BCBSND Caring Foundation invests $145,000 in communities across North Dakota through fall SPARK grants

Gigi's Playhouse

FARGO, N.D. – Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) Caring Foundation has awarded this year’s fall strengthening people, access, resources and knowledge (SPARK) grants. SPARK grants are awarded to community-based initiatives that support health and well-being in local communities, reflect community priorities and demonstrate the ability to create lasting change.

BCBSND Caring Foundation congratulates the following 2024 fall SPARK grant recipients who successfully demonstrated innovation, sustainability and the opportunity to create lasting change in their communities.

GiGi’s Playhouse: Funds will be used to expand GiGi’s on the Go which aims to further address the lack of support systems and educational resources for individuals with Down syndrome in rural North Dakota. They plan to do this by providing free, accessible programs through a pilot program in Oakes, North Dakota and future expansion plans for Grand Forks. The initiative aims to create inclusive communities by equipping educators, professionals and community members with tools to better support individuals with Down syndrome. 

Gigi's Playhouse

Northland Health Centers: Funds will cover the investment of supplies needed to start a new Urgent Dental Care Clinic site at Northland Health Center (NHC) in Ray, North Dakota, a Federally Qualified Health Center. The clinic seeks to provide new oral health care access to low-income, uninsured and Medicaid patients who require urgent dental care in northwestern North Dakota.

Northland Health Centers

SENDCAA (Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency): Funds will expand the reach of their Self-Sufficiency team, which helps low-income families in Region 5, (Cass, Traill, Sargent, Steele, Richland and Ransom counties) access and maintain essential mainstream benefits like Medicaid, SNAP, TANF and childcare assistance. By providing holistic, wraparound support across areas such as housing, employment, income, budgeting, mental health and childcare, the program promotes health equity and enhances the overall well-being of families in poverty. 

SENDCAA

Women Empowering Women: Funds will be used to help remove barriers to accessing and navigating preventive health and health care resources for new American women in Dickinson and southwestern North Dakota. This includes resources like prenatal and postpartum sessions for new mothers through a series of educational efforts as well as deployment of Bilingual Lay Health Ambassadors. 

Women Empowering Women

NATIVE, Inc. Funds will support Wellness and Healing Through Community-Based Services for Native Americans Project addressing racial equity in behavioral health prevention and recovery services through spiritual and cultural programming within three urban areas of North Dakota: Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks. The Indigenous people served by this project will be able to access spiritual ceremonies for healing through sweat lodge, talking circles, elder and scholar oral storytelling and a cultural experience through many other arts and cultural programs. Native American children, youth and families are invited to attend the Great Plains Indians Youth and Family Engagement Centers located in Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks.

NATIVE, Inc

BCBSND Caring Foundation will begin accepting letters of intent for the 2025 spring SPARK grant cycle beginning in January 2025. Visit www.BCBSND.com/SPARK for more details.

About the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Caring Foundation
Established in 1989, the BCBSND Caring Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Through giving and investing, the Caring Foundation focuses on key health issues to help improve the health and well-being of North Dakotans and their communities. Caring Foundation staff collaborate with grantees to support non-profit sustainability, promote shared outcomes and create lasting change.