The Eisner Foundation Partners to Honor L.A. Nonprofits

September 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES — The Eisner Foundation partnered with the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor 15 nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County for their outstanding achievements and recognized donors who made such work possible.

Unsung Heroes, hosted by actor and CCF donor Noah Wyle at The Getty Center, celebrated the power and impact of philanthropy in Los Angeles.  The nonprofits were honored for their innovation, resilience and impact in improving the quality of life for low-income L.A. residents in five areas: the arts, education, health care, human development and neighborhood revitalization.  The awards were named after late philanthropist Joan Palevsky, who left a $257 million bequest to CCF in 2006 and helped double the foundation’s competitive grant-making to about $20 million a year.

“Now is the time to support non-profit organizations like these, especially as demand for their services grows and resources are cut short,” said Jane B. Eisner, president of The Eisner Foundation and chair emeritus of CCF’s board of directors. “We hope that the awards will play a part in helping them do what they do best – serve the most vulnerable people in our communities and ultimately create a more vibrant society.”

“These awards are welcome news amid a string of challenges our nonprofit sector faces every day. We are proud to honor and support these terrific organizations,” said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO at CCF. “This is a time when top-performing nonprofits like these will shine more than ever because they have been able to weather the storm and at times come out even stronger.”

Five organizations received valedictorian awards of $10,000 each:

• Cornerstone Theater, a multi-ethnic, ensemble-based company that serves an annual audience of more than 10,000 people
• Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center, which prepares at-risk children and their parents to succeed in school and life
• St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, which provides 75,000 patient visits each year to more than 25,000 low-income clients
• Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation, which helps disabled adults delay or avoid institutionalization
• A Community of Friends, which has completed 34 permanent supportive housing facilities for the homeless with special needs.  (A complete list of honorees is below.)

 

             SUMMARY OF LAUREATES

Organization	Area Served	Amount
ARTS
Cornerstone Theater	Los Angeles County	$10,000
Social and Public Arts Resource Center (SPARC)	Los Angeles County	$5,000
East West Players	Los Angeles County	$5,000
EDUCATION
Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center	Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena	$10,000
Long Beach Day Nursery	South Bay/Harbor area	$5,000
Mar Vista Family Center	West Los Angeles County	$5,000
HEALTH CARE
St. John’s Well Child and Family Center	Downtown and South Los Angeles	$10,000
Community Health Alliance of Pasadena (CHAP)	Pasadena/Sierra Madre	$5,000
UMMA Community Clinic	South Los Angeles County	$5,000
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation	San Gabriel	$10,000
California Youth Connection	Los Angeles County	$5,000
Partners in Care Foundation	Los Angeles County	$5,000
NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION
A Community of Friends	Los Angeles County	$10,000
Abode Communities	Los Angeles County	$5,000
Little Tokyo Service Center	Metro Los Angeles	$5,000
Total (15 awards)		$100,000