COMMUNITY & SOCIAL SERVICE

Arms of Angels

www.ArmsofAngels.org

521-3672

Founded: 2012

WHAT THEY DO: Arms of Angels offers grief counseling to children and families who have lost loved ones, using caring professionals and trained volunteers. They also meet grief-support needs for low-income and bilingual families.

THE BIG IDEA: Arms of Angels wants to expand their loving reach, funding licensed bilingual family therapists and licensed bilingual grief counselors to provide intensive attention to families. The nonprofit also wants to expand its reach to underserved bilingual areas, and train additional volunteers to increase the number of families served.

Banding Together: “I had a good chat with the family. They, to the last member, have been so pleased with the counseling they have received from you.”

Blind & Visually Impaired Center

wwww.BlindandLowVision.org

649-3505

Founded: 1971

WHAT THEY DO: The Blind & Visually Impaired Center empowers people who are challenged with vision loss by providing free education, support services and skills training, improving the quality of life and emotional well-being of both clients and their families. This focus on education and support helps the visually impaired foster independence and the ability to remain in their own homes and live full, productive lives.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to provide free, individualized services in a person’s home, or their chosen community setting. This includes planning specific orientations and mobility services for each client’s needs for safety, risk reduction, glare control, nutrition awareness and annual exams.

Pushing The Limits: “Vital orientation and mobility lessons of street crossings culminated in my solo Point Lobos hike with my guide dog, Nikita. Success for the soul.”

The Carmel Foundation

www.CarmelFoundation.org

624-1588

Founded: 1950

WHAT THEY DO: The Carmel Foundation provides a gathering place for seniors to enjoy camaraderie and respect, and improves the quality of life for local seniors who have contributed to the community over their lifetimes. The foundation engages seniors in social activities and provides helpful aging services dedicated to enhancing their valuable lives.

THE BIG IDEA: The Carmel Foundation wants to provide 50 low-income housing units to local seniors who are struggling financially but have worked, lived or dedicated a lifetime to building the Carmel community.

Movin’ On Up: “After 20 years of living in a… one-car garage apartment… I moved here (into low-income apartments). I’m really grateful for the Carmel Foundation.”

Catholic Charities

www.CatholicCharitiesCentralCoast.org

393-3110

Founded: 1984

WHAT THEY DO: Catholic Charities reduces poverty and promotes justice, peace, human dignity, self-determination and self-sufficiency by providing services such as rental-utility assistance, mental health counseling, low-cost tattoo removal and assistance with legal residency applications to the poor and disadvantaged.

THE BIG IDEA: Catholic Charities wants to bring economic benefits to the community by stabilizing and empowering families toward greater self-sufficiency, and by offering citizenship classes to underserved areas and qualified individuals, especially in South County. To that end, it wants to ensure 100 green-card residents achieve citizenship and find employment opportunities.

Basic Needs: “My husband had a stroke and we were having difficulty paying rent. Catholic Charities helped with rent and PG&E. I really appreciate all you did.”

Friends of the Pacific Grove Library

www.PGLibraryFriends.org

277-7719

Founded: 1974

WHAT THEY DO: The Friends of the Pacific Grove Library support this vital community resource by making sure it remains open to the public as a center for lifelong learning. The Friends fund nearly half of the library’s acquisition budget and step in to fund unbudgeted needs, all while developing an outreach program to help seniors.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to fund 20 e-readers for checkout, and the inventory of books and music to upload onto them. And to make sure those e-readers are useful to homebound seniors, it wants to continue to fund the tech-savvy high school interns who will distribute the e-readers and teach seniors how to use them.

Long-term Success: “The Friends of the Pacific Grove Public Library have been essential to the success of the library for over 40 years.”

Hospice Giving Foundation

www.HospiceGiving.org

333-9023

Founded: 1997

WHAT THEY DO: Hospice Giving Foundation advocates for compassionate, dignified and comfortable end-of-life care to hundreds of clients each year with medical, spiritual and practical support. They also promote advance planning so clients have access to the choices they want, strengthen caregivers who serve individuals and grieving families, and help fund end-of-life care organizations.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to provide awareness and relief to painful and unfinished family disagreements by encouraging and supporting in-depth, fruitful – yet often uncomfortable – discussions via an online action campaign addressing end-of-life choices, the need to gather and maintain important documents and answer any unanswered questions.

easing the pain: “Your long-time grant support is permanently etched in our hearts. Thank you for making the unbearable bearable and bringing light to the darkest of times.”

Housing Resource Center of Monterey County

www.HRCMontereyCounty.org

424-9186

Founded: 1984

WHAT THEY DO: The Housing Resource Center of Monterey County helps prevent homelessness with permanent – not transitional or temporary – housing to over 700 individuals annually. They also provide education, advocacy and counseling services to homeless veterans. Since their founding, the center has served 37,000 homeless individuals as a primary service provider.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to celebrate its 30th anniversary by providing emergency financial-rental assistance and security-deposit guarantees, and by continuing the fight to end homelessness by providing the resources and education needed to attain and maintain safe, affordable, permanent housing.

House and Home: “Thank you for all your help. Thanks to your help we have been able to provide for our family. We appreciate everything you have done for us.”

Interim, Inc.

www.InterimInc.org

649-4522

Founded: 1975

WHAT THEY DO: Interim, Inc. provides temporary and permanent affordable housing to adults with mental illness through the 17 housing facilities and two treatment centers they operate, resulting in lower rates of homelessness and reduced jail and hospital stays for adults with mental illness.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to raise funds to pay for emergency motel rooms and provide adults who suffer with mental illness the necessary stepping stones – links to Interim’s mobile outreach team and supportive housing and intensive services – to leave the streets and find safe shelter.

Staying Safe: “I’m happy living here because I get the help, support and medical care I need for my mental health.”

Legal Services for Seniors

www.LSSMC.net

899-0492

Founded: 1985

WHAT THEY DO: Legal Services for Seniors protects seniors from fraud and helps them navigate often complex legal and medical paperwork. They deliver no-cost legal services to seniors with fixed incomes and protect seniors against wrongful lawsuits, unscrupulous landlords and mistakes by Medicare, Social Security or sloppy billing practices.

THE BIG IDEA: LSS wants to extend its outreach of legal services to underserved areas of Monterey County, including rural areas of North and South County, and prevent vulnerable seniors from losing their homes and life savings by continuing to provide no-cost legal assistance from licensed attorneys and legal advocates.

Secret’s Safe: “As attorneys, Legal Services for Seniors adheres to strict attorney-client confidentiality, ensuring the privacy of any senior seeking our services is protected when they come to us for assistance.”

The Marina Foundation

www.TheMarinaFoundation.org

717-4117

Founded: 2009

WHAT THEY DO: The Marina Foundation raises funds and awards grants to the community for school nutrition programs, the community center playground project, the Marina historical committee, a sculpture garden project, the police department K-9 project and more. They also award the Livermore, Nakagawa and Jack Stewart educational scholarships.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to redesign the children’s playground to include appropriate, safe equipment for K-6 play, and fulfill unmet financial needs that add to the already-acquired impact fees and other funds for playground upgrades.

Passing It On: “I hope one day I will be able to help other students achieve their goals just as you have helped me!”

Monterey County Film Commission

www.FilmMonterey.org

646-0910

Founded: 1987

WHAT THEY DO: The Monterey County Film Commission’s mission is to attract out-of-area film productions to the county by spotlighting and preserving local film-crew skills and expertise. The commission also awards the Richard Tyler film student scholarship, offers educational lectures and provides an online resource guide to connect professionals, all with the goal of boosting the local economy.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to bring more lights, camera and economic action to Monterey County, connecting local film professionals to more than 100 film projects. They also want to Increase their online listings, enhance educational programs leverage marketing exposure and continue to organize film-industry gatherings.

Global Destination: “The Monterey County Film Commission’s help – with its database of locations, local film resources and crew – makes it much easier to bring productions here from around the world.”

Monterey Hostel Society

www.montereyhostel.org

899-3046

Founded: 1992

WHAT THEY DO: The Monterey Hostel Society raises money to support the mission of Monterey Hostel – to help people of all ages gain a greater understanding of the world, provide low-cost and comfy accommodations to travelers and sponsor diverse educational programs that provide world-culture and intercultural experiences and exchanges.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to fund the cost of planning and hosting fundraising events for the planned eco-hostel annex at the former Fort Ord in Seaside. Hosteling provides a big boost to tourism, as it’s an inroad that demonstrates the value of many cultures and connects travelers to the community through hospitality and culturally diverse activities.

OPen Arms: “Thank you all for the ways each of you provide nurturing to all who come seeking and find an inviting place.”

MS Quality of Life Project

www.MSQLP.org

333-9091

Founded: 2000

WHAT THEY DO: The MS Quality of Life Project helps improve quality of life and meet the unmet needs for individuals and families living with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Experiencing self-sufficiency with Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis leads to increased client involvement in activities and, in turn, an increased qualify of life.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to fund case management services for in-home visits and development of care plans for clients’ needs with health care, functional abilities, home environment, daily living activities, social support, finances, community services and future needs.

Stepping Up: “My life the past year was incredibly difficult managing multiple sclerosis alone. Then Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project came and got me resources I needed and are there to support me when I am frustrated with my multiple sclerosis.”

Opportunity Fund

www.OpportunityFund.org

408-297-0204

Founded: 1994

WHAT THEY DO: The Opportunity Fund offers loans to underserved community businesses and provides small businesses access to microloans. Every penny counts: The businesses are able to increase their revenue by an average of 20 percent and have a 90-percent survival rate. The fund also fosters entrepreneurship and helps create jobs, because every dollar loaned translates into $2 of economic activity.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to expand its reach by originating 50 business loans, between $2,500 and $100,000, to low-income entrepreneurs. The ripple effect of new revenue, wages and taxes can create 125 jobs with minority-owned businesses in undercapitalized neighborhoods.

Rags To Riches: “Building and growing a business is very difficult, but Opportunity Fund believed in me. They really care about the success of my business.”

Peace Resource Center

www.PeaceCentral.org

899-7322

Founded: 2004

WHAT THEY DO: The Peace Resource Center promotes, inspires and mobilizes the cultivation of peace, nonviolence, social justice, democracy and environmental sustainability. Topics of discussion include nuclear weapons, prison reform, racism, violence against women and more. The center also offers instruction in English as a second language.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to extend itheir outreach to Marina and Salinas, present a documentary film series around the county and educate the incarcerated, launching a county jail program with job training and education staffed by trained instructors, a librarian and a counselor. The center also wants to continue to raise funds for a permanent building space.

Peace Power: “I’m consistently amazed at how many programs and events take place at the center. Very few communities have a resource like the Peace Resource Center.”

Rebuilding Together

www.RebuildingTogether-MS.org

296-0473

Founded: 1995

WHAT THEY DO: Rebuilding Together helps preserve and revitalize homes at no cost to low-income, elderly, disabled veterans and families with children, with a focus on health, safety and social issues. Their work helps reduce homelessness and lessen the need for care facility moves by decreasing the chance of in-home accidents that can cause high medical bills.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to provide repairs to 20 low-income homes and one nonprofit at no cost, including the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, accessible bathrooms, grab bars, railings, door locks, proper outdoor lighting, furnaces, exterior painting and more.

Home Improvements: “The carpet you replaced in Delores G.’s living area and kitchen looks absolutely wonderful! It’s no longer a trip hazard for her.”

Restorative Justice Partners, Inc.

www.RestorativeJusticePartners.com

384-4325

Founded: 1987

WHAT THEY DO: Restorative Justice Partners Inc. provides support and education to those affected by conflict via a variety of programs, including a victim-offender reconciliation program, a victim impact program and a program that helps recently released convicts or graduates of rehabilitation programs reintegrate back into society. They encourage accountability, reparation and empathy via equitable and sustainable practices that enable healing.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to give a voice to those in need of healing by bringing victims and juvenile offenders safely together, teach students how to take responsibility for their actions and effectively communicate expectations of respect by bringing conflict mediation techniques to relationships.

Problem Solving: “The conflict mediation technique I learned has been invaluable; by using it I have diffused major conflicts, prevented violence and kept students in school.”

Rice Plus Project

www.RiceplusProject.org

624-6715

Founded: 1992

WHAT THEY DO: The Rice Plus Project helps hungry families in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and children in the Pajaro Valley and Alisal school districts, distributing beans, rice, canned goods, blankets, warm clothes, coats, school supplies and more. They also educate and empower the economic independence of women and their families.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to expand humanitarian services to be accessible all year with a local storefront location for farmworker families and people in need, beyond a regular monthly distribution. The storefront will help them reach more people in need and help them access food, especially in winter months.

Team EFfort: “Wonderful cause, very rewarding, great honor, amazing people! Truly an organization with heart, helping those who do so much for our local communities. That’s what I call community in action!”

Salinas Holiday Parade of Lights

www.SalinasParade.com

758-0725

Founded: 2001

WHAT THEY DO: The eponymously named Salinas Holiday Parade of Lights produces a quality parade free to the community every year on the last Sunday of November. The safe – and family-oriented event brings community members together to meet in peace and harmony.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to make sure that even more people know about the parade, which helps bring an often-divided city together and helps mend a seemingly invisible line. To do that, they want to display banners that cross over the entire community on light poles that stretch from Main Street to Highway 68, ending at the National Steinbeck Center. They also wants to purchase promotional advertising, balloons and barricades.

A City United: “This is my 14th year as a board volunteer. I have never seen this town together in any other event as much as in this parade. You can honestly feel the unity and love.”

Salvation Army Monterey Peninsula Corps

www.TSAMonterey.com

899-4911

Founded: 1895

WHAT THEY DO: The Salvation Army provides thousands of needy families with rental, utility and food assistance; youth, senior and housing programs; and spiritual guidance and moral support, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but also throughout the year.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to establish a special fund to respond to special challenges, including helping clients pay for eyeglasses, prescription medications, bus passes to doctor’s appointments, therapy and job interviews. They also want to arrange cremation assistance for loved ones and for the homeless.

Survival Story: “I was an addict and the Salvation Army helped me recover, fed me, cared for me, helped me get a place to live and gave me a job.”

Shelter Outreach Plus

www.ShelterOutreachPlus.org

384-3388

Founded: 1978

WHAT THEY DO: Shelter Outreach Plus is a leader in ending the cycle of homelessness and domestic violence by providing safe housing, compassionate support and opportunities for self-sufficiency through outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing and supportive services. Shelter Outreach serves about 930 adults and families each year.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to provide on-the-job skills training to emergency shelter clients in the areas of child care, meal preparation, grounds maintenance and program administration. Skills training will help enhance client resumes, give them valuable employment experience and help those clients obtain entry-level positions.

Seeking Independence: “Through the case management, counseling and financial-literacy mentoring she received at the shelter, Joanna transitioned successfully from the emergency shelter to a transitional housing program.”

YWCA

www.ywcamc.org

422-8602

Founded: 1972

WHAT THEY DO: The YWCA leads education and prevention efforts on domestic violence, and provides domestic violence interventions by offering resources and support to survivors. They give clients the strength they need to leave the abuse, establish boundaries and build support while empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

THE BIG IDEA: The nonprofit wants to assist pets of those impacted by domestic violence by constructing a beautiful and spacious on-site emergency kennel and boarding facility. They will help ensure that no woman will have to make the heartbreaking decision between her and her children’s safety, and the safety of their beloved pets.

Pet Project: “I came to the YWCA shelter without hope. Each counseling session and group therapy left me feeling more capable, independent and valued.”