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Community Foundation Sonoma County Issues Community Challenge Grant to Assist Effort for Ending Hunger

SANTA ROSA, Dec. 10 – Community Foundation Sonoma County has launched a fund drive to support the Redwood Empire Food Bank and 147 other programs for ending hunger.

 The effort seeks to raise $120,000 to support programs for providing fresh fruits and vegetables for people in need for the coming year.

 The drive already has secured $90,000 toward the goal, including $60,000 from the Community Foundation, itself, and $30,000 from two anonymous donors in a challenge grant.

 The Foundation is now appealing to the community for contributions to match the $30,000 challenge grant.

 The drive is being spearheaded by the Foundation to help provide for increasing numbers of individuals and families who don’t have enough to eat.

 “This year the Community Foundation is addressing some of the most basic needs in our community,” Barbara Hughes, Foundation President and CEO, said in an appeal letter seeking contributions. “In a departure from our traditional competitive grant making cycle, we will direct our entire Health and Human Service grant budget ($60,000) to alleviate hunger in Sonoma County.”

With the $120,000, the Community Foundation will provide the REFB with additional funds to pay for acquisition, transportation and distribution of fresh produce which will be made available at no cost to 147 pantries and community and faith-based hunger relief programs throughout the county.

The participating hunger relief agencies that work with the Food Bank to support hunger programs in every corner of the county include dozens of churches, inter-faith and Jewish agencies, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, the Committee on the Shelterless, Community Action Partnership, and many others.

“The Community Foundation is pleased to partner with this network of agencies during a time when the need for food in our community has increased significantly,” Hughes said. “Working together, our targeted giving will help to increase the number of meals provided and will make those meals more nutritious.”

David Goodman, Executive Director of the REFB, said the Foundation effort will have an “immediate impact on hunger relief in our community.”

“We are thrilled that this strong statement of leadership from the Community Foundation in directing significant resources toward an issue as fundamental and urgent as hunger,” said Goodman. “And, the pursuit of fresh produce that addresses not only hunger but the health and well being of the recipients is truly exciting for everyone involved: donors, the REFB, agencies, and food recipients.”

 The Foundation is encouraging supporters to contribute to Ending Hunger Fund by mail (250 D St., Suite 205, Santa Rosa CA 95404) or online; For more information contact Miguel Ruelas the Community Foundation at 707-579-4073 x 19.

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Community Foundation Sonoma County was established in 1983. Its mission is to strengthen communities through effective philanthropy and civic engagement. It has current assets of more than $140 million which are held in more than 450 charitable funds created by individuals, families, community groups and businesses.

 The REFB is the largest hunger relief agency from Petaluma to the Oregon border. It provides food to 78,000 seniors, children and families in Sonoma County. The REFB distributes almost 13 million pounds of food every year – the equivalent of 27,000 meals every day. In addition to Sonoma County, it serves pantries and hunger programs in Lake, Mendocino, Del Norte and Humboldt counties. More information is available at www.refb.org.

List of Benefitting Hunger Relief Agencies by Area

We are committed to ending family homelessness in this community. The great majority of homeless families are headed by single mothers who are poor and vulnerable; most are victims of violence. We believe the cycle of multiple-generation homelessness can be broken. The Community Foundation, in partnership with COTS, Catholic Charities, YWCA, CAP and Women’s Recovery Services provides these mothers effective and meaningful programs to make their current episode of homelessness their last. Through our innovative approach, families will have the tools to break their cycle of poverty and homelessness and the resilience to sustain their hard-earned gains.

In 2004, we were awarded a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to participate in its Communities Advancing the Arts (CAA) initiative. This partnership inspired our own Arts Initiative and spawned local partnerships, attracted funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, gained CAA Phase Two funding from Irvine and resulted in numerous county-wide projects in the arts sector.

Community Foundation Sonoma County | 250 D. Street | Suite 205 | Santa Rosa CA 95404 | PH: 707.579.4073 | Contact Us
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