The Helmsley Charitable Trust

Yesterday marked the official launch of NYC's Urban Forest Plan. Since 2018, we've supported Forest For All NYC, a coalition of diverse organizations hosted by The Nature Conservancy, researching and being a voice for New York's urban forest. Their work details the significant impact of NYC's trees, including their climate and health benefits. Additionally, they mapped the disparities between neighborhoods. With their data and advocacy, they set the groundwork for the Urban Forest Plan, which outlines how New York can equitably expand its urban forest from 22% tree canopy cover to 30% by 2035. The Urban Forest Plan is a citywide effort, led by the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. With our support, City Parks Foundation, Natural Areas Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy in New York are expertly partnering with city agencies and field leaders to craft this plan. “We often take trees for granted, but they play a significant role in our physical and emotional health, especially in the city, where nature isn’t so readily available,” said Emilie Fidock, New York City Associate Program Officer. “This work signals a step forward for historically marginalized communities that are also often the most climate-vulnerable, ensuring the equitable distribution of the ecological, economic, and health benefits of tree canopies.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eNvTfscN

Yesterday, we gathered in the Bronx's St. Mary's Park (in the very welcomed rain) to launch NYC's first comprehensive Urban Forest Plan, featuring guest speakers, including our very own Executive Director Heather Lubov. This 10-year plan will equitably increase the city's tree canopy to 30% by 2035 to help cool street temperatures, curb pollution, and beautify the city. Thank you to our funders,?The Helmsley Charitable Trust,?and to our plan collaborators, the Mayor's Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ),?the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, and many more for launching this critical initiative with us!

Helmsley Trustee Walter Panzirer recently sat down with CBS Las Vegas to discuss our recent grant to The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada. "We came to Nevada only three years ago," Panzirer said, "and in three short years, we've donated $60 million across the state to bring great new technologies, everything from ECMO to Virtual Crisis Care to now The Center." Our grant to The Center supports the development of a new primary care clinic. Although The Center serves the LGBTQ+ community, anyone can use the clinic and receive safe, stigma-free physical and mental care. "This reaches a segment of a population that's underserved, and at the Helmsley Charitable Trust, we want to level the playing field." Watch Walter's interview here: https://lnkd.in/d3qaWR2a

Over the last year, just through HeartCorps, nearly 32,000 residents—both adults and youth—of rural and tribal communities were served through blood pressure, nutrition, CPR, and tobacco cessation programs. HeartCorps is supported by The Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Truist Charitable Fund. #NationalRuralHealthDay

Mental health issues among LGBTQ+ young people are disproportionately high. We recently partnered with The Trevor Project to fund a targeted multimedia campaign. We aim to raise awareness of the public health crisis of LGBTQ+ youth suicide. The funding will also help The Trevor Project’s public training team deliver 50 trainings to youth-serving organizations in Helmsley’s nine-state rural footprint, building LGBTQ+ cultural competency among youth-serving adults. This #NationalRuralHealthDay, read a recent op-ed by Helmsley Trustee Walter Panzirer in the Las Vegas Sun to learn more about this youth mental health crisis and the need for support: https://lnkd.in/gSYNzzAf

When we started grantmaking in 2008, only 1 percent of philanthropic funding in the U.S. was devoted to healthcare in rural areas. But we knew these parts of America brimmed with pioneering ideas. New systems and initiatives are born from the "insurmountable" challenges faced by rural Americans. For #NationalRuralHealthDay, Helmsley Trustee Walter Panzirer reflected on our efforts to support healthcare leaders in rural America. "At Helmsley, we had the ability to back their ideas and solutions to help reimagine what healthcare could look like," he said. "Rural healthcare is not a lost cause; it's an opportunity for innovation and advancement." Read his insight post: https://lnkd.in/eeTX_WcN #PowerofRural

We challenge you to redefine your definition of rural America. Rural America is the grandmother in Wyoming who lives 200 miles away from the cancer care she needs. It's the Navy vet in American Samoa who has to fly 2,000 miles to get an MRI scan. It’s the law enforcement officer in Nevada, doing CPR on the side of the road for an hour without an AED. We work to increase access to better care, closer to home in rural America. For 16 years, we've invested three quarters of a billion dollars to health initiatives across the West and the Upper Midwest. This summer, we began supporting healthcare in Hawaii and in two U.S. Pacific Territories—American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many of the innovative ideas we've funded over the years in the Upper Midwest can serve as models for care in both urban centers and island nations. By redefining rural, we're applying our experience to new environments with people who need access to better care, closer to home. Tomorrow, November 21st, is #NationalRuralHealthDay. Learn more about our Rural Healthcare Program: https://lnkd.in/ebCDkpfx

Our Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa program focuses on ensuring the well being of children and families in rural or isolated parts of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia. Improving the lives of children in sub-Saharan Africa involves investing in health. Helmsley grantee Catholic Relief Services's Mayi Na Mwana II project works with communities, healthcare workers, and the government to increase access to quality healthcare, promote healthy behaviors, and strengthen community resilience and participation to bring maternal and child deaths to zero. We also fund trachoma surgeries and mass drug administration for Neglected Tropical Diseases (#NTDs) through organizations like Sightsavers, The END Fund., Reaching the Last Mile Fund. Children who suffer from NTDs often have malnutrition, cognitive impairment, stunted growth, and the inability to attend school. A Nobel-winning study found that NTD elimination is one of the biggest predictors of improved school attendance rate for children. Helmsley grantee Bridges to Prosperity helps students access new opportunities by creating trail bridges that make it easier for them to access schools. Americares' Girls Clubs greatly reduced unintended pregnancies among adolescent girls in Ghana, resulting in increased school attendance and retention. Helping vulnerable children means helping mothers, caregivers, communities and schools. It means helping change the entire ecosystem. This #WorldChildrensDay, learn more about our Sub-Saharan Africa Program: https://lnkd.in/eHbME5kt #UniversalChildrensDay

For the past 16 years, our Rural Healthcare Program has granted three-quarters of a billion dollars to help Americans access better care, closer to home. Our work in transforming rural healthcare spans nine states—Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming—and two U.S. Pacific territories, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. We fund initiatives focused on increasing access to telemedicine, behavioral health services, and cutting-edge equipment to reach residents in rural communities. We believe that your zip code should never determine your access to care. "What we're learning in rural America is transforming the way healthcare is delivered across the nation's rural, urban, and suburban landscapes." — Walter Panzirer, Helmsley Trustee. #NationalRuralHealthDay is on Thursday, November 21st. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ebCDkpfx

By addressing the connection between housing and health, we can build better systems of care for the New Yorkers with the greatest needs. Through our Housing for Health initiative, our New York City Program supports organizations dedicated to providing safe, supportive, and affordable housing for unhoused New Yorkers living with complex health and social needs. Our grantees work to help individuals navigate their health challenges and ensure they have a place to call home. This #HomelessnessAwarenessMonth, learn more about how our grantees Anthos|Home, Breaking Ground (NYC Permanent Supportive Housing), Convergent Impact, The Corporation for Supportive Housing, FJC - A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, and Supportive Housing Network of New York are making a difference. Click here for more information: https://lnkd.in/euUmpRey