Buffalo County Community Partners is pleased to announce the 2016 Annual Fund Campaign goal of $140,000 has been met and exceeded. Local donors have met a call to action to invest in the health of Buffalo County by donating $146,268 to facilitate community engagement in priority health issues.
“We invited the community to invest in the future of Buffalo County and appreciate their efforts to make health a priority,” stated Denise Zwiener, executive director of Buffalo County Community Partners. “A Buffalo County 2020 Vision leads our community in taking actionable steps toward building a healthier community.”
Significant to Buffalo County Community Partners efforts in 2016, include facilitating a community collaboration needed to address unemployment and underemployment with funding from the America’s Best Community Competition, City of Kearney and Ron and Carol Cope Foundation. Leading to the formation of a new 501 c 3 nonprofit, Kearney Works.
Additionally, a new collaborative, HealthyMINDS, was also formed to braid together grant funds to address Buffalo County’s behavioral health needs, including the assessment of our early childhood development system, suicide prevention, juvenile justice, school mental health, crisis planning and social emotional needs of youth. “Today, local donations are providing the foundation to braid four major state and national grants to coordinate this effort.” commented Zwiener.
A second collaborative launched a Buffalo County wide assessment to identify root causes to improve wellness, named Be Well Buffalo County. Epiphany Community Services was hired to lead this new collaborative in a process to define actionable steps the community can take together to improve health and well-being.
Cindy Casper, Campaign Co-chair said, “Every dollar raised during this campaign can be matched six times by new grant funds, illustrating an impact of over $800,000 to our communities. The community has worked together through this organization to solve the health issues that arise in the community.”
“I had no idea that Community Partners did so much for my community,” said Madi Casper, campaign co chair. “My eyes were opened to see what a community can do if they come together under a common goal.”
Check out our “blooper” video to announce the campaign goal!