Impact100 Makes a Statement with Annual Grants

Last Saturday night the Hanna Boys Center was the scene of much generosity and warm appreciation. The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation received a $100,000 grant from Impact100 Sonoma, an organization of 100 or more women who make an annual donation of $1,000 each for community funding.

This is the fourth time that the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation has received the “Impact Grant,” largest of the grants the organization awards yearly. The Impact Grant funds its  “Smart Start: Preschool for All in Sonoma Valley” program.

This year’s $100,000 Impact grant will provide funding for a new preschool at Sassarini School, modeled after the current highly successful program at El Verano School. “The grant will allow 48 at-risk young children to successfully transition to kindergarten with necessary school readiness skills and better prepare them for school success,” according to information on the Impact100 website.

This year, 228 women joined Impact100 Sonoma, providing a total of $228,000 to be awarded to selected Sonoma Valley nonprofits. This enabled the organization to award $20,000 to both Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation and WillMar Family Grief & Healing Center, the other finalists for the $100,000 Impact100 grant.

The remaining funds go for Community Grants, ranging in size from $3,000 to $15,000. Recipients this year include the following:

• Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma Valley, in collaboration with the City of Sonoma Police/Sonoma County Sheriff, Social Advocates for Youth, and La Luz, will receive $15,000 to develop a collaborative action plan and coordinated effort focusing on gang prevention. 
• On the Move/VOICES Sonoma will receive $15,000 to assist under-served youth (16-24), who are transitioning out of foster care, enabling them to move into self-sufficient life. 
• Literary Arts Guild – Free Bookmobile of Sonoma County will receive $3,000 to purchase and install a galvanized steel vehicle shelter to house and protect the bookmobile. 
• Ceres Community Project will receive $15,000 to provide meals for seriously ill patients. Teens will work with chefs in the new kitchen at Hanna Boys Center to prepare the meals.  
• Redwood Empire Food Bank will receive $15,000 to establish a Hub Distribution model improving access to affordable food for local nonprofits dealing with hunger-relief in Sonoma Valley. 
• California Parenting Institute will receive $15,000 to provide Gang Prevention Parent Support Services at La Luz for Spanish-speaking parents of middle-school children.
• Becoming Independent will receive $5,000 to expand their Healthy Living class, which helps teach adults with developmental disabilities how to lead a healthy life. 
• Hospice by the Bay will receive $8,500 to support a “Home Away From Home” Hospice Suite within the Sonoma Valley Hospital’s skilled nursing facility.