We are grateful to have received an “Honorable Mention” from the Environmental Initiative Awards in their large-scale sustainability impacts category! Learn more about the Environmental Initiative Awards on their website here.
Honorable Mention – Mano a Mano
“Mano a Mano’s mission is to create partnerships with impoverished Bolivian communities that improve health and increase economic well-being. Thanks to Mano a Mano’s efforts, 800,000 Bolivians have access to health care for the first time and they have diverted and shipped over 4,000,000 pounds of medical, school, and construction supplies to those in need. The organization also provides supplies to other Twin Cities based organizations working in Honduras, El Salvador, and Cameroon.
In 2020, Mano a Mano diverted over 87 tons of medical supplies and mobility equipment from the waste stream and donated them to hospitals and people in need. Mano a Mano worked with Minnesota Waste Wise, Energy Smart, and the BizRecycling grant program to identify strategies to maximize their donation efforts while wasting as little as possible. With funding and assistance from these programs, Mano a Mano was able to add tools to help collect more materials that otherwise would have gone into the waste stream. They also improved energy efficiencies with an LED lighting upgrade project that saved 29,931 kWh and nearly $5,000 for the organization.”
About the Large-Scale Sustainability Impacts Category
The Large-Scale Sustainability Impacts Award recognizes a partnership involving large organizations, such as municipalities or companies, by creating and implementing replicable, scalable solutions to environmental challenges. Projects may include efforts to achieve a circular economy, pursuits extending beyond regulatory requirements, linking a new energy economy and equity practices, or practices to create more sustainable operations.
What Are the Environmental Initiative Awards?
The Environmental Initiative Awards is our annual recognition program that celebrates people and projects working in partnership at the nexus of a healthy environment, a prosperous economy and an equitable society.
We bring together partners from across the environmental community and our organizational work to honor award recipients during an inspiring event of celebration and networking.
Each year, we open nominations mid-January through mid-February, select winners with our stakeholders in March, open registration for the Awards event in March, and hold our annual celebration in May. We are holding the 2021 Environmental Initiative Awards as an online celebration due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Environmental Initiative works across difference to create spaces where people can openly exchange ideas and build solutions to complex environmental challenges through partnership. The Environmental Initiative Awards celebrates that spirit of collaboration.
Learn More About Mano a Mano’s Recovered Resources Program
- Thank You Physical Therapists!
- Distributing Mobility Aids in the Twin Cities
- Donating a Wheelchair for Gustavo in Trinidad, Bolivia
- Supporting COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Cochabamba with Wheelchairs from Mano a Mano
- Donating a Walker to a Woman in Laguna Sulti, Bolivia
- Donating Medical Supplies by Plane in Baures and Two Hospitals in Oruro
- Donating Durable Medical Equipment in the Twin Cities – Saturday, April 24th
- Distributing Medical Supplies and Equipment in Bolivia – March/April 2021
- Durable Medical Equipment Giveaway on Saturday, April 24th at Mano a Mano
- Working Around the Pandemic: 2020 Annual Report
- Distributing Medical Supplies and Equipment in Bolivia – March/April 2021
- Donating a Wheelchair for Pascuala in Beni, Bolivia
- Volunteer Spotlight: Dianne Making Layettes in South Dakota for Newborns in Bolivia
- Distributing Medical Supplies and Equipment for Mano a Mano Bolivia
- Exchanging Supplies with HERO Fargo
- Volunteer Spotlight: Larry Refurbishes Sewing Machines for Bolivia
- Mano a Mano Ships Medical Supplies to Bolivia…and Much More
- 2020 Summary of Medical Distributions in Bolivia
- 175,777 Pounds of Medical Supplies Sent From Minnesota to Bolivia in 2020