During Women's History Month, we celebrate women’s achievements and progress toward gender equality—and we shine a light on the immense challenges and injustices that women and girls continue to face around the world.
At Eagle Valley Community Foundation we are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the Eagle River Valley, including our own leadership team, staff, Board, and volunteers. We know that it is our responsibility to raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity. It's not just something we say. It's not just something we write about. It's what we believe in, unconditionally. Equity means creating an inclusive world.
Keep scrolling to learn more about how these disparities are at play in each of our programs and how our successful interventions are making a difference right here in our community!
SNAP & Medicaid Changes
Last month, we shared about the ending of emergency SNAP allotments. This month, we seek to provide an update to our supporters about how this is affecting our work and our community.
With the reduction in emergency SNAP allotments, The Community Market is now serving over 4,000 people per week, compared to 3,500 last year and 1,900 pre-COVID. We expect to see continued need throughout the year as families in our community adjust to these changes. Eagle County currently has 1,272 individuals and 667 households using those food benefits. The average SNAP reduction in Eagle County is expected to be about $90 per person per month, meaning families of 4 will lose $360 worth of essential benefits.
Similar to SNAP allotment changes, Medicaid extended benefits due to COVID-19 are coming to an end in March. Medicaid cutbacks will affect even more residents. The county currently has 9,703 people using Medicaid benefits. Of those 5,538 people will have to go through the redetermination process. Not all will be re-accepted into the program. Therefore, those unable to re-enter into the program will return to not having health insurance. Enter the MIRA bus program, while staff work with clients to review their benefits, they are also walking alongside them to identify and navigate health resources and provide medical services, like Heart Health & Diabetes screenings, right on the bus.
To learn more, check out this article in the Vail Daily.
Vail Valley Partnership Success Award Finalist
We are excited to announce that Eagle Valley Community Foundation has been selected as a finalist for Actively Green Business of the Year AND The Community Market and MIRA are both finalists for Community Impact Award – Organization! The Vail Valley Partnership shared, "The 20th Annual Success Awards recognizes businesses and individuals who have excelled over the past year and acknowledges their hard work and dedication as the best in the Vail Valley." Congratulations to all the finalist for their work in our community, we are better together. For a full list of finalists click here.
Introducing- Elevar!
Thanks to generous support from The Colorado Health Foundation, Eagle Valley Community Foundation is proud to announce the launch of Elevar!
Elevar is an emergent leadership development program and social impact fund that provides community investments through grantmaking and program-related investments to emerging Latinx leaders and people of color. Through existing programs and partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, EVCF’s Elevar fund will create the connection point between existing education and leadership training programs, to the resources needed for emerging leaders to make their dreams a reality, while building economic power, and creating a more empowered and socially just community.
Through Elevar, we are partnering with a diverse range of organizations and programs to take the next step in supporting ongoing leadership development through cohort-based learning and coaching, as well as access to financial resources through a combination of privately funded grantmaking and program-related investments. We will continue to rely on the collective experiences of partner organizations and leadership cohorts to drive effective and equitable grantmaking decisions and increased impact to grow our Latinx leadership pipeline.
We are immensely proud of the group of thoughtful women leading this program. From our Executive Director, Melina Valsecia, and Director of People and Programs, Virginia Lecea, to our program leads, Julieta Cavallo and Erin Janklow, these women are changing the landscape of leadership in our community. We look forward to sharing the stories and success of the women and other leaders in this program throughout the year.
While the Colorado Health Foundation has provided generous seed funding to cover the administrative costs of the program, Eagle Valley Community Foundation is seeking donors and partners who would like to invest in leaders of color in our community to support grant making. For more information about making a gift to support this program, please contact Grace Anshutz at grace@eaglevalleycf.org.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by hunger: in too many households, they eat last and least. In nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries, women are more likely than men to suffer from hunger and food insecurity. Women are also our most powerful allies in the fight against hunger. Women also reinvest as much as 90% of their income back into their families, helping to improve health, nutrition, and more.
In their homes, mothers and grandmothers are often the first people to spot signs of malnutrition and to take action. In health outposts and treatment centers, female doctors, scientists, nurses, community health workers are revolutionizing the ways we prevent and treat malnutrition.
There are countless examples of women creating better lives for themselves, their children, and their communities, despite the inequities and challenges they face. Thank you to the countless women who better our community through The Community Market as customers, volunteers, and staff.
Community Partner Highlight: Early Morning Orchard
We are so grateful for our collaboration with Early Morning Orchard (Skip’s Farm), a farm-based CO food hub that partners with The Community Market as well as other local and regional food pantries to source and deliver Colorado grown, fresh, culturally responsive, nutrient dense vegetables, fruit, and other products year round.
Currently, the Early Morning Orchard team is responsible for the pickup and delivery of the free ground beef we receive monthly from Lazy 3X Ranch in the Grand Valley (as they received an LFPA grant from the USDA to provide regional food pantries ground beef at no cost through April of 2024.)
Kaye Davis, Food Systems and Culinary Director for Early Morning Orchard, has been dedicated to the local food movement over the past twenty years as a farm chef, private chef, farmer and farm manager. Her commitment to this movement is based in the belief that supporting local farmers and food producers creates a sustainable and secure local food system, supporting farmers who are stewards for their land, building soil and providing nutrient dense produce for their community. At Early Morning Orchard, Kaye has created the mission of soil building for nutrient density, growing for the specific needs of the farm's customers, providing opportunity for young farmers, supporting other farms and growing and sourcing produce for food pantries, based in the belief that everyone deserves access to nutrient dense food.
Collaborations at the heart of our work. Thank you, Kaye Davis and Early Morning Orchard, for your role in helping to provide access to nutrient dense food for all community members.
Women & Health Systems
Throughout human history, women have played a significant role in health care. As healers, herbalists, midwives, physicians, spiritual leaders and many other roles, women participated in the medical care of their communities.
In the early 1900s, women made up only 5% of American physicians. Today, just over 1/3 of all doctors are women, and female doctors make up over 64% of pediatricians. These trends appear to continue in medical school residents, with women making up the great majority of those studying family medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology. In the allied health professions, such as nursing, women dominate every field, with ratios as high as 9:1.
Despite improvements in access to medical training and professions, there is still work needed in achieving pay equality. The pay gaps in these fields are startling. 1 in 3 doctors are women, but they make only 69¢ to every dollar earned by their male colleagues, even adjusting for factors such as age, experience, and specialty.
What can we do to continue the progress towards gender parity in healthcare professions? Awareness of disparity is an important first step. Supporting women who speak up for a voice, for change, and for equality is also important. Helping future generations see women as an integral part of our health care is critical - not only for little girls to see role models, but also for little boys to see women in these important roles as well. There is much to be done, but a shared vision and collaboration will get us there, together. Our MIRA team is leading the way in this change in our community through their visibility and leadership.
Mobile Health Map, a program of the Harvard School of Medicine
MIRA is ecstatic to be partnering with Mobile Health Map, a program of the Harvard School of Medicine. Mobile Health Map is a network of mobile clinics working together to advance health equity. By uniting local resources with national best practices, we can innovate, evaluate, and communicate the impact of mobile health care.
The Mobile Health Map program evaluates programs in the categories of equitable, health promoting, proactive, transparent, and effective & efficient. We are proud that the Harvard School of Medicine has assessed our program to be 5 out of 5 in 4 of 5 said categories. To view our dashboard results from 2022, click here!
March has been a wonderful time to reflect and acknowledge the many women in our local community that may be struggling with hunger and food insecurity. Thanks to our amazing staff, volunteers and supporters, we can connect with thousands of community members and lift them up through our programs, especially at a time when they need it most.
