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.

루실 패커드 아동 건강 재단은 산타클라라와 샌마테오 카운티에서 두 가지 분야에 보조금을 지원합니다. 첫째, 0~5세 아동을 부상으로부터 보호하고, 아동 학대와 방치를 예방하는 데 중점을 둡니다. 둘째, 10대 전반 아동의 행동, 정신, 정서적 건강을 증진합니다.

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.

루실 패커드 아동 건강 재단은 연 2회 지역사회 지원금을 지원합니다. 2000년 1월에 시작된 이 지원금 프로그램은 재단의 기부금으로 운영됩니다. 캘리포니아 기금(California Endowment)의 파트너십 지원금은 청소년 발달 및 미취학 아동의 고위험 행동 감소를 위한 재단의 노력을 지원합니다. 현재까지 60개 기관이 재단으로부터 총 1조 4천억 원(1조 690만 달러)의 지원금을 받았습니다.

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.