Koreatown Youth Center to Undergo Renovation With Grant From California Community Foundation

Los Angeles — The California Community Foundation announced today that it has awarded $925,008 in grants to 10 Los Angeles nonprofit organizations. These nonprofits improve their local communities by providing essential services in the areas of early education, employment, health care and neighborhood revitalization. All of the grants are a part of the foundation’s ongoing commitment to its Nurturing Neighborhoods/Building Community grantmaking initiative and range from $20,000 to $200,000.

Six grants totaling $570,000 were awarded to support education programs for low-income youth in Kindergarten through eighth grade.

A $200,000 early education grant was awarded to Koreatown Youth and Community Center to renovate its facility and expand its academic programs for at-risk elementary and middle school students. Available both before and after school, these programs provide daily tutoring in literacy, math and computer instruction to primarily low-income Latino and Korean youth.

Established in 1975 to provide counseling and other support services to recently immigrated Korean youth, Koreatown Youth and Community Center has become one of largest social service organizations for Korean Americans in the nation. Currently, its programs include drug prevention, academic services, leadership development and graffiti removal.

“Studies have shown that a child’s future success is largely based on his or her early academic career,” said Judy Spiegel, senior vice president of programs at the California Community Foundation. “We strongly believe that supporting early education programs benefits the Los Angeles community of today as well as the Los Angeles community of the future.”

Other community foundation grants include a $143,421 health care grant to USC’s School of Dentistry for the expansion of its mobile dental clinic to East and South Los Angeles and a $108,587 neighborhood revitalization grant to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) to support a hometown association leadership program for Latino immigrants in southeast Los Angeles.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $600 million. In partnership with its donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.

Early Education

EVERYBODY WINS! Los Angeles (EWLA), Culver City ($20,000)
Branching out from New York City to Los Angeles in 2000, EWLA increases children’s prospects for success in school and in life through one-on-one reading experiences with caring adults. It currently pairs approximately 100 corporate volunteers with 80 low-income elementary school students for weekly reading sessions. The community foundation’s grant will help the organization expand its program to three new elementary schools.

Inner-City Arts, Los Angeles ($100,000)
Since 1989, Inner-City Arts has served students living in and around downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row, providing hands-on learning experiences to low-income children with limited English proficiency. Taught by professional artists, the organization’s classes in ceramics, visual arts, dance, music, drama and animation are designed to develop creativity, critical thinking and English acquisition skills. A grant from the community foundation expands these arts programs to an additional 1,000 elementary and middle school students over the next two years.

Koreatown Youth & Community Center, Los Angeles ($200,000)
Established in 1975 to provide counseling and other support services to recently immigrated Korean youth, Koreatown Youth & Community Center has become one of largest social service organizations for Korean Americans in the nation. Currently, its programs include drug prevention, academic services, leadership development and graffiti removal. A community foundation grant was awarded to the center to renovate its facility and expand its before- and after-school tutoring in literacy, math and computer instruction for at-risk elementary and middle school students.

Long Beach Day Nursery, Long Beach ($100,000)
Founded in 1912, the Long Beach Day Nursery is the oldest child care center in Long Beach, serving 390 children ages six weeks to six years at three locations throughout the city. In addition to quality child care, the Long Beach Day Nursery offers nutritional food, a Kindergarten readiness program and parent education. The community foundation’s grant supports the Stepping Stones to Success project, which offers child care scholarships to 10 to 12 low-income, working families in West Long Beach who are unable to afford the center’s fees.

Oralingua School for the Hearing Impaired, Whittier ($100,000)
Oralingua School is dedicated to the belief that deaf children can learn to talk, listen, achieve and fully participate in the hearing world. Established in 1969, the Oralingua School is a state-accredited school that teaches deaf children from infancy to age 10 how to listen, speak and think utilizing the Aural/Oral method, where speech is taught without using sign language or lip reading by amplifying residual hearing with hearing aids or cochlear implants . Currently serving 64 students, the Oralingua School received a grant from the community foundation to expand its Early Start Program to serve an additional 15 deaf infants and toddlers.

Rx for Reading, Los Angeles ($50,000)
A separate nonprofit organization, Rx for Reading is The Riordan Foundation’s main funding initiative, and is focused on increasing the use of technology in the classroom. Rx for Reading supports projects in Los Angeles County elementary schools, providing computers, software and training for an English Language Development (ELD) early reading curriculum and other programs. Nationally, Rx for Reading has distributed more than 21,700 computers to approximately 2,100 schools in 40 states and helped elementary schools purchase 128,000 books for their classroom libraries. A grant from the community foundation supports a computer-based literacy program that serves English language learners in Kindergarten through second grade in Los Angeles County schools.

Employment

Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation (LTSC CDC),
Los Angeles ($40,000)
The LTSC CDC was created in 1993 by the Little Tokyo Service Center to carry out community economic development activities in Little Tokyo and its surrounding communities. The LTSC CDC views its role as a provider of affordable housing, facilities and programs that the private sector is unable or unwilling to develop and has built more than 300 units of affordable housing to date. A community foundation grant supports LTSC CDC’s small business development program, which is conducted in collaboration with four other Asian Pacific Islander (API) nonprofit organizations, offers entrepreneurial training and business assistance for both start-up and current API business owners in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Health Care

University of Southern California School of Dentistry, Los Angeles ($143,421)
A professional school with outstanding faculty and an international reputation, the University of Southern California’s School of Dentistry (USCSD) has provided low-cost dental services to the Los Angeles community for more than 100 years. Located on the USC campus, the School of Dentistry provides convenient and affordable services to patients in South Los Angeles who have limited access to dental care. A community foundation grant enables the expansion of the USC Mobile Dental Clinic to the South and East Los Angeles areas to meet the oral health care needs of 240 low-income children.

Neighborhood Revialization

Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, Hollywood ($63,000)
Established in 1989 to expand the supply of affordable housing for low-income families and individuals in the Hollywood area, the Hollywood Community Housing Corporation refurbishes deteriorated properties of cultural significance, providing housing for low-income families, seniors and HIV/AIDS patients. Currently, the organization has more than 2,000 residents living in 16 completed housing developments, with three more in the development phase. A grant from the community foundation partially funds the salary of a new asset manager for the organization.

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF),
Los Angeles ($108,587)
Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the leading nonprofit litigation and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of the nation’s 40 million Latinos through the legal system, community education, research and policy initiatives. A community foundation grant supports MALDEF’s Hometown Association Leadership Program for Mexican immigrants in the southeast Los Angeles area. Hometown associations are self-organized immigrant groups formed to raise money for their members’ hometowns. Working in partnership with these groups, MALDEF hopes to encourage their participation in civic life in Los Angeles and to expand the leadership skills of the hometown association presidents.