Community Link
A newsletter of Napa Valley Community Foundation  
October 2016 - Holiday Grab Bag
Today is Halloween. Soon after the last piece of candy has been eaten, our minds will be filled with thoughts of turkey and gratitude, candles and miracles, tinsel and new beginnings.
 
As we look toward this holiday season, we start to reflect on our hopes--on all that we have, and what some others don't have. Here at Napa Valley Community Foundation, we also reflect on all the good work that happens year-round in our community in service of those in need.
 
In that spirit, one of our traditions is to bring you a "grab bag" of funding ideas for your consideration, in anticipation of the holiday season.
 
This year's grab bag is chock-full of projects that have been fully vetted by us, and all have funding gaps that need closing. Since we have several this year, we're publishing short versions of each story below. We hope you'll click to read the full write-ups about these local programs, and how you can help. 
 
If you'd like to support any of them and have a giving Fund with us, you can recommend a grant by logging into your DonorCentral account from the homepage on our website. Or, you can fax us a completed grant recommendation form at 254.7955.  Please note that grant recommendations received by 5 p.m. on December 6 will be mailed to the grantees by December 31.
 
You also can give directly to any of these organizations by contacting their Executive Directors.
 
With best wishes for a joyful season,
 
Julia DeNatale & Marla Tofle
Philanthropic Services Staff
Service dogs offer help, protection and comfort to veterans with PTSD
Organization: Canine Guardians Assistance Dogs (Canine Guardians)
What's needed: $2,500 for costs of veterinary care and medical supplies
People served: 19 foster puppy parents, 19 permanent companions
What they do: Canine Guardians launched in 2014 with the mission to breed and train service dogs, and then place the trained dogs with a permanent companion, like veterans with PTSD, disabled diabetics, or children with cancer. Before the dog is placed in a permanent home, it spends 18-24 months with a volunteer foster parent (called "puppy parents") that trains the animal to be an unobtrusive helpmate to its eventual companion. Read more.
Caregivers of chronically ill family members get emotional support 
Organization: Collabria Care (formerly known as Napa Valley Hospice & Adult Day Services)
What's needed: $10,000 for the Collabria Day Program (CDP)
People served: 184 patients, 1,200 people through patient and caregiver classes & support groups 
What they do: CDP is a licensed day-time facility that offers nursing care, rehabilitative therapies, and social engagement for adults with chronic illness and/or dementia.  Typical patients have functional limitations that require a high level of supervision--for example, they are wheelchair-bound and have dementia--but they still live at home, where one or more family members serve as a primary caregiver. Read more.
Tots and parents use play to prepare for preschool
What's needed: $12,000 for the Active Minds program
People served: 25 youngsters, 20 parents
What they do: CRC's Active Minds program fosters school-readiness among two-to-three-year olds by teaching parents how to model natural exploration and learning. The philosophy behind this evidence-based approach is that parents are a child's first--and most important--teacher. Read more.
Kids learn the art of self-expression through live performance
What's needed: $6,000 for scholarships for kids to participate in Cafeteria Kids Theater (CKT)
People served: 600 kids, ages 4-18
What they do: The nonprofit was formed in 2014 by two professionally-trained actors and directors, both of whom had been working in Napa County schools. They saw a lack of nonprofit kids' theater programs and formed CKT, which is Napa Valley's only nonprofit theater that works solely with youth ages 3-18. Read more.
Elderly residents get assessed for cognitive health, in the privacy of their home
Organization: Mentis (formerly known as Family Service of Napa Valley)
What's needed: $25,000 for the Healthy Minds Healthy Aging (HMHA) program
People Served: 130 low-income, elderly residents
What they do: HMHA provides behavioral and cognitive health prevention and early intervention services to low-income, isolated residents ages 60 and older, with particular emphasis on Spanish-speaking seniors. Read more.
Adults learn to read and write, with help from their community members
What's needed: $10,000 for the Adult Literacy program
People served: 300 adult learners, 100 adult volunteers
What they doNearly 15,000 Napa County residents are functionally illiterate, which means they cannot read or write well enough to deal with the daily demands of life in our society. The Library's Adult Literacy program offers free assistance to those that read and write below eighth-grade level. Read more.
At-risk teens learn to say "no" to drugs and violence by building self-esteem
What's needed: $10,000 for support of the Mariposa and Bridging Brothers programs
People served: 160 teen girls, 60 teen boys
What they doNCOE offers two afterschool programs--one for girls and one for boys--that target at-risk, primarily Latino, middle and high school kids. Mariposa (for girls) and Bridging Brothers are offered at: public middle and high school campuses in Napa with large numbers of students from low-income families. Read more.
Low-income folks eat fresh from the farm
What's needed$7,500 for the Farmers Market Token Match Program
People served400 low-income households
What they do: Napa Farmers Market runs every Tuesday and Saturday from early May through late October, and serves as a community gathering space where residents can purchase fresh food, and support local growers and small businesses. Read more. 
Group therapy. Group of people sitting close to each other and communicating.
Neighbors help neighbors end the cycle of poverty
What's needed: $10,000 for fiscal sponsorship of the Napa Circles Initiative
People served: 16 low-income Circle Leaders, 32 volunteer Allies
What they do: Napa Circles Initiative is a community-based approach to helping people move out of poverty. Their model differs from the more traditional and transactional way of addressing immediate, basic needs. Instead, Napa Circles, which is based on the Circles USA model used in nearly 70 communities nationwide, builds peer-to-peer relationships between those in the middle class and those in poverty. Read more.
Neighbors work together to feed the hungry
OrganizationNapa Valley CanDO (CanDO)
What's needed: $2,000 for the Napa Food Project
People served: 42 Neighborhood Coordinators, 410 food donors, 10,000 residents served by the Napa Food Bank
What they do: CanDO is an all-volunteer community service group whose mission is to identify local projects that inspire and encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved.  A group of Napa residents started CanDO in 2008, and the grassroots organization received its official designation as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2012. Read more.
Parents of kids with disabilities get needed support
What's needed: $20,000 for general support
Number of people served: 1,108 families (which equals 3,773 family members)
What they doPCAN supports parents to cope with their child's disability--be it developmental, physical or behavioral/mental--so families are able to: identify whether their child has a developmental delay or disability (like autism); and, advocate that their child receives both the best care possible from medical professionals, as well as appropriate educational experiences at school. Read more.
Local volunteers heal injured critters
What's needed: $25,000 for the permanent clinic capital campaign
Number of people served: 140 volunteers, and 1,200 wild birds, raptors and animals
What they do: WRCNC was established in 1991 and is the only Napa County organization licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game to treat and rehabilitate injured, ill or orphaned wildlife, and then release the healthy critters back into their native habitat. WRCNC also happens to be a nonprofit that relies on an all-volunteer crew and Board, plus veterinarians that donate space and services, to carry out its mission. Read more.
Napa Valley Community Foundation