California Community Foundation Announces 108 Summer and Expanded Learning Programs in LA County to Receive $7.8m

More than 136,000 students across LA County will be served through these programs, made possible in part by three gifts of $1M or more to CCF, most prominently $3.3M from Ballmer Group

Los Angeles, CA — The California Community Foundation (CCF) announced today the 108 summer and yearlong expanded learning programs that will receive more than $7.8 million in grants through the final installment of the LA County Summer Learning Initiative. The grants support learning and enrichment programs for low-income and vulnerable students in TK-12 schools and community-based organizations and will reach more than 136,000 students across Los Angeles County throughout next year, including almost 86,000 students over the next three months.

This unprecedented investment in summer offerings with expanded student learning opportunities extended into the upcoming 2022-23 school year is made possible through the generosity of several partner foundations and donors, including the transformative gifts of $3.3 million from Ballmer Group, $1.2 million from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, and $1 million from the Murphy Family Fund. Other major contributors to the 2022 initiative are The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation, as well as the Stone Family Fund.

“Ballmer Group is proud to support the California Community Foundation, for a second year as part of a community wide partnership to ensure that every student in Los Angeles will have access to quality summer programming,” said Nina Revoyr, Executive Director, Ballmer Group – Los Angeles. “We know that too often, access to summer and afterschool enrichment programs is dependent on family income. We also know that students who have access to high quality summer learning and activities see less learning loss, are more likely to stay engaged in school, get more access to mental health care, and have safe places to be – all hallmarks for long term success and economic mobility.”

Revoyr went on to say, “We are excited to have CCF and the unprecedented collaboration of the City, LAUSD, the County Office of Education, and the nonprofit community, all working together on behalf of our kids.”

Among the recipients of the 2022 LA County Summer Learning Initiative grants is the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles who will run 45 summer camps throughout LA County, providing children throughout the county with academic support and learning recovery, plus expanded social emotional learning.

The group’s President & CEO, Victor Dominguez stated, “The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles (LA Y) would like to thank the California Community Foundation (CCF) for their generous support. This summer, with the help of partners like the CCF, the LA Y will provide over 20,000 kids and teens with safe, high-quality sports, arts, fitness, civic engagement, and STEM summer enrichment activities that will help develop them into future leaders in their communities. Together, the LA Y and CCF are making summer enrichment possible.”

CCF first launched the LA County Summer Learning Initiative in 2020, in partnership with the LA County Office of Education, to address the physical closures of schools and community centers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption to traditional school operations exacerbated long-time gaps in educational opportunities and access along racial and socioeconomic lines for the County’s young people.

Despite the return to in-person learning in schools and programs throughout LA County, the need for responsive summertime learning environments and increased expanded learning during the regular school year to mitigate cumulative learning loss and address the social-emotional needs of youth still recovering from pandemic driven social-isolation continues.

“CCF and our partners have collectively given more than $16.6 million in funding support to schools and community-based organizations across LA county to ensure that students during summer and beyond had access to critical services in response to the pandemic,” said Antonia Hernández, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation. “We are proud of the impact we have had to more than 248,000 students over the last three years through the LA County Summer Learning Initiative.

Hernández went on to state, “As we embark on our final year of the Initiative, CCF will serve as a funding bridge to provide pandemic recovery support services to regional youth serving organizations, nonprofit academic and socio-emotional wellness programs, and recreational programs as well as partner with local school districts and charter schools.”

A grant to the philanthropic arm of the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) will increase staff capacity to provide critical support to approximately 30 local school districts to encourage, enhance, and manage partnerships with nonprofit and community-based organizations so they can effectively leverage federal covid recovery and state Expanded Learning Opportunity funds or program grants.

“We are thrilled to partner with the California Community Foundation to help districts build partnerships to expand learning and enrichment opportunities,” said Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Debra Duardo. “Los Angeles County has so many unique resources. With this support districts, educators and students will be able to take advantage of everything that our region has to offer. I am so grateful for CCF for their investment in public education this summer, and beyond.”

Additional partners working collectively to increase expanded learning opportunities across the LA region this summer and beyond include the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Great Public Schools Now, Expand LA, LA84 Foundation, Partnership for Children and Youth (PCY), Los Angeles Unified School District, and the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation.

The full list of grantees can be found here.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Paula Valle Castañon at pvalle [@] calfund [.] org or 213.452.6233

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The California Community Foundation (CCF) has served as a public, charitable organization for Los Angeles County since 1915. Its mission is to lead positive systemic change that strengthens Los Angeles communities. CCF stewards $2.5 billion in assets and manages 1,800 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. For more information, please visit calfund.org.

For more information about the LA County Summer Learning Initiative please visit https://www.calfund.org/la-county-summer-learning-initiative/.