SelectHealth Honors 25 Utah Nonprofits with Select 25 Award

SelectHealth is proud to recognize 25 Utah nonprofits for their efforts in making Utah a healthier place to live. Each Select 25 award winner will receive $2,500 to further their mission.

SelectHealth invited individuals and organizations to apply for the award, which is offered to those who are improving health or serving those with special needs. More than 300 applications were submitted.

Winners were selected from across the state and represented a wide variety of causes, including exercise programs for the elderly, afterschool programs for underserved youth, and safe centers for victims of abuse. Recipients included well-established organizations, as well as individuals just hoping to make a difference.

Jonathan Diener, a member of the Alta High School basketball team, started Hoops 4 Brighter Futures as an Eagle Scout project. With the help of his teammates, Diener provided a free basketball clinic for African refugee children.

“Most of the kids came to the clinic in dress shoes or shoes that were too small with no support,” Diener says. “We had one pair of basketball shoes as a prize for the hardest worker with the best attitude. When the winner was announced, others cried because of their desperate need for shoes.”

Diener will use the $2,500 grant to host additional clinics and to give a new pair of socks, shoes, and a basketball to each participant.

“It is an honor to be associated to with these great organizations that do so much for our communities,” says SelectHealth President and CEO Patricia Richards. “We are excited to help make a difference in the lives of the people they serve.”

The Select 25 award was created in 2008 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of SelectHealth. Award recipients were chosen by a selection committee of leaders from SelectHealth and Intermountain Healthcare and representatives from the nonprofit community. Awards will be presented at an event on May 1 in Salt Lake City.

For more information about the award, visit select25.org.

2013 Select 25 Award Recipients

• Brigham City Senior Center (Brigham City)—Partnering with the Pickleball Association to bring generations together through play.
• Cache County Senior Citizens Center: Meals on Wheels (Logan)—Delivering meals to homebound seniors throughout Cache County.
• Camp Hawkins (Syracuse)—Providing a summer camp for children with heart disease and their siblings.
• Flashes of Hope Utah Chapter (Bountiful)—Providing free portraits of children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
• Low Vision Rehabilitations Services (North Ogden)—Helping those with vision loss to regain independence and hope.
• Safe Harbor Crisis Center (Kaysville)—Offering shelter, services, and advocacy to domestic and sexual violence survivors.
• Youth Impact (Ogden)—Impacting the lives of at-risk youth by nurturing their emotional, physical, and social needs by providing a safe and fun environment.
• Building Youth Around the World: Utah Navajo Nation Project (West Jordan)—Providing life-saving care and compassion to children on a local, national, and worldwide level.
• Centro de la Familia de Utah: Head Start (Centerfield)—Helping low-income preschoolers and their families improve their lives through health, education, and parent engagement.
• Holy Cross Ministries: Promotora Program (Salt Lake City)—Serving the vulnerable among us through education, health, outreach, and legal assistance.
• Hoops 4 Bright Futures (Draper)—High school students providing free basketball clinics to refugee children.
• Maliheh Free Clinic (Salt Lake City)—Providing free, quality healthcare to uninsured and low income individuals and families in the greater Salt Lake area.
• Neighborhood House: Neighborhood Community Garden (Salt Lake City)—Providing a shared space to cultivate produce, community connections, and healthier lifestyles.
• Salt Lake Community College: Know Greater Heroes (Salt Lake City)—Teaching elementary school children how to eat right, get active, and avoid drugs and alcohol.
• U-FIT (Salt Lake City)—Providing a physical activity program for children with disabilities and their parents and siblings.
• Centro Hispano: ¡Déjalo Ya! (Provo)—Helping families set goals to improve meal planning, grocery shopping, and physical activity.
• Lifting Hearts Breast Cancer Support Group (Highland)—Providing support through monthly meetings, mentoring newly diagnosed patients, and delivering comfort items to survivors.
• South Franklin Community Center: South Franklin Soccer League (Provo)—Developing healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
• Utah Valley Family Support Center (Orem)—Preventing harm, providing hope, and healing relationships through child abuse prevention and treatment of emotional trauma.
• Koosharem Elementary (Koosharem)—Updating playground equipment to be used by the school and the entire community.
• Assistance League of Southern Utah: Operation School Bell (St. George)—Preparing low-income students for a brighter future by providing free clothing and other supplies.
• Community Education: Kidspace Afterschool Program (St. George)—Provides a safe, healthy learning environment for children after school.
• Dixie State University: Dental Hygiene Outreach Program (St. George)—Providing a mobile dental clinic for underserved patients where transportation and expense are obstacles.
• Iron County Children’s Justice Center (Cedar City)—Providing services, including parenting courses, to families and victims of alleged abuse.
• Safe Kids Iron County (Cedar City)—Helping to keep kids safe by providing car seats for those with special needs.

Additional Select 25 Information

• Winner Photos (Hi-Res)

• Winner Photos (Hi-Res)2012 Winners

About SelectHealth

SelectHealth is a nonprofit health insurance organization serving members in Utah and Idaho, and is committed to health improvement, superior service, and providing access to high-quality care. As a subsidiary of Intermountain Healthcare, SelectHealth is part of one of the nation's top-ranked integrated health systems. SelectHealth is also recognized as Utah’s top-ranked health plan, according to NCQA's Private Health Insurance Plan Rankings, 2012–2013. For more information, visit selecthealth.org.