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In The News

NMCF and Women Building Community Discuss Reproductive Justice on KUNM Call-In Show

November 7th, 2011

Women leaders working to effect positive change in New Mexico

According to the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition, a current recipient of the New Mexico Community Foundation’s (NCMF) Women Building Community collaborative, four out of ten New Mexican teenagers will become pregnant at least once before they reach twenty-one years of age. New Mexico has the second highest rate of teen birth in the nation at a cost of $550 million per year to the State (according to the most recent data collected in 2004) and immeasurable costs to individual and community health.

On Thursday, November 3, Renee Villarreal, Director of Programs and Community Outreach at NMCF, Adriann Barboa of Young Women United and Sylvia Ruiz of the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition, spoke with Elaine Baumgartel on the KUNM Call-In Show (a fiscal sponsor recipient of NMCF) about sex education, reproductive justice and the biggest problems facing young women in New Mexico today. Listen to the show and learn more about how organizations supported by NMCF are promoting positive community change, such as enhancing the health and economic well-being of women and girls, by investing in women leaders and their local efforts.

In 2010, the Women Building Community Fund extended $300,000 in grants to help fund the community-based work of 12 women of color-led organizations and their designated projects. Grant making for 2011 included seven women of color-led organizations with projects focusing on a reproductive justice framework. Learn more about Women Building Community and invest in women leaders by visiting our Greatest Needs page.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 7th, 2011 at 11:01 pm and is filed under Education, Health & Wellness, Stories, Women & Families.

NMCF Grantees Featured in New York Times Article “Food Blooms in the Desert”

October 27th, 2011

The New York Times food columnist, Mark Bittman, travelled to Southern New Mexico this September and witnessed an “inspiring sense of self-determination” in the youth who are drawing connections between prevalent health conditions in their communities and the food they eat. Through the direction of local collaborations and programs, such as the Women’s Intercultural Center and the Colonias Development Council, young community members are creating change by learning to garden, cook and, ultimately, by shaping the food system they’ll one day inherit.

As part of the “Community Solutions Grant Program”, this spring the New Mexico Community Foundation gave grants totaling $36,000 to support the work of the Colonias Development Council and the Women’s Intercultural Center.

The grants program is part of the foundation’s mission to encourage New Mexican nonprofits to address critical issues that affect children and families by collaborating with other statewide organizations that can help build their capacity for success. The program supports collaborations that promote education, leadership development, policy making, advocacy, and other valuable services such as equal access to food and economic self-sufficiency.

Read Mark Bittman’s article: “Food Blooms in the Desert”

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2011 at 8:41 pm and is filed under Cultural Preservation, Education, Leadership & Civic Involvement, Rural Development, Stories.

Oct. 22 FREE Integrative Medicine Educational Forum with NMCF’s Breast Wishes Fund

October 19th, 2011

On Saturday, October 22 from 10am-5pm, Breast Wishes (a fund of the New Mexico Community Foundation) is hosting a FREE Integrative Medicine Educational Forum at the Center for Progress and Justice, with the goal of better informing the public about breast wellness and breast cancer prevention. The forum will include a variety of activities such as Qi Gong, cooking and eating, as well as information sessions about the importance of health awareness and wellness in the prevention of breast cancer. Free consultations with practitioners will also be available to participants.

Schedule of Events:

10 am – Celeste Yacaboni – Womancentric Qi Gong

11 am – Cancer Free Cooking with Kaylee and Traci

12 pm – Complimentary Lunch!

1 pm – Margo Covington – Lymphatic Drainage

2 pm – John Shapiro – Cancer, Chemicals and the Environment

3 pm – Celeste Yacaboni – Breast Health Awareness including massage

4 pm – Breast Wishes Fund founder, Lexie Shabel’s DIY Inexpensive Cancer Wellness Protocol

For more information, please visit the Breast Wishes Fund.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Education, Health & Wellness, Stories, Women & Families.

Oct 19 NMCF’s Forum for Environmental Education & Dialogue meets in Pojoaque

October 18th, 2011

Wednesday, October 19
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Pojoaque Valley School Administration Building (see map below)
1574 New Mexico 502, Pojoaque, NM

The Forum for Environmental Education and Dialogue (FEED) is an ongoing monthly community meeting that invites public involvement and active dialogue on issues of environmental monitoring, contamination and remediation around Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

The October 19 FEED will focus on three topics:

Click image to view a larger map

LANL’s $212 million work and completion of three projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
LANL’s Community Relations Plan under the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit
Discussion of improvements/changes to future Forums

Updated 10/19 FEED Agenda:

In addition to a presentation made by Lorrie Bonds Lopez on LANL’s Community Relations, Wednesday’s Forum will also feature a previously requested presentation about LANL’s use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Allan Chaloupka, Program Director for Material Disposal Area B, will present on LANL’s $212 million work and completion of three projects under the Act:

Excavation of Material Disposal Area B
Installation of 16 groundwater monitoring wells
Decontamination and demolition of 24 buildings at Technical Area 21

Topics of discussion for each FEED meeting are determined by participant input. Mileage stipends are available to compensate interested participants. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, visit www.racernm.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Education, Environment & Animals, Leadership & Civic Involvement, Stories.

Oct. 18 NMCF’s Women Building Community Program Awarded $5,000

October 17th, 2011

Santa Fe, N.M. – Women across the nation lined up outside of 48 Eileen Fisher stores on Saturday, September 24th to help women across the nation. Ten percent of the proceeds from that day’s sales benefited 19 Women’s Funds that strategically invest in women and girls as solution builders. To sweeten the day, Eileen Fisher offered $25 off event day purchases and served desserts and champagne as women shopped.

The Santa Fe store on Lincoln Avenue experienced a rush of sales. “This was the first time this store was involved with New Mexico Community Foundation. We initially didn’t know about the Women Building Community program, so the day was all about learning. It was a wonderful experience ” said store manager LouAnn Nicholson. “Nationally Eileen Fisher stores did $2 million dollars in sales that day with $218,000 going towards women’s funds nationwide.”

New Mexico Community Foundation’s Women Building Community program will receive a check for $5,000 that will in turn be matched, dollar for dollar, by a national foundation. Women Building Community invests in women leaders to strengthen their local efforts by educating communities and taking action to reduce violence against women and girls and improve the health of women and children in New Mexico.

Anyone interested in contributing to Women Building Community fund may contact Elizabeth Madden, Director of Development for the New Mexico Community Foundation at 505-821-6735 or can keep the ripple effect going by giving online to Women Building Community through our Greatest Needs page.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2011 at 7:27 pm and is filed under Stories, Women & Families.

Oct. 12 Happy Hour Fundraiser to Benefit NMCF Breast Wishes Fund

October 10th, 2011

Breast Wishes Happy Hour Fundraiser, Oct. 12, 2011: (Left to Right) Lexie Shabel, Founder/Director of Breast Wishes Fund; Megan Tucker, Chef at Amavi; and Caroline Campbell, Breast Wishes Fund Board Member

Thank you to all who attended and were involved in planning this fabulous event!

Who: Breast Wishes Fund - improving access to integrative breast cancer
education and wellness to women of all ages

What: High End Happy Hour FUNDRAISER

Where: Amavi Restaurant, 221 Shelby Street, Santa Fe, NM

When: Wednesday, October 12, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Did you know that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime? Breast Wishes Fund (a fund of the New Mexico Community Foundation) is an online and community resource created to navigate the gauntlet of alternative and complementary choices for women and their families. Breast Wishes Fund supports women in making health decisions from a place of empowerment versus fear by offering concise information and events about integrative breast cancer and breast wellness options that their doctors may not be telling them about.

Please join us on Wednesday, October 12 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm for a very special High End Happy Hour fundraiser sponsored by Amavi Restaurant to raise support for the Breast Wishes Fund. New and old friends are invited to enjoy a sexy menu of healthy, seasonal, feminine-inspired foods and cocktails specially designed by chef, Megan Tucker. World-renowned cellist Michael Kott will be serenading. This is an invitational event though all are welcome. A requested $50 donation can be made at the door or online to Breast Wishes Fund at New Mexico Community Foundation.

For more information, please visit the Breast Wishes Fund.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 10th, 2011 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Health & Wellness, Stories, Women & Families.