The Wonderful Company has announced the latest recipients of its Central Valley Community Grants program, awarding more than $1.5 million in funding to 43 organizations across California’s Central Valley.
The grants support initiatives focused on health and wellness, education, recreation, community beautification, art and social services in communities where more than 3,000 Wonderful employees live and work.
“As rising healthcare costs, food insecurity and reductions in public funding continue to strain the nonprofit sector, local organizations are being asked to do more with fewer resources,” said Andy Anzaldo, chief operating officer of corporate social responsibility at The Wonderful Company. “The Wonderful Community Grants program reflects a long-standing commitment to place-based giving by supporting the organizations that form the backbone of healthy, resilient communities, ensuring the Central Valley continues to be a place of opportunity for generations to come.”
The program serves organizations based in Avenal, Delano, Del Rey, Firebaugh, Lost Hills, Mendota, Sanger, Shafter and Wasco, California.
Recipients include The Open Door Network, which will use funds to ensure the domestic violence center in Delano remains open and accessible to survivors. United Way of Central Eastern California will fund the VITA program offering free tax return support and filings to the communities of Delano, Lost Hills, Shafter and Wasco.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County will provide after-school programming including mentoring, healthy habits/nutrition, physical activity, cultural arts, field trips and leadership opportunities to underserved youth in Del Rey.
Central California Food Bank will distribute free, fresh produce and essential boxes to individuals and families in Delano, Firebaugh and Avenal, and will support the expansion of food distribution programs among families and residents facing food insecurity in Mendota and Del Rey.
Additional recipients include Links for Life, which will fund a mobile mammogram clinic in the communities of Delano, Lost Hills, Shafter and Wasco, and Shoes That Fit, which provides low-income students in Delano, Shafter, Lost Hills and Wasco with new shoes on a referral basis.
In Sanger, Aquarius Aquarium Institute will use funds for the Teaching Tidepools program, bringing hands-on aquarium experiences and environmental lessons into classrooms. Valley PBS will provide workshops on mechanical, chemical, electrical and civil engineering to children in kindergarten through sixth grade in Firebaugh, Sanger, Mendota and Wasco.
Shafter recipients include 746 Sports Foundation, which provides summer camp recreational and learning activities for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade and continues to build on the partnership between The Wonderful Company and the Shafter Recreation & Parks District with the new The Wonderful Company Community Sports Complex. Vision y Compromisio will fund promotoras to deliver trainings on CPR, healthy development, nutrition and more to family, friend and neighbor caregivers, as well as parent engagement workshops in Shafter and Wasco.
In Wasco, Community Action Partnership of Kern will distribute free, fresh produce in the communities of Wasco, Shafter and Lost Hills. The City of Wasco will offer hands-on nutrition and meal-prep education during a two-month Summer Nutrition Program at the Wasco Police Activities League facility.
“Thanks to The Wonderful Company’s generous support, we have been able to open doors for our youth to learn, grow and thrive,” said Rudy Matcham, club unit director of the Del Rey Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County. “Wonderful’s support has been instrumental in expanding programs like Triple Play: Daily Challenges and Healthy Habits and in ensuring the successful launch of the Alebrijes program, where youth are encouraged to explore physical activity, nutrition and cultural storytelling through hands-on learning, from the kitchen to the classroom.”
For more than 10 years, Los Angeles-based The Wonderful Company and its co-owners, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, along with their foundations, have invested more than $850 million in the Central Valley region, driving long-term social, educational and economic progress. The Wonderful Company is one of the largest and most philanthropic privately held companies in the United States.
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