WOMEN TRANSFORMING SONOMA COUNTY THROUGH COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY |MARCH 2022 | ISSUE 54 |
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Recap of February 22nd General Meeting
At our February 22nd General Membership Meeting, we welcomed two local legislators; State Senator Mike McGuire and District 3 Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin. We asked them to share their perspectives (regional and county) of areas that are well-funded in climate change and homelessness, and where the gaps are.
Some of the key points Senator McGuire made:
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There is a state budget surplus for the 10th year in a row, including billions of dollars directed towards permanent housing and wraparound services for unhoused people.
- Funding directed at closing the wealth gap in the state includes two years of paid community college and mental health services directed at schools and the homeless respectively.
- Four key areas of climate action were identified: transitioning from fossil fuels, labor and career training, greening the energy grid, and climate resilience funding.
Supervisor Gorin added to the discussion, pointing out that:
- Various funding sources exist such as ARPA funds, PG&E settlement funds, and Project Homekey for homeless housing and services.
- Additional funding is directed towards climate resilience, healthy forests, and wildfire and flood resistance.
- The county is reaching out to many of the organizations that deal directly with climate, firesafe councils, and homeless services to assess what the needs are.
- She will meet with many of these organizations directly and ask them what specific needs do they all have.
We received a blizzard of information from our two esteemed elected officials and we hope to have them back sometime in the future!
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4C’s – 2020 Impact Grant Winner
The Impact 100 Redwood Circle grant received by 4Cs Sonoma County has made an enormous impact on the Child Care Initiative Program in the past year. The CCIP program provides training and support to individuals who want to open and operate a licensed family childcare business.
As has been reported, the County of Sonoma has had childcare programs decimated by the fires and COVID. With the monies received, we have made great strides in increasing the number of spaces for children in quality, licensed care.
The goals outlined in the 4Cs’ CCIP expansion grant funded by Impact 100 Redwood Circle were:
- 90 individuals participate in the 4Cs’ CCIP training
- 30 new licensed family childcare providers are established
- Up to 240 new childcare spaces are created in Sonoma County
Progress toward meeting Impact 100 Redwood Circle goals for the 4Cs’ CCIP Expansion:
- 126 individuals participate in the 4Cs’ CCIP training
- 18 newly licensed programs
- 9 pending licensure (requirements met, application submitted, waiting for final approval from Community Care Licensing)
- 6 programs expanded from 8 to 14 spaces
- 180 newly created spaces
- 72 potential new spaces (counted once pending providers are licensed)
Additional impact not outlined in the grant, but significant to the over success of the 4Cs’ CCIP expansion:
- 40 individual training sessions (20 English, 20 Spanish)
- 204 hours total training
4C’s provided two incredible stories of successful support for home-based, family childcare programs and some accompanying photos. 4Cs looks forward to another year of trainings and added childcare spots for our community. The partnership is one we truly appreciate and look forward to continuing. Click here to read the client stories.
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Centro Laboral De Graton – 2021 Community Grant Winner
Centro Laboral De Graton provides access to training, education, health care and legal resources to day laborers and domestic workers in Sonoma County.
With their Community Grant in 2021, they developed a public health outreach program to promote COVID vaccinations and testing within their community. Specifically, they were able to:
- Train 12 domestic workers to be leaders on this subject, going door-to-door with information and holding health fairs throughout the community. Part of the grant went towards a stipend gift card to those 12 to compensate for their efforts. Because these people are part of their community, they tend to be more trusted.
- Partnering with Roseland Free Clinic and Jewish Free Clinic, they were able to get 1,000 people vaccinated.
- They were able to distribute 2,000 home Covid Tests in December 2021 as Omicron was surging.
If you are looking to volunteer, Centro Laboral De Graton is looking to resume their English tutoring sessions to the community which were suspended during the pandemic. If you are interest in volunteering, click here
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Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation – 2021 Community Grant Winner
Valley of the Moon provides temporary housing for abandoned, abused and neglected children. The home is run by the county of Sonoma. In 2021 they received a grant from Impact 100 Redwood Circle for $12,500 to support the Blue Bag Program. These bags provide a duffle bag of clothing for children who are moving into foster care. Typically, the bag contains a few days of clothing needed for children 0-8 years old. Older children 9-17 receive a gift card for $200 to spend on urgent needs.
Since 2021, 180 Blue Bags have been created. Of the 180 Blue Bags approximately 130 have been provided to the children moving into foster care. The $12,500 from Impact 100 Redwood Circle supported 84 of these bags.
Click here to view several videos that show some of the graduates of VOMCF. Some are attending college and graduate school and could use personal grants to help them with expenses. It is a wonderful way help them!
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Join us for the Next ED Talk April 6th!
Please join us for our Wednesday, April 6th,, 4:30 p.m. ED Talk, “Portrait of Sonoma County-From Framework to Action”.
2021 Portrait of Sonoma County report gauges the well-being of Sonoma County’s communities. This year’s portrait paints two divergent counties with one being very robust and the other struggling to stay afloat. We are fortunate to have Alegria De La Cruz, Director of Sonoma County Office of Equity, and Oscar Chavez, Assistant Director of the Sonoma County Human Services Department, to explain the results of the study, and how it will guide the public and private sectors to close the gap between the more affluent and low-income residents. The 44-page report contains a wealth of information on economic, health and education data that can be compared across neighborhoods. You can access the report by clicking here
Our Impact 100 Redwood Circle audience always assures a thoughtful and a lively discussion. You won’t want to miss this one. Click here to register.
Summary of ED Talk with Malinalli Lopez
Malinalli Lopez, guest speaker of Impact 100 Redwood Circle’s Education Committee, gave an inspiring talk about her work as a Filmmaker and Educator. Malinalli also shared with us her personal journey as she pursued her dream to become a filmmaker. Here are some key points of her talk:
- There is a need for more diverse mentors and educators to inspire youth of color to learn about their unique cultural heritage and how to incorporate their stories through art.
- The history of Mexico and its ancient indigenous peoples opened the world of arts and creativity for Malinalli. From her experience, she encourages youth to reconnect with their roots, to tap into a wellspring of creativity with deeper perspectives on their personal identity and cultural values. The legacy of perseverance by indigenous peoples offers strength and examples for pursuing their own art.
- Malinalli stressed the importance of art and filmmaking as a platform to address challenging questions, and to push the conversation on subjects that people would otherwise avoid, and not talk about.
Her film company "XQL Media" is named after the Aztec Goddess of the Arts, Xochiquetzal. This evokes the spirit of the ancient indigenous people who placed the greatest value on the perfection of the arts in all aspects of living. Every person was seen as being an artist, and everyday objects were instilled with beauty.
Her award-winning film "Hyena" will be shown at Sonoma State University, Sonoma Film Institute, on April 1st and 3rd.
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Cocktails & Conversation - April 7th, 5:00 p.m.
COCKTAILS and CONVERSATION (C&C) is back! And it will be an in-person event in covered outdoor space dedicated to us! Join us on April 7, 5-6:30 PM, at the Beer Baron, 614 4th Street (on Santa Rosa Square). There will be appetizers and No Host bar/drinks.
C&C provides a perfect opportunity to introduce your friends and acquaintances to the Impact 100 mission and our support to local nonprofits with annual grant-giving. It’s also a fun chance to meet and socialize with members and guests.
Members, please come with a guest interested in hearing about our impactful women's giving circle as we reach our $1,000,000 milestone! Register here now (deadline is March 29); capacity is limited to 30 participants.
All attendees must provide proof of COVID 19 vaccination ahead of time or at the door. Masks are invited. Click here to register.
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