Local nonprofit organizations receive $468,000 in grant funding to help improve community health
SAN LUIS OBISIPO, Calif. - Dignity Health Central Coast handed out $468,000 in grant funding to six community non-profit partnerships in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties during an annual awards ceremony held Tuesday morning.
The grants were awarded at French Hospital Medical Center to the partnerships through a Community Health Improvement Grants Program created by the Dignity Health parent company CommonSpirit Health.
"The $468,000 in grants that we gave today really will make a material difference in the work that these organizations can do," said Sue Andersen, Dignity Health Central Coast Hospitals President/CEO. "It's really truly amazing during a time, even when some of them have experienced cutbacks in funding, these grants are very needed and will be very well used in our community."
According to Dignity Health, criteria for this funding cycle were based on the following priority areas identified in the hospitals 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment: educational attainment, access to primary care including behavioral health and dental health and health promotion and prevention.
"We give these grants every year, these community grants really with the premise that if our community's healthy is better, it's better for health care all around," said Andersen. "So these organizations do amazing work, whether it's with homeless, with our schools, planting gardens, bringing meals to seniors, helping all throughout our community with sick children. These organizations are just truly amazing."
The six community partnerships that received grant funding included Five Cities Meals on Wheels, Recuperative Care Housing Navigation, Hearts Aligned, Inc., POR VIDA!, School Garden Nutrition Program and The Cecilia Oral Project.
"There were 34 applications for these grants," said Andersen. "We narrowed it down to 25 who were asked to submit additional information and we asked them to collaborate. We asked organizations to come together to think outside of the box how they can help us build a healthier community and they do that. They come together as several organizations and they use these funds to do great work in our communities."
