Run Internacional: The U.S. - Mexico 10K

The El Paso Community Foundation partnered with the offices of U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke to present the first Run Internacional in 2015. It was a throwback to the El Paso Juarez International Classic, which ended in 2001.

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The race, which was canceled due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, returns on December 10, 2022. It is a fast, flat 10K — half in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and half in El Paso, Texas in the USA.

The race features about 1,000 runners, and brings positive attention to our border and our sister cities.

Plaza Classic Film Festival

Billed as the “World’s Largest Classic Film Festival,” the Plaza Classic Film Festival was created to bring in people of all ages to enjoy the award-winning Plaza Theatre, celebrate movie history, and enjoy a little community. For eleven days each July, the Plaza Classic Film Festival thrills tens of thousands of visitors with great movies, special guests, concerts, art exhibitions, film talks, discussions, parties and more.

The Plaza Classic Film Festival is produced by the El Paso Community Foundation, and attracts more than 40,000 people each year. The 2023 edition will be our 16th annual. Dates are July 20-30.

The Classroom Fund

The Classroom Fund supports innovation, program enhancement, and supplies for the classroom. The fund provides requested materials and delivers them directly to teachers in El Paso County, Texas and 
Las Cruces, New Mexico — private or public schools — based on the need and the idea. The purpose of the fund is to directly support the efforts of teachers, who — on a limited salary — often buy basic supplies and “extras” for their classrooms at their own cost.

The Classroom Fund Impact grants and projects have had a lasting effect on individual schools, incorporating much needed arts and physical education into everyday curricula. The Classroom Fund has been a project of the El Paso Community Foundation since 2011, and is funded in partnership with Price’s Give ’em Five Fund, KVIA ABC7, and the El Paso Times.

Roderick Artspace Lofts

The Roderick Artspace Lofts offer affordable housing to artists, as well as studio and gallery space to create the hub needed for a thriving art scene in downtown El Paso.

The lofts, opened in 2017, consist of 51 affordable apartments for artists, along with commercial space for arts-oriented businesses. The Roderick Artspace Lofts were named in honor of the Roderick Family for their multi-generational giving to the El Paso Community Foundation.

Chris Cummings and Katherine Brennand made the project possible by providing important leadership and by donating the land where the lofts now stand.

Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre

The Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre was restored in 2006 through a partnership of the El Paso Community Foundation and the City of El Paso. In 2013, it was rated #31 in Pollstar’s list of the Top 100 Performing Arts Venues worldwide! It won a national Preservation Award from the U.S. Department of Interior.

The Plaza Theatre was a $24.2 million gift to the people of El Paso from the El Paso Community Foundation, and annually hosts concerts, Broadway shows, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, and the Plaza Classic Film Festival, the “World’s Largest Classic Film Festival.”

The Spirit of Giving Trees

In 1989, the El Paso Community Foundation began providing an opportunity for people to give directly to individuals and nonprofit organizations. It was a response to the ’80s “Me” generation, and the crass commercialism of the times. More than 63,000 gifts have been donated anonymously since its inception.

The Spirit of Giving Trees have been a fixture at Cielo Vista and Sunland Park Malls. Take a tag from a tree, or choose one online, and make someone’s holiday season a little better. There is also a virtual tree at spiritofgiving.epcf.org and, during the pandemic, we’ve joined with more than two dozen community partners, who have their own virtual trees for employees, friends and family to donate gifts.

The El Paso Community Foundation is proud to present this project in conjunction with Cielo Vista Mall, Sunland Park Mall, iHeart Media and KTSM.

Border Art Residency

The Border Art Residency enables artists to pursue their craft without the worry of immediate sales or an outside job to pay for housing expenses. Artists selected for the residency are able to achieve a greater degree of personal growth by concentrating on individual goals.

EPC Museum

A new museum is being created to spark imaginations, curiosity, creativity and critical thinking through immersive, experiential learning environments. Called La Nube, the new children’s museum and science center will provide an outward facing view of the world to people of all ages through hands-on, interactive exhibits, programs and special events.

There is palpable excitement and support for this project, from both the public and private sectors. La Nube will be a world-class destination for both residents and tourists. It will be located in the heart of El Paso’s Downtown Arts District, which welcomes 1.5 million visitors a year and is home to the El Paso Museum of Art, the El Paso Museum of History, the El Paso Holocaust Museum, the Roderick Artspace Lofts, the Plaza Theatre, the Abraham Chavez Theatre, Southwest University Park, the convention center, public art, festivals, green spaces, and more.

El Paso Community Foundation Jewel Box Series at the Philanthropy Theatre

The Jewel Box Series was created in partnership with El Paso Live to provide a first-class space for local performing arts groups. That space is the beautiful, intimate, jewel box called the Philanthropy Theatre in the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre. Rent is waived for one day of rehearsal and one day of performance, liability insurance is covered, and the Foundation helps with promotion and a playbill. More than 40 productions have been staged in the series, including shows by the late Academy Award-winning screenwriter Mark Medoff, theater legend Hector Serrano, the Border Theatre, writer Camilla Carr, and singers Emily Davis and Jamielynn Amato. Dormant since the 2020 COVID lockdown, the Jewel Box returns for its seventh season with performances on the second Sunday of each month from November 2022 to May 2023.