SpringBoard!
Providing young women with opportunities for a lifetime
SpringBoard! is making a difference in the lives of women in southern New Mexico. Started in 2003 by a group of women to address the needs of low-income women, SpringBoard! members recognized that women are the nurturers of our communities and critical decision makers in their homes-decisions about healthcare, parenting, cars, homes and other family investments.
In order to make the key decisions, it is essential for women to have an education and/or opportunities that often require financial support. Therefore it is a mission of SpringBoard! to share their resources with those who are less fortunate.
To date, SpringBoard! has distributed more than $14,455 in grants and scholarships to women in southern New Mexico. Each scholarship recipient has a vision of how an education will benefit herself, her family and her community. Most recipients are in truly meager financial circumstances. The opportunity for an education is a dream of a lifetime.
Those dreams have been fulfilled because of a few visionary women funders who believed they could make a difference in the lives of other women.
For information about SpringBoard!, call the Community Foundation at 575-521-4794 or visit the website at www.cfsnm.org .
CHILD SAFE/NIÑOS SEGUROS
Preventing Child Abuse in Southern New Mexico
Between July 2001 and March 2005, seven children in our community died of abuse. In 2002, all New Mexico's three child abuse deaths occurred in Dona Ana County. In 2003, there were 414 substantiated cases of child abuse in Dona Ana County. Including unreported cases, the actual number is thought to be closer to 1,500. With these shocking, and increasing numbers, of child abuse, a group of dedicated individuals formed ChildSafe/NiñosSeguros.
ChildSafe/NiñosSeguros exists to prevent child abuse and help provide a safe future for the children of southern New Mexico:
• Serving as an advocate for child and family support providers and assisting them in acquiring needed human and financial resources.
• Bringing together service providers to increase coordination and define where services are needed.
• Encouraging and supporting the development of new programs to fill service gaps.
• Increasing awareness of services that provide and promote clear, easily accessible information.
