Bank of America has announced more than $2.4 million in grants to 84 Los Angeles nonprofits that will advance economic mobility for individuals and families and put them on a path toward financial stability. The local nonprofits receiving funding will help address two key factors improving financial stability: basic needs such as access to food, shelter and health services and access to educational and workforce development services that either give young adults pathways to employment or provide additional opportunities for people to rebuild their careers for better-paying work.
Despite the strengthening economy, the number of people who are homeless saw a double digit spike this past year, according to the County’s most recent moment in time count; and one in four Angelenos live in poverty, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
“So many of us are just one life event away from needing to depend on basic needs services such as food banks or shelters, while others—especially from economically disadvantaged areas—remain under-employed lacking the evolving job skills necessary to be part of today’s booming workforce economy,” said Raul A. Anaya, market president for Greater Los Angeles, Bank of America. “But through strategic philanthropic investments into the Southland’s incredible nonprofit network, Bank of America is deploying its capital to advance more economic opportunities in the region.”
Chrysalis, one of the organizations to receive a grant from Bank of America, has offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica, the San Fernando Valley and Anaheim. The organization helps low-income and homeless individuals across Los Angeles and Orange Counties prepare for, find and retain employment.
“Among individuals experiencing homelessness, 40% cite unemployment as a leading contributor to their homelessness,” said Mark Loranger, President & CEO of Chrysalis. “Jobs play a key role in helping individuals get back on a pathway to self-sufficiency, and we are so pleased to receive continued grant support from Bank of America for Chrysalis’ employment program.”
Los Angeles-based Covenant House California will put its grant towards a program to give a safe haven to homeless and trafficked youth. “While pockets of Los Angeles are thriving, the most recent homeless count for the county showed an increase in the number of homeless, with 17 percent of young people experiencing homelessness,” said Bill Bedrossian, CEO, Covenant House. “Our ongoing relationship with Bank of America has helped us to continue to provide a full continuum of services to meet the physical, emotional, educational, vocational and spiritual well-being of young people in order to provide them with the best chance for success in independence.”
Other organizations receiving grants include: White Memorial Medical Center Charitable Foundation, Covenant House California, Engage Inc., ITEP, Boys & Girls Club of Carson, Korean Health Education Information and Research Center, USC Gift Services, Project Grad Los Angeles Inc., Goodwill of Southern California, AbilityFirst, Weingart Center Association, Chinatown Service Center, Los Angeles Universal Preschool, Altamed health Services Corp., Para Los Niños, Unite-LA Inc., St. Barnabas Senior Center of Los Angeles, JVS SoCal, Door of Hope, Special Olympics Southern California Inc., Junior Achievement of Southern California, Union Rescue Mission, The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley Inc., Project Angel Food, A Place Called Home, Students Run America, Path, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Central American Resource Center – Carecen – of California, ManifestWorks, Bet Tzedek, Central City Neighborhood Partners, Alliance for Housing and healing, Teach for America, Lift Inc., Center for the Pacific-Asian Family Inc., After-School All-Stars Los Angeles, Economic Development Corporation of Los Angeles, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica Inc., Chrysalis, Streetlights Production Assistant Program Inc., United States Veterans Initiative, New Directions Inc., P..F. Bresee Foundation, Hillsides, Goodwill Industries of Southern California, Los Angeles Team Mentoring Inc., Inner-City Arts, L.A. Family Housing Corporation, Inland Valley Council of Churches, The Salvation Army, Community Development Technologies Center, West Angeles Community Development Corporation, Los Angeles Mission Inc., Coro Southern California, Mar Vista Family Center, California Council on Economic Education, Los Angeles Regional Food bank, Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment, The Posse Foundation, Proyecto Pastoral, Mend-Meet Each Need With Dignity, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Loyola Marymount University, Puente Learning Center, West Side Food Bank, Al Wooten Jr. Youth and Adult Cultural-Educational Center, Union Station Homeless Services, Virtual Enterprises International Inc., California Science Center Foundation, City Year Inc., TELACU Education Foundation, Aquarium of the Pacific, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade – Black United Fund Inc., The Boys & Girls Club of Venice Inc., The Boys & Girls Club of Long Beach, Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund, Los Angeles Urban League, The Workforce Investment Board of the City of Los Angeles, Liberty Hill Foundation, YWCA Greater Los Angeles, The Learning Centers at Fairplex.
Submitted by Denis Wolcott, The Wolcott Company