INFLUENCERS
PHOTO: FROM THE HIP PHOTO, COURTESY PROECT ANGEL HEART
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improve their health and well-being and that cost should not be a barrier to proper nutrition. Project Angel Heart helps alleviate the stress and uncertainty that surrounds severe illness by creating and delivering medically tailored meals–at no cost to any of our clients–with compassion and care. Thirty years ago, Project Angel Heart provided comfort, hope, and health to people dying from one of the worst pandemics of our lives: HIV/ AIDS. Since then, Project Angel Heart has grown to serve more than 8 million meals to thousands of Coloradans, coping with many different types of critical illnesses including cancer, heart failure, kidney disease and COVID-19. Today, as we confront another pandemic, the founding spirit of neighbors helping neighbors in times of need remains at the heart of our work. How did you get into the nonprofit public health sector?
PHOTOS: COURTESY PROECT ANGEL HEART
Getting to the Heart of it
My parents made giving back a big part of growing up. My five brothers have all spent years in public service and my parents, in their 80s, still help with a local toy drive every Christmas. My father is the longest serving volunteer first aid responder in my hometown. He’s been doing it for more than 60 years. So, you could say it’s in my genes. Still, the experience that turned this from an interest into a passion for me was my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi in the early 2000s, when HIV was ravaging Southern Africa.
PROJECT ANGEL HEART CELEBRATES THREE DECADES of serving up food, compassion and much more. By Hillary Locke Mujica THE DENVER-BASED NONPROFIT that provides medically tailored meals to Coloradans facing life-threatening illness is celebrating its 30th year of selfless acts of kindness. Every week since 1991, Project Angel Heart’s professional chefs, volunteers and registered dietitian and nutritionist have prepared delicious meals from scratch, tailored to meet the individual medical and dietary needs of those who are ill, free of charge. The first delivery ever made was a hum-
ble lasagna provided to 12 people in Denver living with HIV/AIDS. Since then, the organization has expanded its services to provide people with all types of life-threatening health conditions including cancer, kidney disease and most recently, COVID-19. And earlier this year, it delivered its 8 millionth meal and expanded its service area to Boulder and Weld County. To celebrate these accomplishments, we sat down with President and CEO Owen Ryan, who shared his passion for giving and supporting our community. Tell me about the mission of Project Angel Heart and why that mission is as important today as it was 30 years ago. Our mission at Project Angel Heart is to improve the health and well-being of people with lifethreatening illnesses by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals and promoting the power of food as medicine. We know that severe illness takes a toll on individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities. We believe that all people, regardless of their background or circumstances, should have access to meals that 66
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It seems that what Project Angel Heart does goes way beyond making and delivering food. What makes this organization so successful and so vital to our community? We’re successful in the community because we are the community. Tens of thousands of Coloradans have volunteered to help their neighbors in need and just last year, more than 6,000 people gave almost 70,000 hours
