Victories for health equity from #MDGA24!
The 2024 Maryland General Assembly wrapped up on April 8, securing some important victories for health equity in our state. The Horizon Foundation and our statewide partners were hard at work in Annapolis advocating for over a dozen pieces of legislation. In particular, we supported funding for 988 and other behavioral health services, access to health insurance for uninsured immigrants and enacting universal school meals at no cost to all students in the state, among others. Check out this month’s blog for a full roundup of the legislation supported by the Foundation that is awaiting Governor Moore’s signature.
COMING SOON: Virtual Open Houses
We are so excited to begin the next phase of rolling out the Foundation’s new strategic plan: digging deeper into our new focus areas and building relationships with potential partners. Coming soon in May and early June, the Foundation will be hosting virtual open houses – focused on maternal & infant health, housing, food & nutrition security and mental health – where organizations can sign up for a 30-minute meeting with our staff to discuss their work in these areas and potential opportunities to co-create solutions together. Stay tuned for more details and information on how to sign up!
Tune in to the 2024 Changemaker Challenge!
Register now to tune in to this year’s Changemaker Challenge! Join us, the Community Foundation of Howard County, the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County and United Way of Central Maryland on Tuesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. to watch 12 finalists compete in this “Shark Tank for social good” competition. Six awards totaling $100,000 will be given out to the most innovative ideas to spark positive change in our community. Register now to get access and join us LIVE!
Horizon Foundation featured in Grantmakers in Health’s Views from the Field
As many of you know, the Foundation recently completed a 14-month long strategic planning process to figure out how to address systemic barriers that stand in the way of some of our residents – particularly people of color – from living healthy and abundant lives. We learned so much from this process that is informing our work ahead.
Nikki Highsmith Vernick, our president and CEO, and Kerry Darragh, our senior communications officer, explored our key takeaways in this piece for Grantmakers in Health’s Views from the Field publication. Read more about how we sought to center community voice while leading with trust and anti-racism as our core guiding principles.
Join us for our next First Thursdays community conversation on May 2
Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s First Thursdays community conversation! These conversations with community members have been rich and robust, and we are excited to continue exploring health equity issues facing our community with all of you.
Please join us on the first Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. for breakfast and a guided conversation about key issues on the minds of fellow Howard Countians.
Our next First Thursdays conversation will take place at the Horizon Foundation’s office on May 2 at 10 a.m. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to D’Paul Nibber by April 29.
Staff picks: what we’re reading, watching and listening to
- The Barber of Little Rock: One Man’s Fight to Close the Racial Wealth Gap (The New Yorker)
- Goucher College joins movement to reckon with its ties to slavery (The Baltimore Banner)
- WBNA Star Sue Bird (NPR – Fresh Air)
- Many Patients Don’t Survive End-Stage Poverty (The New York Times Opinion)
- Jane Elliott, anti-racism teacher, slams efforts to limit how race is taught in classrooms (CNN)
- The Invisible Shield (PBS)
- The Other Maternal Health Crisis: Black Birthing People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing (Nonprofit Quarterly)
