HCI Programs and Initiatives Awarded at WINGS Grant Celebration

July 7, 2025

HCI staff from a variety of programs and systems change initiatives attended the WINGS 2025 grant celebration on June 16 at the Northfield Community Resource Center. Representatives from TORCH, Growing Up Healthy, Northfield Community College Collaborative, and Youth Engagement provided information on the important services being supported in part by WINGS. Jen Barrientos, manager of Growing Up Healthy, joined Erin Janssen of Three Rivers Community Action for a conversation about childcare and the current issues they see facing families.

HCI staff gathered at the event — HCI staff, pictured from left: Tessa Kiesow (Senior Manager, TORCH), Cindy Santa (Family Engagement Navigator, Growing Up Healthy), Melody Sol Lopez (Early Childhood Navigator, Growing Up Healthy), Jen Barrientos (Manager, Growing Up Healthy), Candace Godfrey (Manager, Northfield Community College Collaborative), Martha Lundin (Youth Engagement Coordinator), and Laura Hakala (Student Services Coordinator, Northfield Community College Collaborative)

Women in Northfield Giving Support (WINGS) awarded $115,000 during this year’s grant cycle, $27,500 of which went to HCI programs and systems change initiatives:

$5,000 to Northfield YouthBank: YouthBank is a youth-led grant-making initiative that transfers power, allowing youth to decide which projects to support to best benefit the community. Run by young people for young people, YouthBank is a process and way of working with youth: supporting and training while promoting essential life and job skill development.
$5,000 to TORCH for Youth Mental Health and Community Building: This grant will help provide a safe and supportive atmosphere for young people, especially those from low income families and mixed immigration backgrounds, to allow them to simply be kids. Students are often stressed with family responsibilities on top of school work, and these funds will help youth decompress and feel a strong sense of community.
$7,500 to the Northfield Community College Collaborative and The Higher Education Empowerment in Recovery (HEER) program: This program supports women in recovery as they pursue postsecondary education. It offers tuition assistance and vital wraparound support, and it aids a subset of the community that often requires additional support but is frequently overlooked or forgotten.
$10,000 to Growing Up Healthy to Support Early Learning Efforts in Northfield: Growing Up Healthy navigators assist under-resourced families with early learning support in preschool and elementary school. They guide families toward preschool registration, early childhood health screenings, and affordable childcare; connect families to needed resources like food access, housing, transportation, healthcare, and mental health services; and work as a conduit between schools and families to increase elementary school attendance rates.

WINGS is a 100% volunteer-led grassroots network of women who pool their resources to improve the lives of women and youth in the Northfield area. HCI is grateful to WINGS for its support and its commitment to improving local quality of life through grants to nonprofit organizations like us!