PAST GRANTS

2024 Premier Multi-Year Grant

Upper Room $50,000 

This was our pilot program and nonprofits were invited to apply for our first ever capacity building grant.  The committee received 6 proposals and put 3 of them to the members to vote on.  Women’s Fund El Dorado (WFED) members selected the Upper Room Dining Hall as the first Multi Year Grant recipient. The $50,000 grant will be used to serve more individuals and families by implementing a Mobile Meal Program, giving the Upper Room the flexibility to be “where we need to be when we need to be there.” The Upper Room previously raised funds to purchase a new Ford F59 truck. The WFED grant will be used in the coming months to build out the kitchen in their new food truck. Upper Room expects to put the food truck into operation in early 2025.

INSPIRATION GRANTS

Inspiration Grants  do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. 

El Dorado Peace & Justice Community Program $26,000

 La proMesa familial-addresses food insecurities in our Spanish-speaking community through growing and distributing culturally informed foods.

Assistance League Sierra Foothills $26,000

Operation School Bell- provides new school clothes to disadvantaged El Dorado County school children in grades K-12.

Impact Grants (3 total awarded in 2024):  for nonprofit organizations offering direct impacts on the western slope of El Dorado County. This includes but is not limited to human services, such as those pertaining to mental or physical health, education, youth development, or services to children, families or seniors, arts, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

CASA El Dorado $8,000

Casa El Dorado-training new Casa’s to support foster youth.

 Hands4Hope-Youth Making a Difference $8,000

Growing Impact through Expansion and inclusion of more youth and opening service learning club at Pleasant Grove Middle School.

Asociacion Guadalupana Project $8,000

Asociacion Gudalupana Literacy & Community Outreach to expand literacy services by purchasing a curriculum for adult English as a second language.

ACORN GRANTS

Acorn Grants (4 total awarded in 2024):  for any new western slope nonprofit or a nonprofit that has never received a grant from the Women’s Fund.

Sierra Wildlife Rescue $8,00

Sierra Wildlife Rescue Grant- expanding animal ambassador programs.

Fostering Success and Significance Project $8,000

Workshops for Student Success- to provide workshops to current/former foster youth like financial literacy, personal development and mental health care and many more.

Catalyst Community $6,000

Family Supply Closet- including toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and supply kits.

Community Emergency Radio Association $2,000

Auto Start Generator - to maintain communication in an emergency situation, even when PG&E Power goes down.

ANNOUNCING OUR 2023 GRANT RECIPIENTS               

INSPIRATION GRANTS

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. 

Housing El Dorado 

www.housingeldorado.org

916-380-9352

Program:    El Dorado Jump Start Cottage/ADU(Accessory Dwelling Unit)Project

Amount Requested: $25,908

El Dorado County (EDC) has a substantial homeless population, a severe shortage of affordable/workforce housing, and rapidly rising rents. Efforts to house the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless are hindered by the lack of affordable housing.  According to EDC Housing Element, the county needs to construct 2,163 very low & low-income housing units on the unincorporated West Slope. Nearly 51% of EDC's workers live outside of the county, largely because they can't afford and/or find available housing within the county. Business leaders and employers are losing employees or job applicants because of the lack of affordable housing.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Sierra

www.bbbsns.org

916-626-1222

Program:  Bigs in Blue

Amount Requested: $26,000

Bigs in Blue is a one-to-one mentoring program that connects youth with law enforcement and probation officers in communities throughout our region, building strong, trusting, lasting relationships. These relationships can help children develop into confident adults and help build stronger bonds between law enforcement and the families they serve.

We are pleased to roll out this initiative across the region, successfully running two sites, one at the Sherriff's Department and the other with the Probation Department at a local church in Cameron Park.  Our goal is to expand the program to a third site in El Dorado Hills.  These matches meet bi-weekly at their designated site one-on-one with their match. We have a total of 30 current matches and look forward to growing that number with an additional site

IMPACT GRANTS: 

This includes but is not limited to human services, such as those pertaining to mental or physical health, education, youth development, or services to children, families or seniors, arts, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

CASA El Dorado 

www.casaeldorado.org

530-622-9882

Program: Court Appointed Special Advocates

Amount Requested: $8,000

CASA El Dorado is dedicated to serving and supporting the young victims of child abuse and neglect in our community, as well as addressing the root causes of this abuse. To achieve this, we recruit, train, and supervise volunteers from our community.

Our primary program is Court Appointed Special Advocates. This program was the basis of our founding in 1992, and provides volunteer advocates, or CASAs, who work one on one with the abused, neglected and at-risk children in the foster care system.  A CASA visits with the assigned child on a weekly basis and establishes a nonjudgmental relation based on trust. The CASA, as a sworn officer of the court, interacts with the child's foster family, parents, teachers, therapists and others, and prepares written reports for the judge that advocate for the child's best interests. CASA volunteers are trained to work with youth ages 0-18, as well as those 18-21, who are transitioning from foster care to adulthood.

An $8,000 grant from Women's Fund will help us serve 16 children in need of a CASA.

 Youth Making a Difference/Hands4Hope

hands4hopeyouth.org

916-919-5695

Program: Empowering Youth To Make Positive Change During Challenging Times

Amount Requested: $8,000

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference is requesting $8,000 to provide support including food, clothing, toiletries, connection, and a sense of purpose to struggling students, families, and individuals on the Western Slope. During the pandemic, Hands4Hope took over EDCOE's Emergency Food Pantry, partnered with the El Dorado Community and West Slope Foundations to support Caldor Fire victims, duplicated its School Supply Distribution, partnered with ASPIRE Outfitters, took over Empty Bowls volunteer coordination, and increased volunteer support with BBBS, Food Bank of EDC, and others to serve those impacted by the challenges of the last few years. In 2022, $149,780 in supplies was collected and distributed, serving 8,000 individuals. Needs continue to grow as economic factors and storms add to layers of challenges. Hands4Hope supports those in need by training youth in skills that take ideas, and turn them into action; youth gain skills while helping fill unmet community needs that positively impact the lives of others. Women's Fund dollars will directly provide needed support through these outreach projects to 9,000 individuals. It will also provide training and mentorship for 250 youth, giving them tools and a deeper understanding of challenges faced by fellow students, families, and individuals.

El Dorado County Fire Safe Council 

www.edcfiresafe.org

530-647-1700

Program:  Develop Defensible Space Buffer Around Seniors', Veterans', and Families with Low-Income Homes

Amount Requested: $8,000

The El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) is working to develop defensible space for low-income seniors (are who both financially and physically unable to do this type of work themselves), veterans (families - widow/widowers), and families with low-income on the County's western slope.  Defensible space development benefits include:

• reducing fire risk to residences (CAL FIRE Public Resource Code 4291 and/or County Ordinance No. 5101 requirement),

• increasing firefighters' suppression efforts to attack a house fire expediently and effectively, or an approaching wildfire,

• improving work environment for emergency personnel called to the property.

• protecting neighboring properties "home to home ignition", and

• reducing anxiety and stress for seniors, veterans, and low-income family members in a way that improves their overall wellbeing.

In the past eight years, EDCFSC has contracted with licensed and insured land and tree service contractors to conduct 623 defensible space developments.  This assistance has focused on developing defensible space up to 100 feet surrounding the homes of seniors, veterans, and families with low-income.  

ACORN GRANTS: 

for any new western slope nonprofit or a nonprofit that has never received a grant from the Women’s Fund.

Mother Teresa Maternity Home, Inc.

motherteresamaternityhome.com

530-295-8006

Program: Improving Infrastructure and Meeting Rising Costs at the County's Only Perinatal Extended Residential Program

Amount Requested: $8,000

Mother Teresa Maternity Home provides extended perinatal residency for the pregnant population experiencing crisis in our county. In the Housing Matters study titled "Pregnant and Homeless: How Unstable Housing Affects Maternal Health Outcomes", it is shown that 48% of women seeking emergency shelter are pregnant. Unfortunately, emergency shelters providing 1-16 nights of shelter in general are not adequately positioned to assist pregnant women to consistently access the unique medical and mental care they require, resulting in the additional statistic that women experiencing homelessness during pregnancy are twice as likely to suffer from birth complications that adversely affect maternal health as well as the health of their child. 

Mother Teresa Maternity Home provides longer term shelter for unhoused pregnant women. Our clients can remain in the program throughout their pregnancy and for the first three months after their baby is born. They are connected with community opportunities for physical and mental health care, sobriety support, child care, housing, employment and other needs, while living in a safe stable environment. 

Funds from this grant would go to repairing damage from the recent storms, as well as helping to pay for increased utility costs faced by our facility.

Hands and Hoofs

https://www.handsandhoofs.com/

530-647-2049

Program: Hands and Hoofs Project Expenses

Amount Requested: $8,000

Hands & Hoofs offers opportunities for youth to connect with horses, nature, discover Miwok culture, and be creative through hands on art projects. Our program, supported by local volunteers, is a full day outdoor experience in El Dorado National Forest.

Without experiences in nature, research suggests that children miss opportunities to enhance their health and well-being and develop responsible long-term environmental behavior; regular contact with nature develops a sense of responsibility for the environment. They exhibit higher self-esteem and lower levels of aggression.  Unfortunately many children do not have the opportunity to experience nature and equine in a safe manner.   A lack of contact with nature can lead to social isolation and lack of respect for the environment.  Feelings of isolation and anxiety have been compounded by Covid 19 and the many fires in Northern California.

Our goal is to connect youth through interactive experiences, some which may have autism, ADHD, and ACE due to trauma from childhood experiences. Our nature and equine based learning is a non-riding program that fosters social connections and cultivates life skills such as confidence, creativity, problem solving and empathy. Our innovative program provides an opportunity to increase self-awareness, improve communication skills, and build relationships

El Dorado Chapter National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution 

eldorado.californiadar.org

530-306-0821

Program:  Equine Assisted Psychotherapy for Women Living with PTSD and Related Mental Health Diagnoses Who Reside on the Western Slope of El Dorado County

Amount Requested: $8,000

Partnering with mental health providers in public or private practice on the western slope of El Dorado County, we will provide scholarships for eight weekly group sessions of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) at Heart's Landing Ranch for up to five women during the period covered by the grant.

IT IS AN HONOR TO PRESENT TO YOU OUR 2022 GRANT RECIPIENTS

In 2022, WFED anticipates awarding a total of $119,000. Funding is broken down into the following categories:

Inspiration Grants

$60,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $30,000. Two grants will be awarded in this category. 

Impact Grants

$30,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $10,000. Three grants will be awarded in this category.

Acorn Grants

$29,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $10,000. Three grants will be awarded in this category. 

2022 INSPIRATION GRANTS

Total to be awarded $60,000

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. Applicants can apply for up to $30,000. 

Snowline Hospice

snowlinehospice.org

Program: In-Home Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia Patients

Amount Awarded: $30,000

Our pilot program's goal is to focus on the unique needs of advanced dementia patients and their families living in rural El Dorado County. By providing specialized in-home care, dementia patients who are experiencing gradual destruction of memory, reasoning, judgment, and speech are ensured a higher quality of life while remaining in their home. With this grant, we will share the materials and current program outcomes with agencies who were closed due to COVID and revisit providers with the goal of re-educating them about the benefits of palliative care for patients and caregivers who suffer from the burden of dementia.  Dementia patients who die with hospice at home are more likely to have families with greater satisfaction with their end-of-life care. To regenerate the home-based palliative program, it will provide care that recognizes the unique needs of patients and caregivers living with dementia.

This personalized program will support the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of dementia patients and their families. A hospice interdisciplinary team consisting of a physician, nurse, spiritual counselor, social worker, home health aide, volunteer, and bereavement coordinator will significantly improve the patient care experience and clinical outcomes for patients with dementia and their families.

Only Kindness, Inc.

onlykindness.net Program: Only Kindness Homelessness Prevention

Amount Awarded: $30,000

We are weary of homelessness. No matter how much funding, how many good services, it never seems to improve. We can wrap our minds around the idea that it is a systemic problem. We can conceive of the trauma basis for homelessness. Why else are so many of the homeless Veterans or domestic violence victims or folks from the foster care system?  And we can understand the young family struggling to earn enough to stay housed in a market that prices housing out of their reach. But why have we not seen improvement? What more can we do?

The data shows us a welcome truth: in El Dorado County, we are getting better.  Homeless service providers, once quite siloed, are working closer than ever before. County Health and Human Services has stepped in to help address homelessness in a powerful way.  For the first time ever, we have Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) in our community.  Medical service providers are engaged in not discharging patients into homelessness. For the first time ever, we have projects actively supporting the medically fragile. 

So why do we see more homeless encampments? Why does the danger of fire seem ever more imminent?  Why can't we see the improvement?

Because our community has two remaining gaps: robust and well-funded homelessness prevention projects and emergency, temporary shelter.  Both these gaps are recognized and the homeless service community is working collaboratively to address them. Hopes are high that by the end of 2022 a working temporary shelter will be in place.

In the meantime, we ask the Women's Fund to once more, step in and fill the gap.  Help a new mom care for and keep her baby with her as she faces a housing crisis.  Help a Veteran keep his family safely housed

IMPACT GRANTS

Images of Hope El Dorado

imagesofhopeeldorado.org Project: Images of Hope Impact Grant

Amount Requested: $10,000

The journey through cancer treatment can be isolating, traumatic and financially difficult. 

Images of Hope provides a safe space for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers to heal through art and movement classes. The therapeutic activities, offered in group settings or Zoom, allow participants to interact with others in a fun, creative, and supportive environment. They offer a sense of community and provide the opportunity to take a break from stress caused by cancer.

Classes are offered to anyone impacted by cancer on the Western Slope of El Dorado County. Our services are provided free of charge so participants can focus on healing without additional financial strain.

Activities include: Art, Knitting, Guided Meditation, Yoga, Mindful Movement, Pilates, Equine Therapy.  We also provide live music in the infusion center at the Marshall Cancer Center

Our goal is to expand public awareness of our classes, increase participation, and continue to provide services for free.  Additional funding will allow us to increase the number of classes, improve marketing/public outreach, pay professional instructors, and provide class supplies.

American River Conservancy

ARConservancy.org

Program: Cosumnes River Water Quality Monitoring Program

Amount Requested: $10,000

The Cosumnes River Water Quality Monitoring Program is a volunteer participatory science program that surveys and records the health of the Cosumnes River watershed. Since 2015, this important volunteer program has worked with many community partners to provide meaningful scientific data. The program records field measurements, documents habitat conditions and observes species throughout the Cosumnes River Watershed. These measurements include water temperature, conductivity, ph and dissolved oxygen. As the last free flowing western Sierra River, the Cosumnes River provides water to all the communities along its reach. This river is an integral part of local Native culture, supports a variety of endangered and at risk species (including Chinook salmon) and sustains the largest remaining Central Valley riparian forest. But like many Sierra watersheds, the Cosumnes River has its challenges. The stressors of climate change, population growth, overstocked forests, erosion, invasive species, land use changes, and groundwater overdraft are accelerating. These challenges can be met with a comprehensive, collaborative approach that takes advantage of all the technology and management resources available, begining with the ecological knowledge gathered in this program. This grant would help support the coordination and delivery of this essential volunteer program.

UC Regents, UC ANR Master Gardeners of El Dorado County

mgeldorado.ucanr.edu

Project: Sherwood Demonstration Garden Education Pergola Shade Cover

Amount Requested: $10,000

The thrust of our educational program is to offer home gardeners scientific information in a comfortable environment and in an understandable format. The Education Pergola is the centerpiece of the Sherwood Demonstration Garden, located off Green Valley Road, behind Folsom Lake College-El Dorado Center. The Education Pergola is a fantastic place for students to experience hands-on learning. Since the Garden’s opening in 2015, one of our major goals was to complete a covered outdoor educational center. With the dedication and labor from our volunteers, the pergola became a reality in 2021. One item that we have not been able to finance through our annual Plant Sale, is the 29’ x 39’ commercial grade bronze fabric shade cover. With the addition of the shade cover, this structure will become the cornerstone of our public education program. Teaching classes in a shaded area, will afford a better learning experience with deeper engagement in the activity for a greater variety of learners from the public. In addition, the shade cover will provide better viewing of the audio and visual presentations by reducing sun glare.  The Pergola will comfortably accommodate 80 participants in each free public education class.

ACORN GRANTS

AspireKids

aspirekidssac.org

Project: ASPIRE Outfitters - Clothing for Kids

Amount Requested: $9,000

For the purposes of this grant request we are asking for funds for our ASPIRE Outfitters program. The foundation of the ASPIRE Outfitters programs came after many discussions with social workers, foster parents, and teens living in foster care and teen shelters where we learned that there is a great need for new and gently used clothing as well as duffel bags which often become cherished items. Foster parents receive a clothing allowance that does not cover the actual cost of clothes and shoes, especially for teens, and often isn’t received for several months after the child is placed in care. Families, teens and children in the middle of housing transition are often additionally challenged with lack of clothing, coats and shoes.  Through our program, a social worker, school administrator or other agency employee/volunteer, requests clothing through an online form. ASPIREKids will gather clothing items from our storage, usually 4-5 outfits, socks, underwear and shoes if possible, then make arrangements for delivery of the clothing requested in a new duffel bag for the child/teen to keep.   Teens are also provided a $50 gift card so that they can shop for personal items of their choice.

Pioneer Union School District

pioneerusd.org

Project: Comprehensive Student Wellness

Amount Requested: $10,000

Pioneer Union School District (PUSD) serves 290 Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade students in southern El Dorado County, half of whom live in poverty. Last August PUSD lost one of three schools, Walt Tyler Elementary, to the Caldor fire. Over 20% of our students from PUSD lost homes. Our students and families are resilient, although we see increased behavioral issues, poor attendance rates, low academic performance, and poor morale. We aim to provide a comprehensive, creative, and multi-faceted approach to meet these needs.

We hope to create both private and communal spaces at each campus to promote mindfulness, have a safe place for self-regulation, and provide social and emotional support. We will provide innovative supports to increase mindfulness, academic achievement, and positive community connection through the following:

• Wellness rooms - quiet and calming spaces for regulation and support

• Sensory hallways - a creative and playful way for kids to build connections in the brain that are responsible for senses, which enable kids to ground themselves

• Collaborative and inclusive murals – campus murals that the students participate in creating

• Access to a special program at no cost to our students, SOS Outreach, an outdoor program to build resiliency, connection, and leadership skills

Stanford Youth Solutions

dba Stanford Sierra Youth & Families

ssyaf.org

Project: Art and Play Therapy for Traumatized Children

Amount Requested: $10,000

Stanford Youth Solutions (dba Stanford Sierra Youth & Families) requests a $10,000 grant from the Women’s Fund El Dorado to provide art and play therapy to local El Dorado County children who require specialized counseling for traumatic life experiences and mental health concerns.

Stanford Sierra is a well-established youth and families services provider with a relatively new office in El Dorado County. We currently provide essential mental health and family support services to 100 youth and families in El Dorado County. Still, there are others who remain unserved.

We want to provide each child who needs it the opportunity to recover and heal from trauma, but we do not have the funds to complete this project.  Though our agency budget is substantial, nearly all those revenues are restricted by county contracts for service.  None of our revenues are available for this project. 

We do, however, have two rooms in our El Dorado County office that could be used for art and play therapy.  With a $10,000 grant from Women’s Fund El Dorado, we could purchase the materials, supplies, and training needed to make this effective therapy available to the El Dorado County children who will benefit from it.

ANNOUNCING OUR 2021 GRANT RECIPIENTS

INSPIRATION GRANTS

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. 

New Morning Youth & Family Services

newmorningyfs.org

Program: Queer Youth Advocacy Project

Amount Awarded: $26,000

Program Description: Providing early mental health support to youth who are struggling, is an absolutely critical component to their successful development as human beings. With this said, research indicates that LGBTQ+ youth are almost six times more likely to attempt suicide AND experience homelessness than their heteronormative counterparts. These same youth also complain of peer-harassment, severe anxiety, depressive symptoms, identity dysphoria, dissociation, strong inclinations toward substance use, feelings of extreme isolation and more. This project will enable New Morning to establish a multi-pronged program specifically geared toward this cross-section of our county’s most at-risk youth population. The program will not only support NM in re-establishing its long-standing LGBTQ+ Youth Support Group (via virtual platform), but it will also support our agency in providing the El Dorado County region with up-to-date, population-specific education and support resources for LGBTQ+ youth. This program will maintain and strengthen our culturally-informed LGBTQ+ therapeutic and case management services, allow us to continue providing safe emergency shelter for these youth, and will allow us to strengthen collaborative efforts with our incredible community partners in working to keep the LGBTQ+ youth of El Dorado County safe.

Snowline Hospice of El Dorado County

snowlinehospice.org

Program: A Nurse-Led, Home-Based Palliative Care for patients with Advanced Dementia

Amount Awarded: $26,000

Program Description: The goal of this pilot program is to focus on the unique needs of dementia patients and their families living in rural areas. By providing specialized in-home care, dementia patients are ensured a higher quality of life including the option to remain in their most sacred place, their home. Most home-based palliative programs focus primarily on patients with three diagnoses, Cancer, COPD, and Cardiac disease; few provide care that recognizes the unique needs of patients and caregivers living with dementia.

Utilizing a full interdisciplinary team that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, medical social workers, spiritual care providers, and home health aides, this program will demonstrate that personalized home-based palliative care will significantly improve the patient care experience and clinical outcomes for patients with dementia and their families.

Through nurse and social worker-led assessments, our program will use a holistic approach to better serve patients and families living with this dementia. Our program will provide regular visits between nurses and families to discuss the disease and its burdens, so the families have an improved understanding of the patient’s disease trajectory. With better understanding, families will be able to complete advanced care planning, including POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms. Through 24/7 access to nurses, development of symptom management action plans patients will have fewer symptoms that need to be managed, families will demonstrate reduced utilization of emergency departments, there will be fewer hospitalizations, reduced caregiver burden, and increased utilization of supportive community resources.

IMPACT GRANTS

El Dorado County Office of Education

edcoe.org

Program: McKinney-Vento Urgent Needs Fund

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: McKinney-Vento students are those whose families can offer no, "...fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence..." for their children. This childhood adversity is challenging enough independent of other life challenges that occur for all people at some time or another. The difference being that McKinney-Vento youth often have living situations that do not allow them the luxury of time; time to wait for the resources that their caregivers might otherwise be able to access on their behalf. While resources are available for a wide variety of needs for these youth, the expediency of access to funds is not always feasible when the need to address unforeseen and unexpected needs is urgent or does not fall into a "typical" needs category. The McKinney-Vento Urgent Needs Fund has arisen from a series of events that provide powerful examples of the need to be able to respond quickly and efficiently to this "invisible" population's needs as they arise. In this way minimizing the interruptions to education and social experiences while at the same time mitigating the effects of what at times, might otherwise be traumatic experiences for children who are already in the throes of the trauma of being without a home of their own.

MORE, Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises, Inc.

morerehab.org

Program: Feeding El Dorado County

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: Food . . . a basic human need. And one that goes unmet for many in our community. Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises is pleased to partner with the Food Bank to provide this basic need to many who would otherwise go hungry by being a food distribution center. With MORE’s recent return to our newly renovated building that includes a commercial kitchen, plans for expanding services to the community include providing seniors another option for a healthful midday meal, as well as being an emergency food distribution center in case of a disaster. Such essential services need a back-up plan in case of a power outage, which our community has experienced with the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs numerous times over the past year, and very likely to occur in the case of a major disaster. Therefore, a large-capacity generator was installed to keep our walk-in refrigerator/freezer and kitchen fully functional, even without power. MORE’s new building gives us the ability to expand our services of feeding those in need, but funding for a generator was not part of the community support we received. A grant from Women’s Fund El Dorado will help fund this critical component of the project.

Hands 4 Hope, Youth Making a Difference

hands4hopeyouth.org

Project: Food Insecurity In Our Community: Hands4Hope Youth-Led Emergency Food Pantry to Assist Students, Families, and Individuals

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference is requesting $8,000 to provide food to insecure students, families, and individuals on the Western Slope through our new Hands4Hope Emergency Food Pantry. Hands4Hope is partnering with El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE), Placerville Union School District (PUSD), El Dorado County SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education, and Placer Food Bank to create and run this pantry, as well as identify those most in need of food assistance. The food pantry will be youth run, with guidance provided by representatives from our identified community partners. Food insecurity has increased significantly within our community due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hands4Hope is working to fill the gap by training young people in skills that take ideas, such as this food pantry, and turning them into action; youth gain skills while helping fill unmet community needs that positively impact the lives of others. Women’s Fund dollars will directly provide food for 3,000+ meals, impacting 1,200 food insecure students and individuals. It will also provide training and mentorship for 10 youth, giving them tools and a deeper understanding of food insecurity to successfully manage this emergency food pantry with compassion.

ACORN GRANTS

Housing El Dorado

housingeldorado.org

Project: Technology - Creating a Bridge to Self-Sufficiency for the County's Vulnerable

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: Enabling self-sufficiency is a key to lifting our county's vulnerable into a position they can be housed, employed, and productive persons in our community. Access to case management and the tools it unlocks, such as identification, transportation health care, resume, job applications, and more is already a heavy burden on our existing systems for the 600+ homeless on the western slope. Recently steeped in many years of experience from organizations such as Hangtown/Community Haven, Interfaith Nomadic Shelter, and Coalition for the Homeless and Affordable Housing, and supported by the structure of the El Dorado Community Foundation, Upper Room Dining Hall, and Green Valley Church, the non-profit Housing El Dorado has been formed. In this grant Housing El Dorado seeks to decrease this gap by not only procuring the technology to enable case management, but make it more accessible through mobile platforms in their Pathways Project winter lodging and follow on programming. By utilizing laptops, which double as tablets, hot spots, and mobile printer clients' needs can be addressed in nearly any location. The funds in this grant to purchase technology enabling mobile case management will create a bridge to self-sufficiency for many of the county's vulnerable.

Imagination Theater

imaginationtheater.net

Project: Empowering Youth through Performing Arts

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: The purpose of this program is to develop creativity and leadership skills through performing arts for teens by providing opportunities to learn about how to produce, direct and participate in live stage performances and extend the learning through opportunities for youth to then actually produce and direct a performance.  A series of Youth Director Workshops, provided at no cost to the participants, will build skills and confidence in all aspects of Community Theater with a focus on how to turn an artistic vision into a performance reality.  Participants will gain a deeper understanding about producing and participating in Community Theater through hands-on workshopping in an educational, creative and artistic learning environment.  Series of workshops to include: Introduction to Theater; Planning and Organizing a Production; Stage Management; Set, Lighting and Costume Design; Auditions & Casting; Production Schedules & Rehearsals; Publicity and Marketing; etc.  Upon completion of the series of Youth Director Workshops, participants can then apply to direct a special project through Imagination Theater’s Youth Empowerment through Performing Arts Mini Grant Program. This program will be available to teens throughout El Dorado County and will be advertised through local Middle and High Schools.

Mj’s Project

mjsproject.org

Project: Homeless and at-risk teen/young adult assistance

Amount Awarded: $8,000

Program Description: We provide basic life essentials for struggling teens otherwise going without and suffering in silence. We provide feminine hygiene, full size personal hygiene, food to eat outside of school, holiday food, clothes, brand new school shoes, school supplies, gas cards, lice treatment, laundry soap, furniture, appliances, individual personal needs, prom attire, Christmas and mentoring. We also supply school closets with deep freezers and fridges for food, as well as washers and dryers for homeless students to wash.

2020 GRANT RECIPIENTS

INSPIRATION GRANTS

"Generate Hot Meals 365”

Upper Room Dining Hall

Amount awarded: $29,100 

Program Description (from application): 18,000 residents of El Dorado County live below the poverty level. 20% are children under 16, and 21% are seniors living on a fixed income. The Mountain Democrat recently reported that our county's homeless population has grown to over 600. Many of our homeless are victims of behavioral health illnesses, including addictions, that go untreated and leave them believing there's no hope for a better life. Imagine a single mother with nothing to feed her hungry children until her next check arrives. Or, a veteran with PTSD caught in a downward spiral of self-destruction that leaves him without a home. What about the woman with schizophrenia that can't afford her medication and is unable to function normally without it? Or, a young adult who is financially stable but craves social interaction. These are the people we serve. With the help of 193 active volunteers, the Upper Room serves an average of 150 meals each day. For many, Upper Room is shelter from the elements for a few hours. For most, it is the only hot meal or source of nutrition they will have that day. For all, it is a place for fellowship and safe refuge. The Upper Room is more than just a meal. Partnering with other organizations, we also provide wound care, medical advice, legal aid, laundry services, referrals for recovery programs, and other resources key for healthy living. Recently, we have had several power outages lasting multiple days, that forced us to close our kitchen and discard spoiled food. We know that planned outages will continue for years to come. The funds from this grant will be used to purchase and install a generator; allowing us to preserve donated perishables and keep our doors open.

”Vaping, Drugs, Alcohol and Violence Prevention and Intervention Program - the Connections Project”

El Dorado Union High School District 

Amount awarded: $30,000 

Program Description (from application): In collaboration with community partners, the Connections Project will enhance El Dorado and Union Mine High Schools by: Reducing the vaping epidemic, drug, and alcohol use, eliminating school violence, increasing safety, attendance, mental health, academic success. There are two interrelated programs to this inspirational, and trauma-informed project: 

1. The Brief Intervention Program nurtures suspended students, supported by an in-house instructor and trained counselor. Instead of staying home, students attend school and work on academics and then, through interactive games/activities, students learn vaping/drug effects on the developing body and brain. Additionally, we explore adverse childhood experiences/trauma, often causing low self-esteem, to help kids understand why they’re using, boost mental health and more. The program is tailored to meet each student’s individual social emotional needs. For example, “Mary,” caught vaping weed, received a three-day suspension. We checked her grades; Mary had four F’s. She was feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Her home life was difficult – a mother who worked a lot, four other kids living in a small house, three of which Mary took care of when home. We helped Mary prioritize her missing assignments. Mary learned the killer chemicals contained in vape juice, marketing tricks, and effects on her brain. We helped Mary build her self-esteem, taught her to set boundaries by communicating assertively, and worked with the family to get needed resources. 

2. Friendly Faces: So No One Eats Alone is a student led program providing proactive solutions to leading teenage safety concerns: bullying, isolation and suicide. At lunch, trained peers will socialize and eat with lonely students. The program will ignite change in peer behavior by: encouraging ALL students to reveal challenges they are facing, training students to become more resilient, and supporting them with access to local resources that will CONNECT them to help their families, schools, and communities.

IMPACT GRANTS 

"Develop Defensible Space Buffer Around Veterans', Seniors', and Low-income Families Homes”

El Dorado Fire Safe Council

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Program Description (from application): The El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) in partnership with Friends of Seniors is working to develop defensible space for veterans (families - widow/widowers), low income seniors (who are both financially and physically unable to do this type of work themselves), and low-income families on the County’s western slope. Defensible space development reduces fire risk to residences (CAL FIRE Public Resource Code 4291 and/or County Ordinance No. 5101 requirement), protects neighboring properties, and improves work environment for emergency personnel called to the property. In addition, it reduces anxiety and stress for veterans, seniors and low-income families in a way that improves their overall wellbeing. 

From the Western El Dorado County Community Wildfire Protection Plan ( 2017), factors hindering people’s ability to develop and regularly maintain defensible space were overwhelmingly time and cost, with many respondents mentioning age and physical condition as other factors. 

In the past five years EDCFSC has contracted with licensed and insured land and tree service contractors to conduct defensible space development. This assistance has focused on developing defensible space up to 100 feet surrounding the homes of veterans, seniors, and low-income families. This successful process will be continued to service qualified families. 

“Free in-home fall prevention equipment installed for low income senior and disabled residents”

SAFE-D of El Dorado County 

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Program Description (from application): SAFE-D of El Dorado County Inc. provides the volunteers and materials to install for free, in-home fall prevention equipment for low income ($26,000/year take home, or less) seniors (60 or over) or disabled county residents with mobility limitations, especially those at risk of falling. These accommodations increase accessibility, independence and help clients to safely age in their own homes. 

Typical safety accommodation installations can include: 

• Grab bars in the shower or bathtub 

• Safety rails at the toilet 

• Raised toilet seat with handles

• Handrails / minor step modifications at one/two steps 

• Shower seat and non-slip bath mat Smoke / Carbon Monoxide Detector 

• Night Lights Bed rail

• Check for proper lighting, rug trip hazards, clutter, etc. 

El Dorado County Veteran Aid Fund 

Military Family Support Group (MFSG)

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Program Description (from application): Military Family Support Group (MFSG) and their El Dorado Veteran Resources (EDVR) office honors and empowers El Dorado County Veterans and Military Families during critical times of need. MFSG and EDVR serve as a resource and referral office, the co-point of entry for Veterans seeking assistance in the county. We assist in expenses and aid that are otherwise not funded by Veterans Affairs and other local Military/Veteran-focused nonprofits. Some specific examples have included giving out turkeys for Thanksgiving, providing transportation to bi-weekly dialysis appointments, funding automotive repairs that would allow a Veteran to continue working, providing fully stocked backpacks with school supplies for children of Veterans, and paying a Veteran’s electricity bill when faced with a loss of wages due to the PG&E outages. Most of what we do has such a big impact because the community cares about Veterans and we would love to continue that success, which in turn is setting a high standard for how we treat Veterans who have served our country. 

ACORN GRANTS 

"Broccoli, Bugs and Butterflies: Restoring the Pinewood Garden"

Pinewood Elementary at Pollock Pines Elementary School District

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Program Description (from application): Our Pinewood School community is ready to learn, work and connect through “Broccoli, Bugs and Butterflies,” a school garden restoration project. At Pinewood Elementary School 53% of our 346 students, TK-4th grade, participate in the free or reduced lunch program. This translates to more than 183 students needing assistance with accessing adequate food and high quality nutrition. The basic needs of our community are great. We want to support our children and their families in making healthy food choices, and engage them in a school project in which food is grown and shared with the community. Pinewood Elementary School in Pollock Pines is requesting $8,000.00 to restore our school garden. In previous years the garden was a wonderful resource for teaching students about good nutrition and science. Unfortunately, all 27 raised beds are rotting into the soil, some being held up only by the paint left on the boards! Our volunteer expertise is significant but we need help with purchasing materials.We have volunteers already clearing out the weeds and overgrowth, and retired educators ready to assist teachers with garden and science lessons. Our students are eager to get their hands dirty and learn about Broccoli, Bugs, Butterflies! 

"Ranked, The Musical"

Studio 81 at Arts & Culture El Dorado

Amount awarded: $6,000 

Program Description (from application): EDHS Drama and Studio 81 seek this grant to bring Ranked, the Musical, to the El Dorado community. This timely and relatable play, written by an EDHS graduate, addresses the competitive nature of high school and themes surrounding scholastic competition, honesty, individuality, and desperation as students struggle with the realization that “pain is temporary and grades are forever”. Additionally,Ranked gives high school drama students an opportunity to delve into sophisticated, age-appropriate roles which are reflective of their current academic environment. We are seeking funding to create a collaborative artistic summer program that would include all five schools in our district. Our performance of Ranked in the now-defunct Carl Borelli Amphitheater will call attention to the repairs necessary to revitalize this performance space while creating an opportunity to provide future summer artistic programs. People of all ages confront their worth, future, and fears; we hope that the Women’s Fund will help us bring a positive and inspirational message through granting this fund. 

"Cornerstone of Life”

New Beginnings Gold Country 

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Program Description (from application): We are in the process of setting up a training program for the at risk youth as well as the clients that we service in the El Dorado County. We currently have an automotive building that is basically equipped to start training in the field of Automotive Repair. Cornerstone Automotive is part of our educational programs. One of our clients, Robert Shell was reunited with his daughter after being in prison for over 36 years. Robert was a Vietnam veteran-4 tours, Robert had a daughter, and he let a sense of protecting his daughter, put him in prison. Robert was released to New Beginnings and our Founder Randy Haskins, located Robert's daughter. All Robert wanted to do was hold his daughter for as long as he could, without anyone telling him to stop. Robert was reunified with his daughter and it was the best day of his life. Robert came into our program, which is cost free. Robert has utilized our educational programs. We provide an opportunity and windows of hope at New Beginnings, when compassion, hard work and a change of heart come together, anything is possible. All of us here at New Beginnings, believe change is possible

WE CONTINUE TO SERVE 

It’s because of you, we continue to serve. A few weeks ago, the WFED Cabinet surveyed our membership about utilizing reserve grant funding to support our community in this time of need. We are proud to say that the response was overwhelmingly in favor of this support. Over 90% of responding members supported Cabinet and Committee directed rapid response grants to organizations serving the western slope of El Dorado County to address the immediate needs of vulnerable populations and communities impacted by COVID-19. Thank you for trusting and empowering WFED leadership to provide this much needed funding. Your Cabinet worked closely with the Grants Committee to carry out an expedited grant process.

It is our honor to announce that $24,600 ($4,100 each) in immediate need funding has been awarded to the following agencies: 

EL DORADO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION 

HOMELESS OUTREACH

This grass roots food pantry was started as a direct response to the school's closure due to COVID-19. Prior to the summer food program, which provides lunches and breakfasts through the schools, being extended to meet the current needs, it was quickly recognized that children being home from school would put an immediate strain on household budgets for those families who rely on the school's nutrition programs. 

Once the school's feeding programs began, it was apparent that many families were still experiencing an increase in food insecurity; some due to lack of transportation to the distribution points, others due to job loss and loss of income, still others for increased numbers of people being in the home all day due to the shelter in place orders. 

While the person managing the effort is the Homeless Youth Coordinator for the El Dorado County Office of Education, it was also soon recognized that this need would reach beyond just the homeless youth and to many other families with socio-economic challenges and vulnerability to food insecurity. 

Referrals for food are received from social services and school district staff as the means of prioritizing services and ensuring that the donations and funds expended are specifically targeted to serve the county's most vulnerable youth and their families. 

To date, within the month since this effort began, 200 individuals have been supplied with shelf-stable groceries through personal donations of food and finances. No family within this month has been served more than once as donations are being dispersed as quickly as they are received. 

As we begin to approach the first wave of time when families who have lost their jobs, don't receive their monthly income, we expect to see our numbers increase exponentially. This grant will provide the opportunity to continue to serve those families already identified, as well as to add new families identified. 

At the current expenditure of approximately $5 per person, per delivery to supplement the food donations received ($15 for a family of 3), $4100 will allow us to serve the original 200 individuals in addition to another 50, for three more months. This number will of course vacillate based on the need and the continuation of additional donations. 

All person's receiving the donations are referred to the Homeless Youth Coordinator through Health and Human Services, public school personnel, or non-profit organizations who serve children. 

Green Valley Church has been generous in providing an empty portable to serve as our food pantry for the duration of the school closure. 

The School Resource Officers, employed by the Sheriff's Department, have been invaluable in providing the deliveries of goods to the families. 

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

Since El Dorado County’s Shelter in Place Order has been in effect due to COVID-19, New Morning Youth & Family Services has seen another public health crisis emerge. As proven by sociologist Marianne Hester (abusive-relationships specialist at Bristol University), it is common for incidents of domestic violence to go up whenever families spend more time together (ie. during holiday breaks, summer vacations, etc.). 

Needless to say, with local families on lockdown and all of the schools closed, our agency has been on the front lines responding to increased community reports from local youth experiencing domestic abuse, neglect, and a wide array of other crisis-related issues.

Just this past weekend we had two teenagers show up on our doorstep seeking services because they had run away from home. One young woman showed up on Saturday night, having hitchhiked from Pollock Pines alone, stating that she couldn't stand being stuck in the house with her sexually and physically abusive uncle during quarantine for one more day. She had told her parents, the ones hosting her uncle, and they had done nothing. The other teen who showed up on Sunday, had run away from home after getting into an argument with her parents that had escalated to the point of physical assault on multiple occasions. Apparently this client's father had begun "losing his temper" in this way regularly since his COVID lay-off and general family quarantine had begun. 

Luckily we have a strong staff team keeping the shelter open, a social-worker doing remote case management and family-reunification sessions for these clients, and a team of therapists to provide emotional and mental-health support while navigating these difficult times. 

While this has always been the work of New Morning, our present circumstances require us to work 10X harder right now. We anticipate serving an additional 30 youth through shelter and crisis counseling. 

THE UPPER ROOM DINING HALL

The guests that visit the Upper Room Dining Hall are primarily members of our community that fall below the poverty line. This includes seniors on a fixed income, low income families, single parents, and people suffering from physical and behavioral health disabilities. All are considered vulnerable populations and suffer with food insecurity. As the impacts from COVID-19 push more people out of work, we have experienced significant increases in the number of people who count on us for the only source of nutrition that many of them will receive. Prior to COVID-19, the Upper Room Dining Hall served an average of 150 meals/day at a cost of $3.35 per meal. Since the middle of March, we have seen a 67% increase in meals served. We now serve over 7,500 meals a month, 3,000 more each month as a direct result of the impacts that COVID-19 has had on our community. All funds received from this grant will help us to continue to serve the increase in guests resulting from COVID-19. 

EL DORADO COUNTY FOOD BANK

Funds will be used to provide nutrition throughout all of El Dorado County. The Food Bank is currently serving approximately 16,000 families each month at this time. 

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE FREE RELATIONSHIPS

The Center for Violence-Free Relationships provides a wide range of services to victims of domestic and sexual assault. These include counseling, referral to services, and instrumental support (emergency housing in our safe house, housing/transportation assistance, and basic necessities such as food, clothing, personal hygiene and household items) among others to those escaping violence. Shelter-in-place policies and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the frequency and intensity of domestic violence globally, made it more difficult to effectively respond to the needs of this vulnerable population. Locally, reduced revenue and additional expenses due to the pandemic has affected our ability to provide instrumental support. 

We are requesting a grant of $4100 to fund instrumental support for specific clients/families (at least eight) with acute needs, and to defray a portion of our increased expenses at our safe house. This aid would help in offset losses revenue to The Center due to canceled or delay fundraising events. We have had to cancel or reschedule fund raising events (e.g., one canceled event brought in approximately $40,000 last year). We have incurred additional operational costs associated with attempts to keep staff safe as we continue to serve our clients (annually, about 1200, 600 new each year, perhaps more given the present conditions). We have had increased costs at our 18 bed shelter, which provided nearly 1,000 bed-nights last quarter for women and their children. We implemented additional cleaning protocols, and provided additional meals to residents, spending $165 for hand sanitizers and dispensers, $30 in extra cleaning supplies, and an additional $435 in groceries just last month. We expect the increase in food costs to remain as long as the shelter-in-policy is lifted. 

Although the grant may be used to defray some of our increased costs at our shelter, it will be prioritized for specific individuals/families in dire need. A quick canvas of our case managers yielded several clients in the community facing hardship. We have survivors in recovery that have been laid off and are at risk of losing housing. One elder client was working in a school and lost her job due to COVID-19. Her rent is $900 and is struggling to come up with money. One client was laid off from a $2000/month job in similar circumstances. Another had a job cleaning house, but had to stop working because of the lack of affordable childcare for her young school-aged children. Last month, she spent about $200 more in food and had another $100 more in bills due to sheltering-in-place. Another survivor was looking forward to start a new job at a preschool, where she had planned on making $450/month. Our case managers continue the process of checking in with their clients to assess emerging needs. Where possible, we provide interim support to prevent a bad situation from getting worse, and grants such as that from the Women’s Fund El Dorado would help tremendously. 

MILITARY FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP

Military Family Support Group (MFSG) and their El Dorado Veteran Resources (EDVR) office honors and empowers El Dorado County Veterans and Military Families during critical times of need. MFSG and EDVR serve as a resource and referral office, the co-point of entry for Veterans seeking assistance in the county. We assist in expenses and aid that are otherwise not funded by Veterans Affairs and other local Military/Veteran-focused nonprofits. Some specific examples have included free pantry items & prepared meals, providing transportation to bi-weekly dialysis appointments, emergency housing assistance (hotel rooms) funding automotive repairs that would allow a Veteran to continue working, and paying a Veteran’s electricity bill or rent when faced with a loss of wages due to the PG&E outages. Most of what we do has such a big impact, and we would love to continue that success, because our community cares about Veterans who have served our country. 

Amid the COVID19 health & economic emergency, El Dorado County Veterans have been further strained with respect to housing and food security. Furthermore, this emergency has pushed once financially stable Veteran families who have been past donors to support our work to seek out assistance for food, utilities and housing. We have already received requests for assistance due to COVID19 income loss for rent, groceries, and essential bills totaling in the thousands of dollars within the past two weeks. To safely continue serving the needs of our clients, MFSG is in the process of setting up a curbside/parking lot food distribution at the Veterans Memorial Building for Veterans in need every Wednesday afternoon. MFSG will purchase most of the items for distribution from our partner, the Placer Food Bank. These funds from WFED, will allow us to offer and screen clients to approve 6 families with up to $500 in rent assistance ($3,000 total) and 5 families with up to $100 utility/essential bill assistance ($500 total), and 12 families with up to $50 in transportation, grocery or other assistance ($600 total). Applications and screening for eligibility will be done via outreach at our curbside food assistance program as well as our primary source of referrals which come from the Veteran Service Officers at the El Dorado County Department of Veterans Affairs office. 

                            *****************

It is because of each of you- all 420 of you - for believing in the greater good, for putting community needs above self, and for understanding the power of collective giving and action, that we continue to be leaders in community philanthropy. Stand tall and take pride in knowing that your contributions directly assisted in making a difference during this pandemic. 

 INSPIRATION GRANTS

3 Strands Global, Inc.

"Employ + Empower Reintegration Program" 

Amount awarded: $30,000 

Human trafficking – the exploitation of a person for sex or labor – is a problem everywhere, including in El Dorado County.  We cannot know the exact number of trafficking victims in the area, because trafficking is a hidden crime cloaked in shame and fear that often goes unreported. However, we do know that there are 300 youth in the foster care system in El Dorado County each year and that foster youth are at the greatest risk for becoming victims of human trafficking. At 3Strands Global Foundation (3SGF), we work to prevent human trafficking and develop the resiliency of survivors who have been recovered as we build their capacity to create a better future. In the fight against human trafficking, reintegrating survivors into the workforce is a substantial challenge. Economic insecurity is one of the main vulnerabilities exploited by traffickers. The inability to support themselves – and in many cases, their children – is a primary factor for trafficking survivors to return to “the life.” 3SGF creates job opportunities for survivors and offers a viable alternative to victimization, one that enhances self-esteem through work while teaching job skills and connecting them with the social work services they need to maintain employment. Our Employ + Empower program has served over 118 survivors of trafficking and at-risk youth in the region, and has recently expanded into El Dorado County, planning to serve 23 local survivors and at-risk youth in 2019. As an agency headquartered in El Dorado Hills - and formed in response to a case of the trafficking of a 17-year-old girl from the area - we are deeply committed to preventing and responding to trafficking here at home. With your continuing support we will build our capacity to document our successes and share our best practices with others. 

Sierra Elementary

"Defending Hope with Social Emotional Learning for ALL Students at Sierra School"

Amount awarded: $30,000 

Once upon a time elementary school was a place that taught the 3 Rs and had rest time with milk and graham crackers. Students arrived at school happy, fed, and focused. They brought apples to their teachers and sat quietly in rows prepared to learn. Whether or not this illustration was real or a scene from a movie, it has become the “Good old days” that we often long for. Today, elementary schools are very different places. Teachers are expected to teach beyond the 3 Rs and more often than not our students arrive with issues or trauma(s) that affect their readiness to learn. Thanks in part to growing reports of school violence, students are expressing anxiousness at alarming rates. Out of this new reality has sprung a need for elementary school counseling. Professional School counselors are trained, caring adults who students can confide in when they are in need. Counselors help navigate crisis situations, and connect families with necessary resources. Additionally, counselors work with groups to develop communication and friendship skills and provide social-emotional learning to students. Our project, “Defending Hope” aims to provide additional counseling services to the students of Sierra Elementary School. This grant will allow us to extend our school counseling program to 5 days a week. With this additional day each week, our counselor, Alissa Inks, will be able to provide Second Step (Social-emotional learning) lessons to ALL of our 460 students. Sierra School is passionate that each child has the potential to be a world changer. Robert Schuller said, “Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.” This grant will enable us to defend the hopes of our students by giving them a safe place to discuss their hurts and a strong foundation in empathy and assertiveness to go out into the world. 

IMPACT/ACORNGRANTS

El Dorado County Fire Safe Council

"Develop Defensible Space Buffer Around Homes"

Amount awarded: $7,750 

The El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) in partnership with Friends of Seniors is working to develop defensible space for veterans (families - widow/widowers) and low-income seniors (who are both financially and physically unable to do this type of work themselves) on the County’s western slope. Defensible space development reduces fire risk to their residences (CALFIRE (Public Resource Code 4291) requirement), protects their neighbors’ properties, and improves the work environment for emergency personnel called to the property. In addition, it reduces anxiety and stress for veterans and seniors in a way that improves their overall wellbeing. 

Due to severe vegetation die-off during the past several years of drought, followed by a record-setting wet winter of destructive storms, defensible space development needs are even greater than before. From the Western El Dorado County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (2017), factors hindering people’s ability to develop and regularly maintain defensible space were overwhelmingly time and cost, with many respondents mentioning age and physical condition as another factor. 

EDCFSC would contract with a licensed and insured land and tree service contractor to conduct defensible space development. Focus will be on clearing the 30 feet immediately surrounding the veteran’s and senior's home.  

El Dorado Union High School District Robotics Team

"Supporting Youth in the Pursuit of STEM and Robotics"

Amount awarded: $8,000 

We are the El Dorado Union High School District Robotics Team, Circuit Breakers. We were founded in 2009 by Gehr Lindborg, a student from Union Mine High School in El Dorado. He recruited his mother to be the team coach, an engineering friend to be the team mentor, and coaxed a few fellow students to join the team. That first year, the Circuit Breakers won the international FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) Rookie Inspiration Award. 

We have grown to 25 students from five EDUHSD high schools. We build robots with help from our all-volunteer mentors and we need your help to finance our program, and purchase supplies and materials to fabricate and build our 120 pound robot for the FRC.

Our team inspires youth to be leaders by engaging them in this exciting robotics program that builds science, engineering, and technology skills; that inspires innovation; and that fosters teamwork and self-confidence. The students say it best: "there aren't a lot of STEM programs in the district, and definitely nothing like this!" "This team has opened my eyes to a whole new world of learning; all of us kids are learning practical skills that we can use in our communities and beyond." 

SAFE-D of El Dorado County

"Free Grab Bar Installations for Low-Income Seniors and Disabled"

Amount awarded: $8,000 

SAFE-D of El Dorado County Inc. provides the volunteers and materials to install for free,  in-home safety accommodations for low income ($2600/month net, or less) seniors (60 or over) or disabled county residents with mobility limitations, especially those at risk of falling. These accommodations increase accessibility, independence and help clients to safely age in their own homes.

Typical safety accommodation installations can include: 

Grab bars at the toilet, and in the shower or bathtub 

Raised toilet seat with handles

Step handrails / minor step modifications 

Shower seat and non-slip bath mat 

Smoke / Carbon Monoxide Detector

Night Lights

Bed rail

Check for proper lighting, rug trip hazards, clutter, etc.  

Hands4Hope - Youth Making a Difference

"Empowering Youth At El Dorado High School & Beyond Through Education & Community Engagement"

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Hands4Hope is requesting $8,000 to serve youth and create community through Education & Community Engagement; we will launch a Service Learning Club at El Dorado High School and expand after-school programming through a Placerville Youth Center. To achieve this, we must do more than promote awareness of community needs, we must train young people in skills that take ideas and turn them into action. Hands4Hope youth gain skills while helping fill unmet community needs that positively impact the lives of others. Hands4Hope has thriving programs at all major high schools on the Western Slope except for EDHS, this is inequitable. Women’s Fund dollars will directly serve 100 students, and through student service projects will serve hundreds more in the Placerville community.

“One thing that is very unique about Hands4Hope is that the program is solely led by the youth. Each project is planned, carried out, and reflected upon by youth. With every project I participated in, I learned more about my community and its needs. The skills I learned taught me confidence in myself to be a youth leader in my school and my community.”  ~Nadia Jones, Hands4Hope Alumni, Union Mine HS Club; Hands4Hope Placerville Steering Committee member

UCCE Extension Master Gardeners of El Dorado County

"Share the Goodness of the Sherwood Demonstration Garden"

Amount awarded: $8,000 

Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by the University of California Cooperative Extension to share research-based gardening information with local residents. Our 149 volunteers do this in a variety of ways, but perhaps the most effective method involves hands-on training. Confucius said, “Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.” We currently teach some of our free weekly classes and workshops at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden (SDG) in Placerville, a wonderful place for students of all ages to experience hands-on learning in a beautiful and sustainable environment.  However, weather and lack of seating has limited when we can hold classes at the SDG and who can attend. Our goal is to remove these barriers and maximize comfortable and active learning at the SDG. We are excited to be planning construction of a 24’ x 35’ pergola at the SDG in June 2019 as our “covered outdoor educational center.” This will enable us to launch a new nutrition focused gardening program called Growing for Goodness as well as teach hands-on classes/workshops and host school field trips year-round. We seek your help to fund the cost of the pergola, seating, and retractable cover

WFED Site-Visit Committee wrapped up visits will all 2018 grant recipients. Read their site-visit report here. 

INSPIRATION GRANTS

3 Strands Global Foundation 

Employ-Empower Reintegration Program

$30,000

Survivors of human trafficking have told us for years that the most important action we can take on their behalf is to help them find a job. 3Srands Global Foundation’s reintegration program, Employ + Empower, provides sustainable employment opportunities for survivors and at-risk youth, as well as the behavioral health services they need to succeed in their jobs.

3Strands Global will partner with trusted community agencies that serve survivors and transitional-age foster youth, such as Summitview and CASA El Dorado, and will implement a streamline, trauma-informed process to place 15 survivors and at-risk youth (foster and homeless youth) in jobs. Because there is a high correlation between youth exploited for sex or labor and involvement in the foster care system, it is essential that these services are available to ensure that the current 300 foster youth in El Dorado County do not become victims of human trafficking.

As economic insecurity is one of the main vulnerabilities exploited by traffickers, and is a primary reason survivors return to a life of victimization, 3Strands Global teaches transferable job skills and provided substantial job training and interview coaching to place survivors in a job where they will thrive, ultimately preventing them from returning to a situation of exploitation. This impact is sustained through referrals to behavioral health services, such therapy from A Place Within counseling. By addressing the complex mental health needs of survivors while placing them in a job, the Employ- Empower program enhances their emotional well-being and provides financial stability.

Assistance League of Sierra Foothills

Operation School Bell

$30,000

Clothes

My mom and dad work hard all day

To provide for all of us

Sometimes I cry about the things kids say

When I go to meet the bus

You shouldn’t decide if you like someone

Based on the clothes they wear

It makes me sad when they make fun

I wish I didn’t care

Sadly, that is the situation over 4000 students on the Western Slope of El Dorado County experience because their families cannot afford new school clothes. Operation School Bell® provided new school clothing for those children in need. The program works with 32 schools on the Western Slope to identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students in grades K-8, who would benefit from our shopping events at local Kmart or Target stores. Upon arriving at the event, students are given $70 or $100 vouchers to purchase new school clothing.

Operation School Bell is much more than a new wardrobe: These clothes elevate self-esteem, encourage better attendance and improve academic performance. The program empowers young students to reach their full potential by focusing on school, not their basic need for clothing. “Inviting a group of students to buy clothes is the single greatest contribution that any outside agency provides for our children,” pronounced the Superintendent of Gold Trail Schools. We dressed 598 children this school year, addressing only 14% of the need. We believe positive change can be contagious, cultivating happy families thereby strengthening communities. Help us create that positive change by clothing kids with confidence.

IMPACT/ACORN GRANTS

Military Family Support Group 

Crisis Fund for El Dorado Veteran Resources

$8,000

Military Family Support Group (MFSG) is a 501©(3) charity serving El Dorado County since 2011. On veterans Day 2017 MFSG launched El Dorado Veteran Resources – Permanent Stand Down (EDVR) s a week-day walk-in center offering immediate aid to veterans and family members in need. EDVR’s budget is $11,300 for direct assistance, plus only $1,650 for operating expenses, because office space and utilities are donated in the Veterans Memorial Building. All staff are volunteers. What is missing is a “Crisis Fund” for emergencies when we cannot reach one of our referral partners.

Hands4Hope, Youth Making a Difference 

Youth Leadership Camp Scholarships

$4,500

Hands4Hope programs develops civic leadership skills in local youth. Our mission is to inspire and empower youth through service and leadership. To achieve this, we must do more than simply promote awareness of community needs. It is vital to train young people in skills that take ideas and turn them into action. This grant will make it possible for young people from Camino to El Dorado Hills to participate in Summer Leadership Camp, despite their financial situation, and gain skills to lead their peers in service learning projects that help fill unmet needs throughout our County. 

Windows To My Soul 

Horses Help Humans Heal from Trauma

$3,500

Windows To My Soul provides mental health services to veterans, individuals with developmental disabilities and other individuals, using a trauma informed approach. Trauma informed care is based upon a thorough understanding of the neurological, biological, psychological and social effects of trauma, and the prevalence of these experiences in those who seek mental health services. Using horses as therapeutic partners alongside a licensed therapist, we provide therapy for those who have impaired life functioning. Because of their similar nature, horses can provide a “window” into the human soul. Funding will provide scholarships for those in need.

Community Benefits:  for any nonprofit providing services for the arts, environment, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

Cougar Band Aides 

Music Instrument Replacement

$8,000

The Cougar Band Aides Booster organization supports the music programs at El Dorado High School in Placerville, CA. They include Jazz, Choir, Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Beginning Instruments and Color Guard. We would like to enlist your support to help us continue to provide incredible opportunities to our award winning music department. More than 90% of the costs for these events are covered by the Cougar Band Aides. We are seeking help to purchase some new instruments in 2018. 

COMMUNITY FOCUS GRANTS

Big Brothers, Big Sisters of El Dorado County

"Tomorrow's Path Together"

$27,500

“Tomorrow’s Path Together” is a resourceful and ambitious program dedicated to youth detained in Juvenile Hall in El Dorado County.

Adult mentors with compassion for this troubled segment of the population will be trained to address the needs of these youth. These adult mentors will serve as positive role models, instilling hope, confidence, encouragement, faith and trust in these young minds.It is estimated that it costs $407 per day or about $150,000 annually to keep a youth in juvenile detention facilities for 9 months to a year. In contrast, a youth could receive community-based programming with wraparound services and resources, such as our “Tomorrow’s Path Together” program, for an estimated $75 a day, just 20 percent of the cost of incarceration, according to the national organization “Campaign for Youth Justice.”

The Campaign for Youth Justice shares that early interventions that prevent high-risk youth from engaging in repeat criminal offenses can save the public nearly $5.7 million in costs over a lifetime. Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County offers the only preventative early intervention mentoring programs in the County.

“Tomorrow’s Path Together” combines the experience and expertise of Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County, the Superior Court’s Family Court Division and The El Dorado County Probation Department. Each is committed to launching this program and providing support to enable these young people to become positive, contributing members of society, void of criminal activity, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty and domestic violence.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Site Visit Report

Assistance League of Sierra Foothills

"Operation School Bell"

$25,000

Those who were there in 2014 will never forget the speech Sophia gave to the Women’s Fund about her shopping experience at our Operation School Bell event in Placerville. This 8th grader from Markham Middle School expressed her feelings about her first “back to school shopping to get to pick out your very own clothes. The first section we went to was the sock aisle, due to the amount of holes in all of my socks.”  Operation School Bell works with 31 schools on the Western Slope of El Dorado County to identify the socioeconomically disadvantaged students in grades K-8 who should attend our shopping events at local Target and Kmart stores. When students arrive at the event they are given vouchers of $70 or $100 to purchase new school appropriate clothes. Sophia’s description at check-in, “When you arrive you are greeted by absolutely lovely ladies who don’t make you feel like you are less than others for being in the program.” Operation School Bell is more than a new wardrobe. These clothes have the power to elevate self-esteem, encourage better attendance and improve academic performance. The program empowers young students to reach their full potential by focusing on school, not their need for basic clothing. Over the years the number of participants increased slowly with small grants, donations and fundraisers. But that is merely 12% of the need on the Western Slope. We are only restricted by the funds available. 

IMPACT GRANTS

Acorn: for any new western slope nonprofit or a nonprofit that has never received a grant from the Women’s Fund.

Marshall Foundation for Community Health

$6,000

The Cancer Patient Transportation Program operates through Marshall Medical Center to provide rides to local cancer patients who lack their own vehicle or are too elderly or ill to drive themselves. Without our service, these patients would undoubtedly miss appointments, negatively impacting their treatment. This indispensable service is used by members of our community, free of charge, several times a day and is entirely funded by local donations and grant money. Our objective is to ensure every patient, despite their health or financial status, receive equal access to care and gets their best chance at surviving their fight against cancer.

Marshall Foundation Site Visit Report

Human Services:  for any nonprofit providing services for human needs.

CASA El Dorado

$6,000

Each year over 400 abused and neglected children are assigned to us by a Judge from the Superior Court. Our role is to match each child with a specially trained Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) who will advocate for them in court and mentor them in life. On average, we are able to do this about 75% of the time. The other 100 children will sit on a wait list, because we lack the volunteers to serve them. The focus of this request is to reduce the wait list by five, with the $6,000 provided by this grant.

Community Benefits:  for any nonprofit providing services for the arts, environment, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

Placerville Downtown Association

$6,000

Flower Baskets on Main Street, a community beautification project that features colorful, blooming, pollinator friendly flowers in baskets that hang on light poles in the downtown district of Placerville, from June to September. This project serves to enhance the streetscape and instill pride for those that live, work, or visit the historic town. The project engages community partnership that will include Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises and UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County. Flower Baskets on Main Street assists with the vitality of Main Street and fosters a spirit of community teamwork through educational gardening demonstrations.

COMMUNITY FOCUS GRANTS

Boys and Girls Club El Dorado County Western Slope

$22,500

Every day, forgotten and severely at risk youth walk through our Clubhouse doors. We can’t simply just ask our kids if they are ok. We must and we do delve deeper to ensure they really are ok. This is what happens in our SMART Girls program. The Club is asking that the WFED be our title sponsor for our 2016-2017 SMART Girls program at our new facility in Placerville by granting $22,500. Over 80 vulnerable young ladies from the ages of 8-17 will participate in the program through the course of the year. SMART Girls offers age-specific experiences that enhance girls’ physical and emotional health, creating a sound foundation for them to feel GREAT about themselves, their bodies and their future! Anna, an 8 th grader, saw her father leave two years ago and leave behind a trail of abuse, neglect and mistrust. Anna has tried to commit suicide, nearly dropped out of school and has been in and out of counseling the past three years. Anna was very alone when she first came to the Club but the relationships she has formed and the strength she has shown in dealing with her past is empowering. Help us ensure that Anna and her peers do not fall through the cracks. Help us create a foundation of character and positive self-identity that allows these young ladies to dream big and be all they wish to be. Help us ensure that their tomorrow is far better than their yesterday.  For more information on Boys and Girls Club, see www.bgce.org.

Only Kindness, Inc.

$15,000

Only Kindness, Inc. assists individuals in El Dorado County who are at-risk, whether housed or homeless, with safety net services.  The purpose of the Street Outreach Mobile Office (SOMO) Project is to bring services directly to those who need it most.  Transportation to and from sites where services are typically offered can be difficult in this rural area, especially for those with limited or no resources.  The SOMO Project will bring services to people where it is easiest to access us; close to their homes, campsites and places where this population generally congregates.  We will provide in-depth screenings and determine each individuals needs and respond by providing on-site service and resource acquisition.  We will initiate immediate referrals, provide front end case management and warm hand-offs while participating in required data collection for HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).  This will also enable us to perform at a higher level for our 3-year county contract called Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH).  PATH provides services to people with serious mental illness, including those with co-occurring substance abuse disorders who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of becoming homeless.  We will assist in securing phones, ID’s and social security benefits from the field.  For extremely high-risk, vulnerable populations, the first step is often the hardest; we intend to make that first step highly efficient and valuable to the clients we serve. For more information on Only Kindness, Inc. see www.edcrc.org.

3Strands Global, Inc.

$7,500

Our program is focused on human trafficking prevention education. 3Strands Break Free Education provides this education to middle school, high school and college students and to at-risk foster youth. The program was established in 2011 with the primary focus to educate students about various risk factors, tactics of exploiters and legal aspects of human trafficking to prevent and encourage identification of exploitation. 3Strands also provides teachers and school staff tactics and tools to prevent, identify, and respond to human trafficking and delivers research metrics for risk reduction. Break Free Education was founded in 2011 after a 17-year-old girl was taken from a grocery store in the sleepy community of El Dorado Hills and trafficked for eight days before she was found and rescued by the FBI. Because this topic is not discussed, especially in the small towns, students are not aware of the problem, let alone that it could happen to them. We believe that creating awareness and shining a bright light on human trafficking will help prevent it.  For additional information on 3Strands Global, Inc., see www.3strandsglobal.com.

Windows to my Soul

$5,000

Windows To My Soul provides proven, alternative mental health services utilizing horses as additional therapeutic partners, working alongside a licensed human therapist.  We seek to help those who suffer from untreated or unsuccessfully treated mental illness.  Traditional talk therapy fails to change the brain’s neural pathways, which is required to heal from PTSD.  Our Veterans Program helps those who, without successful treatment, may end up being one of the over 50 U.S. Veterans who attempt suicide every day.  We are asking for your help to fund additional therapeutic sessions, as most of our services are provided for free. For additional information on Windows to my Soul, see www.windowstomysoul.org.

Human Services:  for any nonprofit providing services for human needs.

The Center for Violence-Free Relationships

$5,000

The non-profit agencies serving El Dorado County struggle with the major issue of transportation for their clients.  This need was clearly identified and discussed at the Women’s Fund El Dorado Community Needs Forum.  This issue has plagued our organization, The Center for Violence-Free Relationships, for decades.  In collaboration with Uber, we have uncovered a remedy.  Using a business solution that Uber will create, the money awarded by this grant will pay for critical rides to and from the Center for services at a discounted rate.  For more information on Center for Violence-Free Relationships, see www.thecenternow.org.

 Community Benefits:  for any nonprofit providing services for the arts, environment, community beautification, animal welfare, or community development.

Master Gardeners of El Dorado County (UCCE)

$5,000

After more than ten years of dreaming, planning and building, last October, the UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County held the Grand Opening of our Sherwood Demonstration Garden. The SDG offers a wonderful place for visitors to experience hands-on learning in a beautiful and sustainable environment of 16 individual gardens. In our 5 year funding plan, several items need to be completed as soon as possible to maximize our goal of educating our gardening public. Priorities are plants, electric irrigation valves, and educational signage and handouts. Funding from WFED can help us transform these needs into reality.  For more information on Master Gardeners of El Dorado County, see www.mgeldorado.ucanr.edu.

2015 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$20,000

Every day, the Sponsor a Child Program helps hundreds of low income children take advantage of the Club’s services. It offers them the opportunity to believe that they can and will be whatever they dream of becoming. The program shows these children that all things are possible if you do not let your situation define who you are and who you can become. We hope they learn to never give up on themselves.

Kevin’s father and his grandfather before him were poor and incarcerated much of their adult lives. Kevin is now 12 years old and he still has an opportunity to alter the way his story unfolds. The cycle of poverty can end with Kevin and we are hoping that the WFED can help us break the pattern for him and many more! At our Club we see this story daily. We see the hopelessness of poverty and the hollowness that it brings into the eyes of the young people with whom we work. Providing tools to break the cycle is what we do for our young people every day. These tools are in the form of a healthy snack, a helping hand with homework and a positive adult reinforcement that the Club provides. The Club is there for our youth and the Club is there for Kevin. This is his story.

TAHOE TURNING POINT OF PLACERVILLE

$22,500

“The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty”

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

With that said, Tahoe Turning Point is positioned to Break the Cycle of Poverty by providing a full spectrum of out-patient counseling and therapy services.  The cycle then becomes one of Recovery.  Our programs and services apply the research and client diagnosis to address a condition called Duel Diagnosis (also called co-occurring disorders or COD).  Dual Diagnosis describes a practice that treats people who suffer from both an addiction and a mental health disorder.  By providing the proper therapy to address the mental health issue, and applying appropriate drug/alcohol dependency education and programs, clients attain the necessary skills and coping ability.  They become better prepared for the focus needed to address the solutions for the cycle of poverty:  attaining job skills, attaining meaningful employment, performing well at a job, and being able to manage their time and their money.  They gain the self-worth and coping skills to become productive citizens in their community.

The program begins with the intake and diagnosis of the client, Treatment addresses both the issues of the drug/alcohol dependence, and the necessary analysis and treatment of the mental health disorder.  As the client becomes more stable and gains the tools and resources to cope, we can begin to coordinate the support and access to the training and other skills needed to attain and maintain financial stability.  The Cycle of Poverty becomes the Cycle of Recovery.  All funding for this program will be spent on clients living on the western slope of El Dorado County.

IMPACT GRANTS

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES: NAMI EL DORADO COUNTY WESTERN SLOPE

$5,000

Mental illness is lonely and debilitating. Brain disorders are misunderstood, stigmatized, and often feared. Individuals living with mental illness and their families experience trauma and a frustrating lack of resources. NAMI El Dorado provides education, support, and advocacy through quality educational programs and trained support group facilitators at no cost to those who need them. Our goal is to expand our outreach to inform and educate our community, provide additional classes for families and those living with mental illness, and begin a new class, BASICS, directed toward families with a child or children developing symptoms before the age of 13.  

PROMOTING SENIOR SERVICES: A BRUSH WITH KINDNESS AND SAFE AT HOME PROGRAMS

$5,000

This impact grant will make the Women’s Fund a matchmaker for the marriage of two young programs ripe with potential.  “A Brush With Kindness,” a Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative of Habitat for Humanity, and “Safe at Home,” a program of Rebuilding Together Sacramento, will establish a valuable working relationship.

The proposed collaboration, utilizing existing staff and trained volunteers, will provide home safety measures, such as grab bars, railings and bathroom supports, plus exterior repairs such as painting, landscaping, and maintenance, for eight or more Western Slope senior homeowners, providing them the dignity of a well-maintained home where they can age-in-place safely.  

SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:  CHILD ADVOCATES OF EL DORADO COUNTY (CASA EL DORADO)

$5,000

In 2013, El Dorado Health and Human Services agency spearheaded the formation of a multidisciplinary team known as the Foster Youth Human Trafficking (FYHT) task force.  The focus of this task force is on children who have been determined to be at-risk of falling victim to the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).  CASA is honored to be the first private social service agency to be invited to join the FYHT task force.  We are requesting the help of the Women’s Fund El Dorado, to ensure that every identified at-risk child is provided a CASA Advocate in 2015.  For more information on CASA see casaeldorado.org

2014 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: MENTAL HEALTH

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF EL DORADO COUNTY AND

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE FREE RELATIONSHIPS

$20,000

STOP THE CYCLE – With this grant award, Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County (BBBS) and The Center for Violence-Free Relationships (CVFR) will create a new collaborative partnership that will increase early detection and intervention of domestic violence and create an enhanced network of services in order to improve the mental health of children and families.

Early intervention and access to services are critical to the mental and emotional healing of a family in crisis.  An integrated network of services will ensure the family gains priority access to the preventative mentoring services provided by BBBS, as well as intervention and counseling services offered by CVFR.  This collaboration will be a foundation of a strong safety net for women, children and families within the entire community.

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

$20,000

Untreated mental health issues can result in significant destructive circumstances in the lives of children and their families.  Mental health issues interfere with a child’s education, social interactions, and general development. For over 43 years, New Morning has been the primary referral agency for these children.

New Morning will use the Women’s Fund grant to provide treatment to 50 children in our community in need of mental health services.  Of the approximately 1,000 children who will seek our services this year, over half will be a victim of child abuse or have witnessed domestic violence in their home; and thus, our highest priority will be for this population of children.  New Morning Youth & Family Services will provide professional mental health services to children age birth – 18 at over 20 school and community sites throughout the Western Slope of El Dorado County who otherwise could not afford counseling services.  New Morning’s clinical staff is among the highest skilled and best-trained therapists in the county.

IMPACT GRANTS

WOMEN AND CHILDREN: UNITED OUTREACH OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$5000

United Outreach provides emergency (for up to 30 days) and transitional (for up to 4 months) shelter to women and their children who have suffered a temporary setback (job loss, divorce) and find themselves in crisis and often facing homelessness.  With food vouchers, counseling, and case management, clients are able to get back on their feet in a safe and stable environment and eventually transition into permanent, sustainable housing.  This grant award will allow United Outreach to begin placing additional women and their children in emergency and transitional housing and continue to make a life-changing difference to the families it serves.

BREAKING THE CYCLES OF POVERTY: COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

$5000

Susie’s House is a Rapid Re-housing program embracing the concept that “Housing First” breaks the cycle of poverty.  Following the tradition of the 100k Homes movement, the Susie’s House program recognizes the numerous studies showing that housing first is how we help people out of homelessness and ensure that they remain housed even if they have severe substance abuse and mental health issues.  Named after Susie, a woman who died of exposure in the hills of El Dorado County, Susie’s House is an effort designed with the hope that such an incident will never occur again in our community.  Within a year, this grant award will permanently house a minimum of four homeless individuals in a safe shelter, a minimum of ten clients will be assisted with supportive services, furnishings and necessary household items and emergency shelter, and a minimum of twenty clients will be assisted by referrals and collaboration with other community organizations in service to the homeless, those fleeing domestic violence, Vets, and others at-risk.

PROMOTING SENIOR SERVICES: SENIOR DAY CARE SERVICES OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$1,447.79

Recognized as a day care leader, Senior Day Care Services of El Dorado County has been specializing in dementia care for nearly 25 years.  Targeting persons in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, they are able to maintain optimal functioning of each individual’s physical and mental health over the inevitable course of the disease, enabling them to remain living at home for as long as possible and preventing premature nursing home placement.

In 2008, the El Dorado Community Foundation voted to fund the purchase of a washer/dryer combination for the new El Dorado Hills Senior Day Care Center.  The opening of the new Senior Center was put on hold due to the economic turndown.  Since the Senior Center was not ready to accept the grant, another organization was selected and the grant dollars expended.  On March 31, 2014, the El Dorado Hills Senior Day Care Center opened its doors.  Twenty-six of the members attending the Placerville site have transferred to the new El Dorado Hills site.  Our grant award of $1,447.79 will fund the purchase of the washer/dryer combination for the new El Dorado Hills Senior Day Care Center

2013 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

CASA OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$14,000

Our grant will match Title IV funding to help train 60 new volunteer advocates and provide continuing education for another 130 volunteer advocates throughout the year.

The target population is 350-400 children per year in El Dorado County who experience abuse and neglect and, as a consequence, end up removed from their homes and placed in foster care.  These children range in age from 0-19.  Statistically, over half are under the age of 7.  The children need an independent advocate who can act as a consistent positive adult in their life and speak on their behalf to the child welfare system.  CASA advocates help the courts decide what services these children need in the short term to help them recover and what placement options will serve them best in the long term.  This past calendar year there were 91 children with no advocate.

CASA’s ability to recruit, screen, and train new advocates is one of the main obstacles that stand in the way of serving each child.

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SIERRA FOOTHILLS

$13,000

The Assistance League of Sierra Foothills (ALSF) is receiving $13,000 to assist in the funding of their program, “Operation School Bell.”  This program is organized and managed by volunteers.  Their goal is to serve 500 or more underprivileged and homeless school children, ages 5-17.  100% of the grant award goes directly to providing school clothes for these children.  Shopping trips are coordinated with designated schools and retailers in the community.  The children, their parents/guardians, and ALSF volunteers shop for the appropriate school attire.  Each child is given a voucher worth up to $100 to purchase school clothing.  As the children exit from their shopping experience each child also receives a coupon for a free haircut donated by local merchants, and a book purchased by the ALSF.

Since 2010 the Operation School Bell program has provided 856 disadvantaged children in El Dorado County with new school clothes.

Assistance League Sierra Foothills Final Report

HANDS4HOPE

$13,000

Our grant to Hands4Hope (H4H) will help “Project Grow” expand its program, engaging youth in service to our community, into 3 new schools.   Currently, 1,140 youth are engaged in H4H Clubs at 6 local schools and H4H programs at 10 schools.  This grant creates an opportunity for 60 additional youth to be involved in H4H’s Club program at schools, provides a home base for youth to do their work during non-school hours and the summer, and allows H4H to add 2,000 hours of youth community volunteer time.

H4H does not duplicate other services; they lend a helping hand to existing programs.  By providing assistance to such programs as New Morning’s Emergency Youth Shelter and the Food Bank of El Dorado County, these young members are taking part in civic responsibility, as well as gaining valuable skills and experience.  Not only does each successful endeavor help the community, individual members also gain self-esteem, confidence, and self-sufficiency.

IMPACT GRANTS

WOMEN AND CHILDREN: PLACERVILLE UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

$3,333.33

Within the Placerville Union School District, Schnell School has more than double the population of homeless students than the other two district schools.  By law, students meeting the federal definition of homelessness must be provided free meals as well as transportation to and from school.  With limited state funds, the Family Resource Center at Schnell School strives to eliminate barriers to academic success for homeless students.  Because of the high population of homeless students, a Para Educator position needs to be reinstated for one hour per day to help identify and meet these students’ basic needs.  Our grant will pay the Para Educator’s salary for one hour per day during the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICES: SENIOR PEER COUNSELING OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$3,333.33

Since 1988, the Senior Peer Counseling (SPC) Program has offered no-cost, clinically supervised, individual counseling to El Dorado County residents 55 years of age and older.  Based on past surveys, mental health services for older adults are the most under-met need in El Dorado County.  During 2013 – 2014 the program expects to serve approximately 50 seniors suffering from grief, depression, loss, health and other life challenges related to aging.  Participants will develop the tools to increase their independence and enjoyment of life.  Volunteer counselors require extensive training and receive weekly supervision from a licensed mental health clinician.  With our grant, the SPC can partially fund the clinical supervisor during the fiscal year.

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH: THE INFANT PARENT CENTER

$3,333.33

The Infant Parent Center (IPC) provides comprehensive psychotherapeutic and supportive services to El Dorado County families who are at risk for infant and child abuse or neglect due to mental health issues and/or poor coping abilities.  Founded in 2008, the IPC is the only agency in El Dorado County with infant mental health specialists trained to serve families from preconception to their child’s third year of life. Through referrals from Child Protective Services, area hospitals, the court system and other agencies, the Center expects to serve approximately 95 families this year.  Our grant will directly support 67 client visits for families unable to pay.

2012 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: WOMEN AND GIRLS

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

$17,500

New Morning Youth and Family Services will provide expanded school-based mental health services to students and their families in the Mother Lode Union School District (MLUSD). Severe budget issues have caused the closure of one school in the MLUSD and cuts during the next fiscal year are expected to cause the reduction, if not elimination, of social support programs for the most at-risk students and their families, often single mothers. New Morning has been working successfully with the MLUSD for 30 years to treat children who are depressed, experiencing family conflict, engaging in delinquent behavior, and/or abusing substances. They can step in by August of 2012 to begin helping a minimum of 20 additional families become more stable while working with 30 to 40 additional students to improve behavioral and academic functioning.

THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$17,000

The Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado County Western Slope will fund a portion of the cost for their “Smart Girls” program with this award. For over ten years, the Boys and Girls Club has been serving disadvantaged youngsters at their clubhouses in Placerville, Pollock Pines, and Georgetown. The “Smart Girls” program will be offered weekly and is divided into modules that span the course of a year. “Smart Girls” will help 120 girls age 8 to 17 understand, care for, and make responsible decisions regarding their developing bodies. The ultimate goal is to help girls develop and adopt a healthy life attitude and life style and maintain a positive self concept.

BIG BROTHERS, BIG SISTERS OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$5,500

The Big Brothers and Big Sisters will sponsor the “Girls Circle El Dorado Program” in association with public health nurses and area middle schools. The award of $5,500 will partially fund this program. The Girls Circle will serve 60 – 75 girls at middle schools with a high density of underserved population. Through the school year, programs will address three areas considered to be the foundation of girls’ health: self efficacy, perceived body image, and perceived social support and interpersonal relationships. For 35 years Big Brothers and Big Sisters has been working with children and their families as a mentoring and prevention program. The Girls Circle brings a true prevention program to girls at the 6th grade level.

IMPACT GRANTS

ARTS: PLACERVILLE DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION

$3,333.33

The grant to the Placerville Downtown Association will help support the “Flower Baskets on Main Street” project. The purpose of the project is to create, install and maintain colorful, blooming flower baskets to beautify downtown Placerville from May through October. The project partner, Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises (MORE), provides employment to adults with disabilities. They provide the staff that waters the baskets throughout the season. The requested funds will pay the salary of the MORE staff and also for the services of a gardening contractor who will create the baskets.

EDUCATION: AMERICAN RIVER CONSERVANCY

$3,333.33

The grant will assist with their project “PEER: Place-Based Learning.” The project will take place at the Wakamatsu Colony Farm and is part of a continued effort to educate the public about the importance of place and to explore the diverse relationships people have had with the land throughout history. The Farm is the site of the first Japanese colony in California. The ARC estimates that the requested funding, along with other funding sources, will enable their 30 volunteers to educate 500 visitors, including students from local El Dorado County schools, about the rich cultural history and diverse natural resources of the area.

SENIOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS: PARTNERS IN CARE

$3,333.33

The Partners in Care grant will provide qualified supervision, support, and materials for the establishment of the “Compassionate Companion” volunteer program to address the needs of isolated seniors at highest risk of social deprivation. Trained and supervised volunteers will provide a weekly visitation service of companionship, presence, and compassion to isolated seniors who are Partners in Care clients. Funding will provide monies for supplies and for part of the salary of a medical health clinician who supports and supervises the peer volunteers. The peer volunteers are trained lay people who, at no charge, provide outreach, referrals, and counseling to senior citizens experiencing isolation, grief, physical illness, and multiple losses.

2011 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: HEALTH AND WELLNESS

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SIERRA FOOTHILLS

$20,000.00

http://www.assistanceleague.org/

The goal of the Assistance League of Sierra Foothills’ (ALSF) Operations School Bell (founded in the early 1950’s) program is to provide new school clothing to underprivileged and homeless middle school children in El Dorado County. ALSF’s plan is to clothe 450 middle school children who have been identified by the schools as children in need. This year they will focus on middle schools in Placerville (4 schools) and South Lake Tahoe (1 school).

These schools were identified because they have the highest percentage of children on the free and reduced lunch program. Three to four shopping events at local retailers will be scheduled in October where students receive a $100 voucher to purchase school attire with the support and supervision of ALSF volunteers. ALSF will utilize the $20,000 grant and provide matching funds from their organization to accomplish this goal.

COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

$10,000.00

The Community Resource Center (CRC) provides services for El Dorado County’s homeless or at risk of being homeless population. As recently as 2008, El Dorado County estimated 721 local community members as being homeless or at risk of being homeless. The CRC proposes a pilot project, “Categories of Care,” that will involve the participation of eighty clients to be enrolled in a coaching process that will prepare them to make substantial life changes. These changes may involve seeking and gaining employment and/or enrolling in the local community college or earning a GED certificate.

As part of their program, participants will receive health and dental assistance, one-on-one coaching in computer skills and interview techniques/resume writing, assistance with grooming and hygiene, and budget management. Additionally, the CRC ‘s rotating seven-night per week over-night rotating shelter program during the ‘on’ season (November-March 31) will be supplemented with nomadic shelters and transportation vouchers for the ‘off’ season of the shelter program.

FOOD BANK OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$8,000.00

The Food Bank of El Dorado County is requesting funding for their 2011-2012 Homebound Delivery Program. This program will provide healthy, nutritious, emergency food assistance to clients, certified homebound by the client’s physician, who have no other way of receiving food assistance in El Dorado County. On a monthly basis, the Food Bank staff, teamed with volunteers, will deliver staple foods to this at-risk population, and provide a friendly face from the Food Bank to provide friendly interaction and hope to clients who usually have very little interaction with anybody.

The project is currently serving 30 individuals per month, and the Food Bank’s objective is to double the amount of homebound clients served and eliminate the current waiting list.

SENIOR PEER COUNSELING OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$2,000.00

Senior Peer Counseling (SPC) of El Dorado County serves adults over 55 years old by providing outreach for counseling, community education , referrals and individual confidential counseling by trained peer volunteers at no charge to the client. SPC has served 738 clients since it began in 1988. In 2009, they evaluated and served 45 new clients, and in 2010 they served 57 new clients. Volunteer counselors require weekly supervision from a licensed mental health clinician to insure standards of practice are met, which protect the clients, counselors and the community.

The Senior Peer Counseling proposal is to provide funding for one clinical supervisor’s time for a year in order for the program to continue. The program provides trained senior volunteers to counsel older adults who may be experiencing difficulties coping with grief, loneliness and depression in the aging process. The SPC works to empower clients to make independent decisions and become active participants in their own lives. Counseling can be a catalyst for change in the individual, which has a direct effect on family, friends, neighbors and the community at large.

The El Dorado Community Foundation also contributed $9,150 to the Senior Peer Counseling Program.

IMPACT GRANTS

AMERICAN RIVER CONSERVANCY

$3,333.33

Gold Hill Ranch Restoration with 400 students from Gold Trail School.

AAUW PLACERVILLE

$3,333.33

Will provide financial assistance for former female CASA foster youth to return and complete their college education.

EL DORADO ARTS COUNCIL

$3,333.33

Expand Poetry Out Loud to include El Dorado and Union Mine High schools.

2010 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BASIC NEEDS

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

$15,000.00

www.newmorningyfs.org/

New Morning shelter program targets youth, ages 6-17, from our community who voluntarily or involuntarily are no longer residing at their legal places of residence. This is an expansive group with diverse and complicated histories and needs, ranging from living in homes where drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, child abuse and neglect are common, and domestic violence is frequent. El Dorado County law enforcement logged 340 runaways in 2008 and estimates that they are another 400-750 runaway and throwaway youth unreported each year.

The grant request would support the shelter’s operation budget for 2010-2011 providing services to six youth at a time. The core services provided youth are safe shelter, nutritional meals, recreation opportunities, structured study times, educational support and case management. New Morning will provide a minimum of services with this grant to 125 youth including food, shelter, clothing, access to medical care, crisis counseling, educational support and recreation to address the youths’ full developmental needs. New Morning has provided services since 1970.

CASA EL DORADO

$10,000.00

Through the successful award of $10,000, CASA will match an additional nine youths with an advocate for the entire fiscal year 2010/2010 beginning July 1, 2010. The investment to match a youth with an advocate for an entire year is $1,052. Referrals to this program come in a variety of ways: Child Protective Services, schools, health care providers and members of the community at large. Between 550 to 650 children/youth are in the Child Welfare System at any given time.

A significant goal of CASA El Dorado is to serve 100% of the children and youth residing in the system. In 2009, 232 volunteer advocates provided service to 439 children and youth. The overall expectation of this program is to provide a child with the assurance that someone sincerely has his/her best interests at heart. CASA El Dorado has served the community since 1992.

UPPER ROOM

$5,000.00

The Upper Room is an organization whose mission is to provide hot meals and companionship to all those in need: the poor, the homeless, the lonely, families and seniors. The Upper Room is wholly coordinated and staffed by trained volunteers. The Upper Room serves all persons in need of a meal without regard to residence, location or status. The client base resides primarily within El Dorado County in and around Placerville. The Upper Room currently serves in excess of 3,500 meals a month. During 2009, the Upper Room served over 47,000 meals including in house servings and box lunches. It is projected that the need will increase to more than 50,000 meals for the calendar year, 2010.

The purposed funding would help to provide for the day to day operation of the Upper Room, help with transportation costs (bus passes) for clients remotely located, help in subsidizing food cost, utilities, supplies and all incidentals required for the operation of the facility. The Upper Room began feeding the homeless and hungry in 1995.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

$3,333.33

Program is to enhance a summer education program for 60-80 students who participate in a school-based youth mentoring and teen-based pregnancy prevention program. Teens often have little or no access to summer activities and often have large segments of unsupervised time. The implementation of this program will provide them with activities that will enrich their academic and social experience including cultural/art activities, environmental education programs, equine-guided education and youth development experiences.

GOLDEN SIERRA HIGH SCHOOL

$3,333.33

The proposal is to support the first all-girls team ever to participate in the 24 year history of the Sacramento Builders Exchange Design Build Competition. Program is designed to teach girls the skills necessary to be successful in competition, construction and leadership. The girls have been involved in work days and work weekends in preparation for the competition. The grant money will be used to pay for the entry fee, tools, materials, lumber, and the overall cost for entering the competition.

PLACERVILLE UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

$3,333.33

Program is to support a Para Educator who provides academic support to middle school teens who are designated as homeless. Funds from this grant will be used to better monitor students so that staff knows not only what basic needs they have but also how those needs can be met first and still allow for staff time to attend to their academic needs. By providing staff resources to these homeless teens, their needs can be better monitored and will result in greater classroom learning.

2009 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BASIC NEEDS

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS

 $10,000

The “Shelter from the Storm” program provides services that include emergency housing in the Center’s safe house, food, clothing, and other basic needs, along with crisis counseling and advocacy with social services and the criminal justice system.

El Dorado County’s domestic violence call volume has surpassed California state rates for the first time. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s office reports that law enforcement currently receives three domestic violence calls per day. In 2008, the Center assisted over 1,000 clients, in person, and served over 2,000 in crisis due to domestic violence with 68% of clients being low income.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE WESTERN SLOPE

 $8,000

The summer program is designed to help youth acheive their full potential by providing them opportunities that support them to succeed. The program offers one trained youth development professional for every 15 youth. This low ratio gives staff members the opportunity to work closely with youth to develop their self-esteem, resistance to negative influences, physical wellness- including good nutrition- and social skills development.

The Placerville clubhouse hosts the largest segment of low-income members providing basic shelter during the day, nutritious food and opportunities for developing constructive skills and competencies within a supportive environment. They are offered opportunities to develop new roles and responsibilities to help counteract the acting out that many kids are experiencing due to the added stress experienced at home and in the community.

FOOD BANK OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$7,000

The program provides food delivery to homebound, older adults on El Dorado County’s western slope. The program targets those older adults who are unable to access regular food distribution sites due to an inability to drive, disabilities, or care giving responsibilities.

UPPER ROOM

$5,000

The Upper Room is wholly coordinated and staffed by dedicated, unpaid, trained volunteers. The Upper Room provides a four hour, midday respite for their clients: those in need, the poor, the homeless, the lonely, families and seniors.

Daily meal service begins at 4pm and ends at 5:30pm. The Upper Room currently serves in excess of 3,000 meals monthly. During the calendar year, 2008, the Upper Room served over 42,000 meals, including in-house servings and box lunches. 2009 meals were estimated to number 49,000 served.

2008 GRANTS

THE FOOD BANK OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$12,000.00

www.foodbankedc.org

The Food Bank intends to purchase bulk food for distribution to El Dorado County charities in the Food Bank’s food assistant network, which serves more than 10,000 low-income individuals per month. The network includes emergency food closets, maternity homes, women’s centers, senior programs, children’s programs, soup kitchens, and more.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

$6,000.00

www.familyconnected.org

Family Connections will use its grant dollars to purchase a variety of psychological and educational counseling services for 144 adults and children. The programs are directed at families in high-conflict divorce or separation situations.

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS

(FORMERLY THE EL DORADO WOMEN’S CENTER)

$5,000.00

www.thecenternow.org

The Center is going to use its grant money for the “Safe Now” program, which includes crisis counseling and support, advocacy with social services and the criminal justice system, and food and shelter for 60 days for women and children escaping a violent environment.