The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation has announced grants totaling more than $3.2 million in support of efforts to strengthen communities and expand access to early childhood care across the state.

The foundation awarded twenty-seven one- and two-year grants of between $20,000 and $100,000 a year — eighteen through its Healthy Connections program, which supports efforts to create and nurture more connected, resilient, and inclusive communities where all people have the support and resources to reach their full health potential, and nine through its Healthy Start program, which is focused on improving access to quality early childhood care and education. Healthy Connections awards include two-year grants of $200,000 each to Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha, in support of efforts to develop worker leadership to advance health equity and economic justice; the Coalition of Asian American Leaders for its Paths Forward on Safe and Welcoming Communities project; and Liberty Community Church, which will, among other things, work to create safe, intergenerational, and interconnected spaces for youth; support people impacted by the commercial sex trade; and create a learning hub for adaptive leadership skills.

Healthy Start grants also include $50,000 to Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals for its Wicoie Nandagikendan early childhood urban immersion program, which will create signage and interactive language activities in Dakhóta and Ojibwe; $70,000 to Way to Grow, in support of efforts to provide families with health and early education resources, referrals to enroll children in high-quality early childhood programs, and opportunities for parents to advocate at the school, district, and state policy levels; and $70,000 to the Wildflower Foundation for its Equity Initiative, which focuses on centering the Black community and supporting emerging Black early childhood teachers.

In addition, the foundation announced the election of Bukata Hayes — who has been a member of the board since 2015 and joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota in March as vice president of racial and health equity — as board chair.

"These grants are the latest example of supporting our grantees to improve community health across Minnesota while deepening our commitment to racial and health equity," said Hayes. "Racial and health inequities are pervasive in our state, and the community holds the solutions. We are proud to partner with these organizations — the majority of which are led by people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color — in addressing the root causes of these inequities head-on."

(Photo credit: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation)