Congratulations to our inspirational Changemaker Challenge winners!
That’s a wrap on Howard County’s 2024 Changemaker Challenge! We had a fantastic live event of this “Shark Tank for social good” competition, where all 12 of our finalists presented their innovative ideas for social change in our community. A grand total of $100,000 was awarded to six winners to bring their big ideas to life in front of a live and virtual audience of 500 people. Congratulations to all of our finalists, and our winners: Sacral Roots, Eudaimonia Project, Luminus, Community Ecology Institute and Columbia Community Care, Ballet After Dark and Brightminds. Check out this month’s blog to read more about their projects!
Read our blog>>
Read coverage in the Baltimore Sun>>
Watch the recording of the event>>
New Roving Radish mobile market launching June 3
We are so excited that Roving Radish’s new mobile market is ready to launch! For the last two years, our Healthier Choices Coalition has worked with Roving Radish and other community partners to make fresh, healthy produce more accessible and affordable. Starting on June 3, the mobile market will visit 12 different spots every week throughout Howard County and offer fresh, local produce at discounted rates. Community members who participate in federal food assistance programs can receive 50% off all food items. Check out the weekly schedule here.
Thank you to all of the community partners who advocated for this mobile market and helped bring it to life. We will continue our work to make healthy food accessible and affordable to everyone in our community.
Horizon Foundation joins four other philanthropies and Maryland Department of Health to launch new Birth Equity Funders Collaborative
At the statewide Maternal Mortality Summit earlier this month, Maryland’s First Lady, Dawn Flythe Moore, announced a new public-private partnership to improve birth equity and maternal and infant health in Maryland. The Horizon Foundation, The Straus Foundation, Inc., The Sherman Family Foundation, The Richman Foundation and The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund will join the Maryland Department of Health to conduct a comprehensive landscape assessment of birth equity in Maryland – including collecting data, interviewing community, nonprofit and government leaders and identifying opportunities for catalytic investment.
“In communities across the state, maternal and infant health has been in crisis for far too long, particularly for Black and Brown birthing people and their babies,” said Nikki Highsmith Vernick, president and CEO of the Horizon Foundation, the largest independent health philanthropy in Maryland. “This public-private partnership is a first and critical step towards understanding how we reduce maternal mortality, eliminate racial disparities and improve the lives of moms and babies across Maryland.”
Read more in our press release>>
Open Horizon: Don’t miss our final focus area virtual 1:1 meetings!
Thank you to all of the organizations working on maternal & infant health and housing who signed up to chat with us during our first Focus Area Virtual 1:1 Meetings. We have loved getting to know more about your work and ways we could potentially partner in the future to make an impact.
We have two more focus areas to cover – mental health and food & nutrition security. Organizations working on these issues can sign up for a 30-minute conversation with our staff to discuss their work and potential opportunities to co-create solutions together. There is no need to prepare a presentation – these are simply meetings to get to know organizations working in these spaces and explore possible ways we can work together in the future. These meetings will help inform the Foundation’s grant RFP opportunity that will be released in the fall.
(Please note: these meetings are intended to be for representatives of nonprofit organizations whose work impacts Howard County. If you are an individual or potential consultant interested in working in these areas, please Contact Us to learn about other ways to engage.)
If your organization is working on mental health and/or food & nutrition security, sign up for a time slot today to meet with our staff to discuss your work in these key areas!
If you have any trouble booking a time slot, please email info@thehorizonfoundation.org.
Join us for our next First Thursdays community conversation on June 6
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 June 6 at 10 a.m. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to D’Paul Nibber by June 3.
It was a beautiful day for a bill signing!
Our team had a great time in Annapolis earlier this month celebrating two of our key priority bills being signed into law by Governor Wes Moore: the 988 trust fund and the Access to Care Act. Thank you to all of the advocates, partners and legislative champions who worked tirelessly this session to ensure all Marylanders have access to health insurance and compassionate mental health care. And a special shout out to our former grantee, Alston for Athletes, for successfully leading the charge on legislation to require mental health training for coaches!
Staff picks: what we’re reading, watching and listening to
- Columbia at 55: Creeping Segregation and Lack of Affordable Housing Threatens a Legacy of Black/White Integration (NCRC)
- Brittney Griner reflects on ‘Coming Home’ after nearly 300 days in a Russian prison (NPR – Fresh Air)
- Topography of a news ecosystem: A first-of-its-kind study diagnoses the local news crisis in a single state (Poynter)
- It’s Time to Treat Sugar Like Cigarettes (Time)
- Living Beyond Human Scale (Brene Brown)
- An Enduring Race Tax (The New York Times)
- Many Families Are Taking on Debt to Pay for Groceries (Urban Institute)
