Fiesta Bowl – Charity Spotlight: Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc.

Fiesta Sports Foundation Helps Fund Sports Physicals for Cochise County Youth

The heartbeat of the Fiesta Sports Foundation is its commitment to aiding Arizona youth through its grant cycle and community impact. During the 2024-25 Grant Cycle, the Fiesta Sports Foundation’s funding benefited 22 Arizona nonprofits, including Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (CCHCI).

Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. is a federally-qualified health center located in Cochise County, in southeastern Arizona. In addition to its fixed locations, CCHCI operates eight mobile clinics providing services to students and patients.

CCHCI opened on Aug. 26, 1996, and operates nine health centers and three dental clinics that serve 35,000 patients in Cochise County. With over 115,000 people living in Cochise County, CCHCI provides health-related services to one in every three residents.

In addition to CCHCI’s health centers, they operate four Chiricahua pharmacies that allow “one-stop shopping” for medications and services.

“A hallmark of Chiricahua is that we see anyone, regardless of their ability to pay. There are no closed doors at Chiricahua,” said Dennis Walto, Chief External Affairs Officer for CCHCI.

For CCHCI, the cost of providing mobile clinics for Cochise County, which expands over 6,200 miles, can be costly. With the help of the Fiesta Sports Foundation grant, CCHCI can now afford to go the extra mile.

The Fiesta Sports Foundation grant allows low-cost sports physicals to be available to students at CCHCI. So far, 580 students have benefitted with more than 360 physicals completed. Mobile sports physicals promote a healthy lifestyle and a chance for CCHCI to check on students who are often too busy for an annual medical visit.

“It’s critically important to do that outreach and to bring the services to where young people live, where they learn and where they play at the fields or in the parks. We rely on philanthropic dollars to extend the ways we are able to serve,” said Walto.

One student, of the nearly 600 students who received a physical as a direct result of the Fiesta Sports Foundation grant, gained an interest in joining the soccer team during her sophomore year of high school. However, she was hesitant to join the team because of past experiences where she had difficulty breathing while engaging in activities.

During her visit, she was officially diagnosed with asthma and prescribed an inhaler, which she had not used since she was a child.

“The availability of her sports physical opened the door for her to play sports and also treat an illness that had been bothering her for many years,” Walto said. “Now, we see her regularly and follow up to make sure the treatment is working and that there are no other health issues.”

Grants help nonprofits like CCHCI make their goals and initiatives achievable. With the help of the Fiesta Sports Foundation, CCHCI can broaden its services and promote sports to Cochise County youth.

“It was incredibly rewarding, and I was thrilled to be in that room with (the Fiesta Sports Foundation Yellow Jacket Committee) that raised millions of dollars as volunteers,” Walto said of speaking at the Fiesta Sports Foundation Yellow Jacket Meeting in January. “This is a true philanthropic group that wants to see funds they raise have a community impact.”

CCHCI is always seeking new opportunities to continue serving the community. The next initiative for the organization is to open a new clinic and pharmacy in Willcox. This new facility will allow them to provide a broader range of health services to the local population and is in line with their goal to bring services to the places where people live.

The 2025-26 Fiesta Sports Foundation Grant Cycle interest form period is now open. All Arizona-based nonprofits are encouraged to submit the interest form during the new two-step process by Friday, February 28. Further information can be found at FiestaBowl.org/grantcycle. Questions can be directed to charities@fiestabowl.org.

from the Fiesta Bowl Website.