AudioValley Interfaith leaders recall the early days of VIDA

MERCEDES, Texas – The Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA) is garnering a lot of attention these days.

Just a week or two back the nonprofit was named one of only 25 organizations nationwide and the only one from Texas to be awarded a $3 Million Nursing Expansion Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop professional pathways to nursing.

But, it has not always been in the limelight. For many years it struggled to secure funding from municipalities in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Some may not know that VIDA was started almost 28 years ago by Valley Interfaith. In this “Historical Sidebar,” Rio Grande Guardian International News Service audio editor Mario Muñoz interviews two Valley Interfaith leaders, Eddie Anaya and Joe Hinojosa, about the early days of VIDA.

They say it was all about jobs.