Grant Abstracts 2009   Arts and Culture Gabriella Axelrad Education Foundation Los Angeles, CA $150,000 2009 Everybody dance! provides free or low-cost dance instruction to underserved, inner-city children in Los Angeles. Since 2000, when Everybody dance! opened its doors in a low-income housing project just west of downtown, the rigorous program has grown from 12 weekly classes and 35 students to 105 courses serving over 1,300 youth. Classes are offered in school to students at Gabriella Charter School and Camino Nuevo Charter Academy and after school to youth at studios in Pico-Union. Everybody dance! has an 18-member faculty of professional instructors. This two-year project will expand the after-school program by adding 19 courses and engaging 400 more young people.   Civic and Community American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA $250,000 2009 The United States Geological Survey is predicting that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake will strike Southern California sometime in the next 30 years. As the result of a 2007 comprehensive planning and simulation exercise conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it is expected that a collapse in the infrastructure may delay the arrival of outside assistance including government resources and the national American Red Cross. Consequently, the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles recognized the need to establish response capabilities within the community to respond independently of outside assistance. Resulting analysis projected the need for the Los Angeles Chapter to shelter 250,000 evacuees and serve two million meals per day for up to five days. This grant will help the Red Cross continue to build its catastrophic response capacity over the next two years.   Civic and Community Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor San Pedro, CA $150,000 2009 The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor’s College Bound Program Expansion Project will establish College Bound Programs at the organization’s Port of Los Angeles Club and Wilmington Teen Center that mirror what is currently offered at the San Pedro Teen Center. Since College Bound was implemented at the San Pedro Teen Center in 2002, the high school graduation rate of Club Members increased from less than 50% to 88% today, with 95% of the graduates going on to a two-year college or four-year university in the fall. The project will provide youth in Wilmington and the neighborhoods surrounding the Port of Los Angeles with the guidance, support and resources they need to reach their academic and personal goals – resources that are not readily available or even accessible to the majority of youth in these communities. The goal of this three-year expansion project that began in 2008 is to increase the high school graduation and college acceptance rates in the San Pedro and Wilmington communities. By June 2011, College Bound will serve 1,000 youth annually.   Civic and Community Children's Institute Los Angeles, CA $350,000 2009 Children's Institute, Inc. (CII), a 103-year-old children's service agency, is constructing a new campus located near the comer of Temple and Alvarado Streets just west of downtown Los Angeles. The new Otis Booth Campus will be comprised of three buildings that collectively provide more than 48,000 square feet of space and includes CII's new headquarters. The new facility will enable CII to bring life-changing services to 5,000 additional children and families whose lives have been affected by violence, including child abuse, domestic violence, and gang and community violence. Scheduled for completion in Fall 2010, the Otis Booth Campus will enable CII to fully realize its comprehensive, community-based services model; expand its capacity to develop and disseminate new programs; increase its impact on the larger field of children's services through its training and research activities; and realize its strategic goal of doubling the number of children and families served from 10,000 to 20,000 by 2011.   Civic and Community MEND – Meet Each Need with Dignity Pacoima, CA $100,000 2009 MEND – Meet Each Need with Dignity’s emergency food pantry, clothing center and client intake program form the core of its operations, providing food and clothing to 30,000 clients each month who have few, if any, other options. MEND’s professional staff is able to maintain a high level of service and meet the growing needs of impoverished families in the San Fernando Valley by utilizing the skills of 2,900 volunteers who fill roles in all facets of the organization. Despite the recent economic downturn, MEND remains committed to growing its programs by approximately 10% each year by continuing to focus on volunteer labor and positive interactions between the volunteers and clients. As a result of its recent capital expansion, which was also supported by the W. M. Keck Foundation, MEND has the necessary space and other resources for growth. This challenge grant will support the core programs and leverage MEND’s large volunteer base, excellent facilities and good name in the community to serve an increasing number of individuals and families in need.   Civic and Community P. F. Bresee Foundation Los Angeles, CA $150,000 2009 Through its Education and Career Development programs, Bresee Foundation enriches and improves the lives of at-risk youth in central Los Angeles. Building on over 20 years of youth development experience, Bresee’s educational and experiential activities include mentoring by staff and volunteers to help young people achieve academically and socially, avoid gang involvement and delinquent behavior, and encourage their growth and development as successful, productive members of society. Education assistance includes homework help, one-on-one tutoring in reading and math, college preparation, scholarships, technology and multimedia training, leadership development, workplace readiness and paid internships. Bresee places a strong emphasis on mentoring by staff and volunteers, but also on peer mentoring as high school leadership students mentor the middle school students. This encourages a sense of responsibility and a habit of community service among participants. Other youth services offered include sports, leagues, summer camps, trips, parenting classes and a health clinic. Through all of its programs and services, Bresee will assist 1,500 youth, ages 11-18, to set and achieve positive goals as students and for their long-term success in life. The grant will support the education and career development programs over two years.   Early Learning Child Development Institute Woodland Hills, CA $250,000 2009 The Child Development Institute (CDI) will renovate the former Canoga Park Library to create an Early Learning Center. Founded on extensive research regarding the most effective early childhood programs, the new Center will provide inclusive services for young children of all abilities age five and under. It will house a broad array of play and learning opportunities and services designed to reach all children in the community, helping to ensure their optimal growth and development and mitigating the risks for developmental challenges. As approximately 1,000 young children and their families explore their world at the Center annually – in the Children’s Discovery Zone, Head Start program, state-of-the-art playgrounds and more – they will be supported by CDI’s staff and team of developmental specialists in a non-stigmatizing, culturally congruent environment. In addition to supporting children’s learning, staff will identify risk factors, conduct developmental assessments, counsel and educate parents, and provide intensive intervention as needed, to ensure the best outcomes for local children.   Health Care Children's Dental Health Clinic Long Beach, CA $150,000 2009 The project will provide oral health treatment and education for low-income children up to eight years of age and special needs patients to age 18. To address increased demand for pediatric dental services, another dental team will be deployed one day per week to provide treatment for an additional 1,500 patients over two years. Pediatric Dentists are specifically trained (two-year residency after Dental School) to administer oral conscious sedation and nitrous oxide analgesia to provide a safe and comfortable treatment environment. In addition, Pediatric Dentists have advanced training in pediatric life support, patient management and treating patients in a hospital setting. All patients treated in the Pediatric Dental Treatment Program will receive oral health instruction through demonstration of proper oral health techniques and video presentations to prevent the recurrence of dental disease. They will also be provided oral health kits consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, timer and an educational brochure in the appropriate language.   Health Care JWCH Institute, Inc. Los Angeles, CA $225,000 2009 JWCH recently opened the Center for Community Health – Downtown Los Angeles in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health, Public Health and Health Services. In this newly renovated 20,000 square foot clinic, homeless patients receive health and mental health care with an integrated, patient-centered approach. The Center also creates the opportunity for interdisciplinary case conferencing so that mental health care is effectively coordinated with primary care and other services. The two-year project covers the start-up phase, and the grant will augment the services of the existing personnel from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health by supporting a licensed clinical social worker and a master’s level social worker.   Precollegiate Education Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools Los Angeles, CA $300,000 2009 The Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools is creating a charter school campus for 875 middle and high school students in South Los Angeles. This campus will provide a quality neighborhood school alternative to families in and around the Angeles Mesa community, where existing public schools are seriously overcrowded and underperforming. The goal of the middle school and high school that share this campus is to ensure that every child graduates from high school prepared to enter and succeed in college. This is being accomplished through five core values including: high expectations for all students, small personalized schools/classrooms, increased instructional time, highly qualified teachers and working with parents as partners. Also key to this goal is providing a safe, personalized learning environment in which students can grow and thrive.   Precollegiate Education California Charter Schools Los Angeles, CA $250,000 2009 ZOOM! Data Source is a comprehensive student achievement data management program designed to help member schools increase student achievement through data-driven decision making while at the same time providing the Association with access to student-level data for research and analysis of charter school performance. The program meets the unique data management needs of charter schools by providing access to an intuitive on-line data management system, DataDirector™, which allows schools to upload and analyze state-level summative data alongside school and classroom-level formative assessment and student demographic data. Access to this tool is coupled with custom in-person and web-based technical support, training and professional development to build strong data cultures in participating charter schools. The project will serve 125 charter schools in Los Angeles County in 2009-2010 and 150 charters schools in 2010-2011.