybe twice,” Barada said. “But we’re going to be bold, and we’re going to make some things happen in this community.”
More information can be found at the foundation’s new website, www.bloomingtonhealthfoundation.org.
Link to original article: https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/news/local/bloomington-health-foundation-announces-m-in-grants-for-community-efforts/article_0b4f2b49-4743-5e09-885b-0c8544b6e0ed.html
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