At the Foundation, our commitment to community engagement is enriched by our locally focused initiatives. We invest significant time and effort to understand individual communities. Eagle County is one of nine communities to which we are deeply dedicated.
Our goal is to build profound and meaningful relationships, connect with the residents and support long-term efforts that prioritize community-informed, collaborative solutions to health challenges.
Why local focus? We believe that solutions generated at the local level are more likely to address the community’s unique needs and drive lasting change.
Eagle County has its own distinctive assets and challenges when it comes to health. Our approach to local work begins with attentive listening and a sincere commitment to learning from the people who live there.
Chris Bui, our program officer for Eagle County, plays a pivotal role in this effort. He immerses himself in the community, identifies opportunities to enhance the capacity of local institutions, works on policy and system improvements, fosters local leadership and encourages broad civic engagement.
Chris works closely with the community to channel this energy so that Eagle County becomes a place with access to health for everyone who calls it home. This takes shape through meaningful conversations, networking and partnerships with various community members. The Foundation has extended a range of supports to Eagle County based on these relationships and our understanding of the community’s needs, as described by its residents.
Over the past two years, the Foundation has collaborated with institutions like the Center for Creative Leadership, which specializes in helping individuals customize and develop their unique leadership styles. Additionally, we’ve partnered with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to balanced and active play. Through these collaborations, local leaders are honing their skills for greater impact, and the community is creating safe spaces for children to play. We also work with Civic Canopy to harness the existing potential within the community, offering coaching, advising, coordination, facilitation, resource sharing and various capacity-building services.
During a series of events in 2018, we had the privilege of hearing directly from community members in Eagle County. We gathered valuable insights and feedback to guide our mutual efforts toward a healthier community. You can read about our experiences during these events.
If you have ideas about creating a healthier community or want to learn more about the Foundation, please email Chris Bui, senior program officer, or call him at 303-953-7912.
The Foundation has formed partnerships with a variety of organizations in Eagle County and provided financial support for several key initiatives, including:
- Eagle County Paramedic Services’ Co-Responder Crisis Team: Offering co-responder crisis services for those in mental health crises and expanded in-home supports to keep people in their homes instead of in the hospital or inpatient psychiatric facilities. This partnership also expands the availability of school-based mental health clinicians for all students in Eagle County schools
- Neighborhood Navigators of Eagle County: Supporting the establishment of the Neighborhood Navigators of Eagle County, a new nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of the region’s Hispanic/Latinx residents
- Walking Mountains’ Community-Based Family Programs: Funding community-based family programming and infrastructure improvements in and around two low-income neighborhoods of Eagle County to promote awareness, comfort and interest in using nearby outdoor spaces
- YouthPower365: Supporting healthy out-of-school activities throughout Eagle County schools while improving programming through evaluation, quality improvement, community integration and youth/family engagement
- KaBOOM! Playground Builds
- On June 30, 2018, community members, partners and the Foundation came together to build a new, kid-designed playground at Dotsero Mobile Home Park in Gypsum, Colorado
- On Aug. 18, 2018, community members, partners and the Foundation completed a second KaBOOM! playground in El Jebel
- Eagle County Health Data Infographic: In English | en Español
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