ChristianaCare Provides More Than $1 Million in Grants to 19 Community Organizations to Address Social Drivers of Health

(WILMINGTON, Del. – December 1, 2023) ChristianaCare is investing $1 million in local nonprofit organizations to improve health for communities in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Announced during a special event Thursday at Ezion Fair Baptist Church in Wilmington’s Southbridge neighborhood, the funding was given to 19 nonprofits through ChristianaCare’s Community Investment Fund. The fund supports partnerships to build the collective capacity of communities to address social, behavioral and environmental factors that impact health.

“In order to improve health equity and accelerate progress in addressing the social drivers of health, we need partners,” said Bettina Tweardy Riveros, chief public affairs officer and chief health equity officer at ChristianaCare. “While ChristianaCare provides excellent health care, we also understand that we are not the experts on every social driver of health. And that’s why we are committed to strengthening these organizations and enhancing their ability to make a positive impact. Together, we are creating health in the neighborhoods and communities we serve.”

As an anchor institution in the community, ChristianaCare invests in community health improvement programs as a core component of its community benefit activities. To date, ChristianaCare has provided more than $4 million to 52 community organizations through its Community Investment Fund, which was established in 2019.

This year’s awardees received funding to support community health improvement initiatives in high-need communities to address a diverse array of health-related needs, including safe housing, access to nutritious food – and even climate change, which the White House recently highlighted as a social driver of health.

One of the organizations that received a grant is Delaware Humanities, which provides educational and cultural opportunities to help Delawareans gain a deeper understanding of human identity. The Wilmington, Del.-headquartered nonprofit will use its grant to develop environmental justice toolkits designed to inspire, facilitate and guide conversations about the importance of environmental issues in Delaware.

“Major focus areas at our organization include health and environment, which impact human behavior and our collective sense of well-being,” said Michele Anstine, executive director of Delaware Humanities. “ChristianaCare’s grant will help us empower our communities so they can more truly understand the deep connection between health and their environment and its profound impact on the human experience.”

Good Neighbors Home Repair, headquartered in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, received a grant to expand its free home repair services to houses for low-income households, making their homes safer, healthier and more livable.

“Many of the houses that we repair belong to people who are coming home after a hospital discharge,” said Brad Dunn, advancement director for Good Neighbors Home Repair. “They often are returning to homes with broken handrails and misshapen steps but are unable to pay for repairs because they live on fixed incomes. We are deeply appreciative that ChristianaCare is supporting our efforts to provide services that keep our clients safe, healthy and at home.”

Recipients were selected based on the quality of their proposals and implementation plans, and on the alignment of their proposals with the key priorities of ChristianaCare’s Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Implementation Plan. The funded initiatives will be implemented throughout the upcoming year.

The 19 latest Community Investment Fund recipients are:

• AIDS Delaware.
• Bayside Community Network, Inc.
• Children & Families First.
• Cornerstone West CDC.
• Deep Roots, Inc.
• Delaware 211.
• Delaware Center for Justice.
• Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
• Delaware Humanities.
• Delaware Interfaith Power & Light.
• Good Neighbors Home Repair.
• Green Beret Project.
• Healthy Food for Healthy Kids.
• Project New Start.
• Saint Patrick'’s Center.
• Sussex County Habitat for Humanity.
• The Resurrection Center.
• YMCA of Delaware.
• YWCA Delaware.