Community Solutions Wins $115,000 Grant to Serve Preteens

PALO ALTO – The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health has awarded $115,000, over two years, to Community Solutions to re-establish an after-school program for preteens who live in the Lilly Gardens housing project in Gilroy.

Community Solutions, a human services agency that has served south Santa Clara County since 1972, will use the funds for a program in which 55 children will participate in arts and sports activities, receive homework assistance, work on computers and socialize.

“The program was supported by the state’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Program until its funding was cut from the state budget this summer,” said Lisa DeSilva, director of community and resource development at Community Solutions.

The grant also will help to launch a new parent education program that will provide support, skills and resources for overburdened parents of preteens, including those in the after-school program. Two-hour classes will be offered in English and Spanish over five weeks. Class topics include growth and development, discipline and boundaries, anger management and conflict resolution, and the risks of alcohol and drugs.

“This grant will enable us to reopen the after-school program in mid-January,” said DeSilva. “The support from the foundation is even more significant as we face impending cuts from the county and state due to the economic downturn. It is a true holiday gift to the community.”

The grant is one of 17 awards announced Dec. 18 by Stephen Peeps, foundation president and CEO.

ルシール・パッカード児童健康財団は、サンタクララ郡とサンマテオ郡において、2 つの分野、すなわち、児童虐待と育児放棄の防止に重点を置き、0 歳から 5 歳までの児童を傷害から守ることと、10 代前半の児童の行動、精神、感情の健康を促進することに関して助成金を支給しています。

The other Santa Clara County grantees and their awards are:

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Santa Clara County, $75,000 over one year;

Bill Wilson Marriage and Family Counseling Center, $120,000 over three years;

Children’s Health Council, $200,000 over two years;

Community Foundation Silicon Valley (The Mayfair Improvement Initiative), $150,000 over two years;

Fresh Lifelines for Youth, $92,000 over three years; and

YWCA of Santa Clara Valley, $200,000 over two years.

ルシール・パッカード児童保健財団は、年に2回、地域への助成金を提供しています。2000年1月に開始されたこの助成金プログラムの資金は、財団の基金から提供されています。カリフォルニア基金からのパートナーシップ助成金は、青少年の育成とプレティーンの危険行動の削減に向けた財団の取り組みを支援しています。これまでに、60の機関が財団から総額1億4千万6900万ドルの助成金を受けています。

The foundation was established as a public charity in 1996, when the previously independent Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital became part of Stanford University Medical Center. The foundation’s mission is to “promote, protect, and sustain the physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children.” It is wholly independent of the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation. For more information about the foundation’s community grantmaking program, call (650) 736-0676, or visit the Web site, www.lpfch.org.