Grants Awarded to Support Community Wellness

Placer Community Foundation presented 23 local nonprofit organizations Community Wellness Mini-Grants totaling nearly $339,000 today. Through a competitive process, grants were awarded to support community-based projects and programs that are helping to promote overall wellness among county residents.

Placer Community Foundation was contracted by the County of Placer to manage and administer the Community Wellness Mini-Grants Program on its behalf along the western slope. A similar community grant making process was completed for residents in the Tahoe, Kings Beach area. Funding comes from the California Department of Mental Health, Mental Health Services Act.

Earlier in the year, the Community Foundation conducted outreach to identify possible applicants to this program. The search was for organizations that facilitate community-based projects in which people come together to address their collective mental wellness needs. It is believed thousands of county residents are getting these needs met through natural networks formed among families, friends, faith-based organizations and community groups. For the County of Placer, the goal was to learn from, and build upon these networks.

“These natural networks of support can offer much in the way of prevention,” stated Richard Knecht, Director of Children's System of Care, Placer County Health and Human Services. “Because people are coming together around a shared, lived experience they provide each other with a sense of hope and belonging—limiting their need to access deeper-end mental health services.”

The Community Wellness Mini-Grant program was developed by a Steering Committee comprised of mental health service providers, consumers and advocates. Formed by Placer County’s Health and Human Services Department, and with support from Education, Juvenile Probation and nonprofit partners, the committee met over several months. The members determined that a new approach to addressing preventative, mental health needs in a community required a grants program in which people come together on their own around a common issue and, through discussion, activities or exercises, offer each other support, hope and most importantly, the skills necessary to lead competent, self-determined lives. The task then became locating these groups embedded within the community. That was when Placer Community Foundation was contacted.

“The County's Health and Human Services Department came to us because we have made many different community-based grants over the years,” stated Veronica Blake, CEO for the Placer Community Foundation. “We've supported groups of all sizes and types in Placer County and provide support where needed to help make the application process feel less daunting.”

The Placer Community Foundation held two public workshops to inform the community about the grant program earlier in the year. Approximately 66 nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations and community groups attended. Examples of the types of projects represented included: health and fitness, nutrition, parenting, youth development, substance and alcohol abuse, meditation, arts and culture, communal gardening, and job training. In the end Placer Community Foundation received 41 applications from which 23 were funded.

Organizations receiving a Community Wellness Mini-Grant were presented with their check at a luncheon hosted by Placer Community Foundation on June 14^th. The following is a list of the organizations and their funded project:

A Touch of Understanding - ATOU Youth F.O.R.C.E.

Emmaus Church Community - Emmaus Community Garden

KidsFirst - Active Parenting Now

Latino Leadership Council - El Rincon de las Comadres

Lighthouse Counseling and FRC - Family & Community Wellness Program

Lilliput Children's Services - Support for Adoptive Families

North Roseville REC Center - Circulo de Padres

Placer Counseling Center - Outdoor Youth Adventures

Placer County Peer Court - Middle School Truancy Program

Placer Union High School District - Chana High School—Healthy Campus Culture Project

PlacerArts - Hip Hop Congress—Writing & Reciting

Seniors First - GRIEF & CARE Programs

Sierra First Baptist Church - Community Garden

Sierra Foothills AIDS Foundation - Peer Empowerment

Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists - Growing Peace Camp

Sierra Forever Families - Adoptive Family Support

Sierra Vista Community Center - Community Wellness Project

South Placer Homeless Consortium - 2nd Annual Health, Education & Resource Faire

Spring Valley Church - Celebrate Recovery

The Gathering Inn - Where Arts Concerned

The Keaton Raphael Memorial for Neuroblastoma, Inc. - Family Navigator

The Northern California Chapter of the Neuropathy Association - Phone Support Groups

The Soldiers Project - Family Ties—A Family Treatment Program

To learn more about the variety of grant programs offered by the Placer Community Foundation, including how you can help support them with a gift today or through bequest, contact us.

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