The Pasadena Community Foundation announced the appointment of five new members to its board of directors. Representing the medical profession, investment and banking, and real estate, the new board members also bring years of dedicated community leadership and a broad range of diversity.
The new board members are Koko Archibong, Dr. Greta Johnson Mandell, Scott Nesbit, Uma Shrivastava and Dr. Armineh Tavitian.
In joining PCF’s 20-member board, they will help guide PCF’s continued COVID-19 response, oversee new Racial Equity and Animal Welfare initiatives, and guide PCF’s broad grantmaking throughout the Pasadena area.
“Our goal is to recruit board members who reflect the community we serve, both in skills and expertise, as well as interests and passions,” Jennifer DeVoll, PCF’s president and CEO, said in a news release. “As the Foundation grows in size and complexity, it is important to have sophisticated, experienced board members who bring different perspectives to our leadership. These five new members complement our seated directors, and we look forward to their myriad experiences and unique vision to inform our response to the community’s changing needs.”
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PCF’s Yes, Virginia Grants Benefit 11 Local Nonprofits
Elizabeth House Executive Director Debora Unruh gave virtual hugs as well as donations — including one to a young student (photo at right) — that were made possible by Pasadena Community Foundation’s Yes, Virginia grants.
Despite a year of hardship, Pasadena Community Foundation was able for the 26th consecutive year to bring the magic of Christmas to a number of area charitable organizations, thanks to grants from its Yes, Virginia Fund.
In 1897, New York Sun editor Frank Church responded to 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, who wrote to the newspaper to ask, “Is there a Santa Claus?” More than a century later, the reply remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the United States. In 1994, the story inspired PCF supporters to establish the Yes, Virginia Fund to provide annual grants to local nonprofit agencies so that Pasadena-area children in need could receive toys, books, gifts and special experiences for the holidays.
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PCF Fund Helps Armory Center for the Arts
“Art has a way of keeping our souls full,” said Leslie Ito, executive director of the Armory Center for the Arts, one of the five art organizations that recently received a Rowe & Gayle Giesen Trust grant, a Pasadena Community Foundation fund that supports visual arts experiences for children and youth.
During a typical summer, the Armory coordinates with local partners to offer free community art programs complete with free art supplies. This summer, despite the challenges of COVID-19 restrictions, the Armory has teamed with select partners –the Pasadena Public Library, Adelante Youth Alliance, Stars Tutoring Group and more – to continue inspiring young people in the world of art.
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Pasadena Community Foundation Grants $372K in COVID-19 Relief Funding to Local Nonprofits
Pasadena Community Foundation has awarded the second phase of grants — totaling $372,000 — from its COVID-19 Response Fund to 26 local nonprofits. The grants will support local community-based organizations serving families and individuals experiencing extreme hardship from the economic, social and physical impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
PCF’s first round of COVID-19 emergency response funding was distributed on March 31. It benefited nine local organizations serving seniors and distributing food and supplies to low-income individuals and families. In addition, the Foundation also released restrictions on existing grants to allow the recipient organizations to use current grant funds for their most urgent needs. Continue reading “Pasadena Community Foundation Grants $372K in COVID-19 Relief Funding to Local Nonprofits”
Rose Bowl Aquatics Director Leaves Legacy After 30 Years
After nearly 30 years of working as director of development at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, it seems fitting that one of Mary Pinola’s favorite memories is a simple one, albeit repeated by nearly 30,000 children during her tenure.
It’s the moment a 3rd grader edges up to the end of a diving platform — gingerly, small toes curling over the edge — and then takes a leap into the deep end. It’s a leap of faith, both in the ability at having learned to swim and in the confidence that will last a lifetime, cheered on by the instructor in the water and teachers watching from the pool’s edge. Continue reading “Rose Bowl Aquatics Director Leaves Legacy After 30 Years”
PCF Jumps to Relieve Nonprofits Serving Most Vulnerable Amid Coronavirus
In times of crisis, the Pasadena Community Foundation is ready to move.
PCF, which is dedicated to managing charitable assets and earmarking money to nonprofit organizations of all kinds, didn’t expect a deadly pandemic like coronavirus to become the crisis in question, but the Foundation was at the ready recently to distribute emergency grant funds. It has focused on relieving organizations serving seniors and distributing food and supplies to low-income individuals and families which will help fight the growing food insecurity amid economic and social distancing fallout from COVID-19.
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Community Foundation Salutes Nonprofits
PCF Scholars Find Nonprofits Have Their Back at PCC
Pasadena Unified School District graduates Ramon Cano Cristobal, Mario Nicasio, Hannah Tellez, Kevin Morales, Mahely Cedillo Lambaren, Abigail Vides, Jaylin Jenkins and Alejandra Anaya Dia are attending Pasadena City College this fall as PCF Scholars. The Pasadena Community Foundation will support each student at PCC for up to four years.
As students across the region head off to college this fall, a contingent of Pasadena Unified School District graduates is proudly donning backpacks to attend an institution right here in town — Pasadena City College — in a quest to achieve a quality higher education at a lesser cost. Continue reading “PCF Scholars Find Nonprofits Have Their Back at PCC”
