Tag Archives: Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement

VIDA Receives $100K To Support College Completion Strategies

Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is a grant recipient of the Trellis Foundation to continue enhancing career pathways for low-income students. This general operating support for VIDA is among $2.5 million total in grants for 26 Texas community-based organizations providing direct impact services to support students in college completion. “We are immensely grateful to the Trellis Foundation, for selecting VIDA as a recipient of this $100,000 grant,” said Felida…

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VIDA Receives $10K Grant From AT&T

VIDA AT&T Grant

Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is the recent recipient of a $10,000 grant from AT&T, an award reflecting AT&T’s commitment to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. This grant recognizes the importance of investing in students today – at home, in the classroom, at work – to narrow the digital divide by providing today’s learners with equitable opportunity to learn and thrive. Through this grant project, VIDA will…

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VIDA Receives Blue Impact Grant For Workforce Development

Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement has received a Blue Impact grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, an award reflecting BCBSTX’s dedication to community-based organizations that prioritize the well-being of children and families. The grant recognizes the crucial role of local organizations in fostering positive change, tackling underlying factors that influence health, including socio-economic challenges, and promoting economic opportunities. Since its launch in early 2023, BCBSTX has allocated…

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Unwavering Support Connects To Promising Career

Brownsville resident Oscar Castillo had a job at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport working as a cashier for the parking vendor, earning $10 an hour. He knew he needed to develop his skillset if he ever hoped to be independent and financially secure, so he enrolled in the electrical program at Texas Southmost College. At TSC, Castillo heard about Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, a nonprofit organization…

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Grant Addresses RGV’s Nursing Shortage

Members of the VIDA team display a symbolic $3 million check representing the organization’s Nursing Expansion Grant Award from the U.S. Department of Labor. (Courtesy)

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it had selected 25 organizations to receive grants totaling $78 million to “develop professional pathways to nursing.”  The list of recipients includes only one organization in Texas. It’s the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, which is based in Mercedes. A grant of $3 million was awarded to VIDA to help train and develop more nursing professionals in the Rio Grande Valley. …

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Nurse’s Healing Opens Doors

Stephanie Johnson

Throughout life, we all make choices. We also face barriers on the way to goals. As Stephanie Johnson looks back on the point where she turned her life around, she sees the two intersecting. “I made choices that put barriers in my way,” said Johnson. Born in Minnesota, Johnson and her family moved around the Midwest throughout her childhood, making their way to Texas when she was 10, first to…

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Reaching A Greater Goal With VIDA

Victoria Rivera

In fourth grade, Victoria Rivera moved in with her grandparents. Despite financial struggles, they provided their granddaughter with a home, stability and love.  In 2017, Rivera graduated from Brownsville Early College High School. She took advantage of the opportunity to take college courses while in high school, graduating with a high-school diploma and dual-enrollment credit from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  Unlike many high-school graduates today, Rivera did…

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Long, Winding Road Leads To A New VIDA

Marvelia Saldana

Sometimes a path is straight and narrow; other times it can be winding, making the journey longer but allowing us to see sites and have experiences we would otherwise have missed. Such was the path for Brownsville resident Marvelia Saldana. Being a military wife meant “bouncing around from one state to another,” according to Saldana. With four small children, she didn’t have the time — or, likely, the energy —…

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Two VIDA Boosts Help Further Nurse’s Career

Donna Jo Pena

When Donna Jo Pena applied to Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement in late 2021, it wasn’t déjà vu that came over her. Rather, she experienced actual memories from 2004-2005 when VIDA played a significant role in helping her become a licensed vocational nurse. VIDA, a nonprofit organization serving the Rio Grande Valley for over 25 years, provides financial assistance and support services, removing the barriers that often prevent Valley…

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VIDA Receives Grant To Serve 250 Latinas

VIDA, The Meadows Foundation

Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is the recent recipient of The Meadows Foundation grant to continue enhancing employment opportunities and promoting  workforce development among Latinas in the RGV. This grant project provides VIDA the opportunity to lead a continuation of the successful outcomes and deliverables the program has been serving. VIDA will provide an additional 250 Latinas with student support services to pursue degrees and credentials in high demand…

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