Greater Artesia Foundation

PACKS OF LOVE - Packs provides sacks of easy to prepare foods weekly on Fridays to Artesia, New Mexico school kids whose only meals are those provided at school and therefore need additional assistance during the Artesia Public School calendar year. The students are recommended to the program by school counselors. There was an average of 200 students per week which is approximately 5% of Artesia Public Schools. Packs of Love also provides food bags and meat vouchers to the families of participants at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Students received Christmas gifts that included blankets, gingerbread houses, custom water bottles, custom duffle bags and other holiday themed items. Packs of Love has an average of 20 volunteers per week.

SENIOR SALUTE- 168 (78%) of the graduating Artesia High School Seniors and 83 of their guests participated in multiple activities until 4:30 a.m. of the morning following their graduation. This indoor lock-in event was designed to keep graduates safe on the night of their high school graduation, a night that has become known as fraught with tragedy. This program began in 1995 and the tradition has continued for the class of 2025. There were 60 adult volunteers who helped with preparation prior to the event and served through the night as well. There were casino type games, dancing, Minute-to-Win-It and several sports available, and seniors were awarded tickets from the games that they were able to cash in toward prize raffles throughout the night. The prizes were donated by local merchants. Seniors staying until the morning were awarded a cash prize of approximately $165 each as an incentive to stay at the event and stay safe.

MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIPS - GAF administers the funds for four scholarship programs. For fiscal year ended August 31, 2025, 5 southeast New Mexico high school graduates received scholarship payments from these funds. Each scholarship fund has a volunteer review committee that includes members of the school staff. These committees choose the recipients based on pre-set criteria created when the scholarship was funded. Students must provide their acceptance letter and college class schedule initially and their grades for scholarships paid after their first semester. Scholarship checks are paid to and mailed directly to the college/university.

FRIENDS OF THE ARTESIA PUBLIC LIBRARY - A group of approximately 19 philanthropists spearheaded efforts that utilized approximately 1500 volunteer hours from September 2024 to August 2025 to provide support to the staff of the Artesia Public Library's programs. An estimated 8,000 people were served through the programs and events that Friends helped with including book discussion groups, book sales, craft times, story times, Summer Reading Programs, Dr. Seuss Day, Halloween Fun, Paper Takes Flight, Touch-A-Truck, Teen Sewing Class, Adult Guided Meditation, Tiny Art Show Classes, NURFF Wars with Artesia Police Department, Mothers Day Program, BINGO for Books, Holiday Shindig, Red Dirt Black Gold, (4) four local author visits. Besides their hard work, they raised funds for the Summer Reading Program and helped with expenses for the various new materials and programs. The Friends purchased new material for the Children's library and various supplies for events.

MY NEIGHBORHOOD - Continues to improve, maintain and operate the Community Garden located on City of Artesia property at 911 Dallas Street in Artesia, NM. This project hopes to influence and improve a challenged neighborhood. My Neighborhood is partnering with the Artesia Garden Club to manage individual plots while offering plant care tips as they spend a significant amount of time at the garden. The Artesia Garden Club has oversight over the public areas of the garden in which they tend to the rose garden, border beds and alleyway. The garden contains multiple individual planter boxes for use by individuals, families, groups, clubs, schools and other organizations. There is a community area in the garden in which anyone interested in beautifying the area can come contribute. The greenhouse allows users to begin their garden from seed to infant plants before they are transitioned to a their home or garden plot. New projects this year included a mini library that was installed by the Lion's Club Leos. Other civic groups such as the Boy & Girl Scouts, Chase Foundation Scholarship recipients, Artesia High School Honor Society have provided service work at the garden.

WOMEN FOR A BETTER ARTESIA - The WFBA committee serves Artesia, NM by providing educational and volunteer opportunities aimed at enhancing quality of life. Dedicated to community improvement, the organization hosts quarterly luncheons and various events throughout the year. The organization hosted the second annual Women of Impact event to honor outstanding women in the local community across multiple categories, including education, public service, entrepreneurship, athletics, arts and creativity, oil and gas, healthcare, nonprofit leadership, and Woman of the Year. The event celebrated achievements, fostered community recognition, and supported the organization's mission to highlight and empower women making a meaningful impact in Artesia.

ARTESIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS book vending machines - Four local elementary schools were reimbursed for the purchase of book vending machines. These machines function like traditional vending machines but dispense books, encouraging literacy and rewarding positive student behavior. Each school selects age-appropriate books that students can earn through academic achievement or good citizenship. This initiative promotes reading, supports student development, and aligns with the organization's mission to enhance educational opportunities for Artesia's youth.

SUMMER MEAL PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN - During the summer of 2024, Greater Artesia Foundation coordinated a community partnership to provide lunches to children after learning the Artesia Public School system was unable to operate its usual summer meal program due to construction. Working with other nonprofit organizations such as Eddy County United Way, local businesses, and the local hospital, meals were prepared and distributed at the Artesia Recreation Center on weekdays throughout the summer until school resumed in August. This initiative ensured that children in the community continued to receive nutritious meals and supports the organization's mission to enhance the well-being of Artesia residents.

ARTESIA PUBLIC LIBRARY - provides both the physical and virtual library spaces. They offer various programs such as the Summer Reading Program, book clubs, arts & crafts and other library services such as Genealogy research and newspaper archives. A donation was provided from designated funds for the Libraries as Launchpads program. The library purchased new podiums for their conference rooms and a new Presentation System that includes interactive digital ePosters, interactive 4k displays, and multiple media players that are installed by a technician. This new equipment will be used in conference rooms for meetings, library announcements, and during specific programming offered by the library.

PY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY - PY Foundation partnered with University of Texas to host the PY Foundation Leadership Academy, a series of four 1-2 day workshops designed to strengthen local nonprofit organizations. Workshop topics included fundraising, financial management, board development, and strategic planning. Participating nonprofits developed business plans based on the coursework and presented them to a panel of judges. Donations collected through the program were awarded to the top three organizations. The Leadership Academy supports the mission to build stronger, more sustainable community organizations and increase donor confidence in local nonprofit programming.