Local nonprofits receive Blue Cross/Blue Shield grants

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) has awarded nearly $350,000 in Healthy Kids, Healthy Families (HKHF) grants to 15 community-based organizations statewide for 2021, including two in Las Cruces.

The organizations, chosen through a competitive grant application process, include:

• Jardin de los Niños: Positively impacting generational poverty by meeting the basic needs of families experiencing homelessness through the Weekend Anti-Hunger project and through direct therapy services.
• New Mexico State University Foundation: 1) Dental Hygiene/Amador Health: Providing no-cost dental hygiene services for people who otherwise wouldn’t receive care; and 2) Fit Families: Helping children and their families eat healthier, get active and feel more positive through health education.

Grants also were awarded to two statewide organizations: the New Mexico Dental Association Foundation, to provide extensive dental care to low-income elderly, disabled people and veterans who could not otherwise afford or obtain needed treatment; and the New Mexico Lions Crane Reading Program to provide vouchers for eye exams and glasses for children not covered by Medicaid or insurance.

BCBSNM is one of the largest commercial health insurers in New Mexico. Founded in 1940, BCBSNM is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth-largest health insurer overall.