SEASON OF GRATITUDE

Bold Futures are Built with Strong Partners / AHF Board Explores Future

I am genuinely grateful for the amazing collection of humans who are part of the AHF family. The heart, compassion, wisdom and bold thinking of our board, staff and committee members is a consistent source of energy and inspiration for me! Truly, I am filled with gratitude for each of them. – Sarah Lyman, Executive Director

This month at AHF, we took time during our annual retreat to engage our staff, board and committee members in a variety of inspiring conversations about the importance of relationship, trust and working together in support of building a strong and bold future for the Foundation.

We recognize that our past, present and future are intrinsically and importantly intertwined with our partners. Therefore, as we continue our forward-thinking discussions in the weeks ahead, we want to take this moment to acknowledge the amazing social impact work that is done everyday throughout San Diego and Imperial counties by nonprofits, community leaders, expert staff and compassionate volunteers. Thank you! We look forward to building a strong and bold future together.

PARTNER UPDATES

Project New Village / Food Justice in the News

Project New Village (2022 i2 awardee) enjoyed a large turnout of community support at its October Food Justice Soiree at Mt. Hope Community Garden. On the scene to tell the story was Wale Aliyu and 10News – ABC San Diego KGTV. The community’s commitment to elevate the importance of healthy food in their neighborhood continues to grow.

 

 

BPP’s Andy Carey Thanked by E.P.A. / Representing the Borderlands at the National Level

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) Administrator Michael Regan publicly thanked Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) Executive Director Andy Carey for his service to the National Advisory Committee. Carey served from November 2016 to November 2023, and during the Biden Administration, was appointed Chair. As a member of the National Advisory Committee, Carey represented philanthropy in the Borderlands in his advice and counsel to the Committee and the E.P.A. Administrator in office. Carey served three U.S. administrations including Obama, Trump, and Biden. In his letter, Administrator Regan remarked, “you should take great pride in knowing the nation’s air and water is cleaner, in part, because of your achievements. Indeed, committee members play vital roles in advancing environmental policies that will result in a sustainable future for North America.” Thank you, Andy Carey! See news here.

Veteran’s Day-Open House / Hilltop-Encanto Attracts Buyers

With construction almost complete, the Hilltop Crossing project on the northeastern corner of Hilltop Drive and Euclid Avenue in the Encanto community of San Diego is holding regular open house events for potential homebuyers, and over Veteran’s Day they had a nice turnout.

AHF is an impact investor in this project along with Mission Driven Finance because Hilltop’s goal is to develop attainable homes for middle-income workforce families, also known as the “missing middle,” in order to help them build generational wealth through homeownership. Hilltop is particularly focused on covering closing costs and down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and BIPOC communities. We’re excited to share additional stories about Hilltop-Encanto and other impact investments we’ve made in attainable housing in future newsletters.

 

EPA and Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation / Community-driven Conversations

Roque Barros, Executive Director of Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation(IVWF) was a speaker for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) October panel discussion titled: Latino Community Voices for Change. This virtual session brought together hundreds of federal office staff to learn about the challenges and opportunities that exist in unincorporated communities throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California known as Colonias.

In November, Roque was a panelist again on the EPA’s Virtual Open House series/discussions and fireside chats to explore Inflation Reduction Act investments and other funding opportunities through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. These panels and fireside chats are part of a broader initiative — Community, Equity & Resiliency(CER). The initiative aims to help communities, especially those that are low-income and disadvantaged, navigate once-in-a lifetime financing and resources available to confront the climate crisis and reduce pollution.

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