Hope, passion, commitment.

These are the words that businessman Fran Mullin uses to describe the eight brave nonprofits that joined him five years ago to launch Health and Human Services Week.

"The cult and fan club of Fran Mullin," is what Barbara Goldman, executive director of the Santa Fe Rape Crisis and Trauma Treatment Center, calls the group.

The eight nonprofits have grown to 18. They also include the Adoption Means Love Foundation; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Fe; Bienvenidos Outreach; Cancer Institute Foundation; Community Guidance Center; Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families; Gerard's House; Kitchen Angels; La Familia Medical Center; The Life Link; St. Elizabeth Shelter; Santa Fe Boys & Girls Club; Santa Fe Equestars; Santa Fe Mountain Center; The Food Depot; Youth Shelters; and Women's Health Services.

The nonprofits get an opportunity to showcase their work, a grant through the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and a venue to discuss health issues with the community and encourage policy change.

The city and county of Santa Fe Food Policy Council, which focuses on coordinating groups that feed the hungry and advising government on agricultural issues, arose out of a previous year's event.

A focus on youth, with a forum featuring guest speakers that include Judge Barbara Vigil; Dr. Karen Armitage, chief medical officer for the Department of Health; and Eric Griego, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, and which was covered by the Generation Next pages of this newspaper, was a new feature this year.

Blue Cross Blue Shield and La Familia will roll out a van for blood pressure and blood sugar screenings: Monday at Wild Oats, Tuesday at Española's Wal-Mart, Friday at El Dorado Farmer's Market and April 28 at Santa Fe's Wal-Mart.

The week, which began April 11 with a luncheon for Bienvenidos Outreach at Vanessie Restaurant, now boasts a month of events. It ends with a luncheon May 9 for the Community Guidance Center.

Last year, the grant size increased to $13,000 for each nonprofit from a little more than $10,000 in 2004. Mullin also solicits donations from businesses and foundations. Every penny raised is divided evenly among the nonprofits from a fund at the Community Foundation.

If you are a donor to any of the participating nonprofits, you may have received an invitation to lunch or a cocktail party. Or you may be encouraged to dine at Vanessie, which donates 20 percent of its gross revenue from April 20-26 to the fund — or at participating restaurants that are giving 10 percent of lunch proceeds this week: Il Vicino, Tokyo Japanese Cuisine, Osteria d'Assisi and the Flying Tortilla Restaurant.

It is a week to eat, drink, do good and learn more about our community's health and human services needs.

Billie Blair, president of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, can be reached at bblbair@santafecf.org