As 2022 winds down, it’s only natural to look back at the year behind us, see how far we’ve come, what we’ve accomplished, and what lies ahead. At our Annual Meeting in December, NCHT staff presented a Year in Review report to our Board of Directors. We wanted to share this presentation with our community and nonprofit partners in a series of year-in-review blogs.
August
In August, our newly assembled program team, alongside our CEO, launched a multi-year general operating grant program that focused on the following areas:
- Early childhood development – This includes organizations focused on children ages 0-5 through evidence-based home visitation, quality childcare, parenting education, prenatal support, social and emotional education, single parents of young children, and other similar services
- The prevention and mitigation of certain adverse childhood experiences (ACES) – This includes organizations working to prevent and mitigate physical & sexual abuse, neglect, substance use disorders, incarceration, domestic violence, and homelessness.
- The creation of and support for positive childhood experiences (PCES) – This includes organizations working to create positive childhood experiences through after-school programs, summer camps, mentoring programs, caregiver-child experiences, and more.
- Mental and behavioral health services – This includes organizations that provide counseling and therapy, suicide prevention, addiction support and treatment, and other mental health services.
Each spring and fall, these 2-year general operating grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $20,000-$100,000 per year to qualifying nonprofits. In the Fall 2022 grant cycle, 13 Natrona County nonprofits were selected to receive over $1.8 million over the next two years. The next grant cycle will begin in February of 2023.
September
Just as the school year was beginning, NCHT welcomed a student of their own. Stephanie Miller joined the team as the Trust’s first Master of Social Work practicum intern. Stephanie is supervised by Ray Pacheco, Senior Director of Programs and Community Engagement.
Stephanie’s internship is focused on macro level social work, which entails addressing large-scale systemic issues and policies. She’ll be with the Trust through April of 2023. In addition to her work with the program team, Stephanie has been spending time getting to know the entire business of running a health conversion foundation.
Also in September, and in partnership with the Natrona County Library, NCHT brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the children of Natrona County. This program provides a free book each month by mail to children from birth to age five. In addition to nurturing literacy, the program promotes positive childhood experiences (PCES), as it encourages quality time between a child and an adult in their lives. According to Samantha Smith, Senior Director of Programs and Community Engagement, about 1,400 Natrona County kids had been registered for Imagination Library by December. Parents and caregivers can register children for the program at the library’s website.
Watch for more year-in-review posts throughout the rest of December on our website and Facebook page.