Inland Empire groups get $215,000 from Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation – Redlands Daily Facts

Eleven Inland Empire groups will share in $215,000 in grants awarded through a doctor’s foundation.

The Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation is supporting the organizations, which work to improve the health and wellbeing of underserved communities, women and families in the region.

Created by physician and philanthropist Dr. Guillermo Valenzuela, the foundation has handed out nearly $2 million since it began seven years ago.

“It is an honor to assist these critical community partners who share our foundation’s commitment to providing  opportunity and support to the underserved and under-resourced in the Inland Empire,” Valenzuela said in a statement.

This year’s grants were given at the foundation’s Sept. 7 luncheon in San  Bernardino. The awards ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 each, a news release states.

The recipients are:

• Catholic Charities San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, which contributes money for caseworkers to improve the health of 100 low-income women and their families.
• Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine, which runs a Women’s Wellness healthcare program that offers medical supplies and laboratory testing.
• Desert Sanctuary, Inc.,  which offers residential and community-based services for domestic violence survivors.
• Motivating Action Leadership Opportunity, which organizes the community to better understand the local Tongan communities’ needs.
• Music Changing Lives, which runs music and art programs along with providing academic support for  vulnerable students.
• OneFuture Coachella Valley, which assists disadvantaged Coachella Valley students to help them attain undergraduate and post-graduate education in healthcare careers.
• Reach Out and the Inland Health Professions Coalition, which will stage the 2023 Health Professions Conference, and for interns’ stipends in the White Coat program.
• Sahaba Initiative, which aims to expand mental health services to Inland Empire residents, especially Muslim individuals, couples, families, youths and children.
• Southern California Public Radio, which provides news coverage of health and quality-of-life issues.
• Ujima, Inc., which awards scholarships to African American medical students at Western University of Health  Sciences in Pomona, UC Riverside’s School of Medicine, the Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont and the California University of Science and Medicine to address racial health disparities.
• Youth Mentoring Action Network, which operates a Youth Wellness Collaborative, a partnership that  provides support, health and wellness services to marginalized youths.