Non-Profit Corner

Yavapai Exceptional Industries (YEI!) is truly an exceptional organization. Founded in 1974, this nonprofit agency provides job training, employment, volunteer placements, and support services to local adults with disabilities.

As I sat down on the couch across from Ralene Challinor, the warmth, loving-kindness, and acceptance this woman carries around with her spilled out into space between us. Little did I know that I would end up spending the next two hours there, listening to the amazing story of how Ralene became a foster and adoptive mom and began her career with Christian Family Care.

They sit comfortably together, he in the darkness that is his world now, and she slowly rocking and knitting. Proud and independent, they come from a time when you did for yourself and had no need for outside help.  Those days have come and gone.  John is now blind, and Edna is no longer able to drive due to a chronic medical condition. Their children are far away and their supply of groceries is getting low.

Carm Staker built Humboldt Unified School District’s Hungry Kids Project on the foundation of her vision to ensure children were getting enough to eat. Through the project, schools send weekly food packs home with children whose families qualify for free and reduced meal prices.

Kara Peterson has made it her personal mission to combat some of the negativity in today’s world. As the visionary behind Kind Defined, a local non-profit offering children’s workshops on kindness and emotional intelligence, she has taken a personal oath to bring kindness and positivity into our community.

West Yavapai Guidance Clinic and Foundation Offer Varied Services to Meet Various Mental Health Needs By Cindy Brown For more than half a century, the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic (WYGC) has offered “Hope, Health, and Healing” to about 7,000 people in Yavapai County...

Stepping Stones offers educational support groups to provide supportive fellowship—and an important step toward freedom from victimization By Alexis Miller Leaving an abusive or violent relationship is only one step in the journey to find freedom. Many who come to...

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona’s Multimedia Program empowers the future careers of local youth Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona’s (BGCCAZ) collaboration with Prescott High School’s Multimedia program has continued to grow and now serves more than...

The Coalition for Compassion and Justice’s Team of Problem Solvers Takes an Agile, Personalized Approach to Helping the Most Vulnerable Members of Society Thrive By Hilary Dartt • Photo by Trisha Shaffer T he Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ) has a simple...

Working in hospice provides ‘tremendous’ opportunities to build relationships, improve quality of life, and appreciate each moment By Hilary Dartt • Photo by Trisha Shaffer “W orking in hospice changes your entire view of the world,” said Katie Osburn, Administrator...

Three steps to building healthier communities By Alexis Miller Stepping Stones believes building healthy communities begins with healthy families. We advocate for people to break free from all forms of victimization by shedding the “victim posture” (the feeling that...

With four of her five children attending school within the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD), Attorney Krista Carman was passionate about collaborating with other parents and community leaders to find ways to publicly and privately fund the District’s schools after the failed bond and override in 2013.