Cascade Health Alliance reveals grant recipient progress report
Contact: Maria Ramirez
Klamath Falls, OR—Community investment remains a top priority for Cascade Health Alliance (CHA). Earlier this year, CHA awarded Friends of the Children (FOTC) a sustaining grant to help them focus on their Rural Professional Mentor project. The second-quarter results of its grant recipients are in, and the impact is phenomenal!
The Rural Professional Mentor project is an initiative to pair 49 youth with a salaried mentor (aka Friend), who will serve as social and emotional support from grades K through 12. Activities between the mentor and mentee are informed by evidence-based developmental milestones that tackle social determinants of health head-on.
The outcomes thus far are that FOTC is providing each youth nearly 16 hours of mentorship per month—surpassing the goal of 15. Another program under the FOTC umbrella is aimed at making measurable, quarterly progress on School Success (at 91.66% completion). These two highlights are investments to combat poverty, isolation, and education challenges for mentees.
The newest addition to the FOTC mentor team is "Friend Brandon," a Chiloquin resident. Brandon has a long volunteer history working with children at the elementary and middle school level, volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club in Lawrence, KS while attending college at Haskell Indian Nations University.
"We are energized by the progress FOTC is making with younger people in our community. Investing in youth is paramount to securing a healthy future for our friends, colleagues, and neighbors," says Tayo Akins, CEO of CHA. "CHA is always on the lookout for ways to reduce social determinants of health. We are pleased to see that our grant is being leveraged to achieve that goal," Akins added.
About Cascade Health Alliance: CHA is a coordinated care organization (CCO) in Klamath County. A CCO brings together many types of doctors and other health care providers to work together and serve individuals with health insurance from the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).
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Pictured: Professional Friends of the Children Mentor Brandon Hoaglen