The trustees of the Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation have awarded grants totaling $530,000 to 11 local non-profit organizations providing remote and in-person services to youth and adolescents during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $125,000, and were allocated as follows:
● $50,000 to the Assistance League of Ventura County to provide special education and therapeutic interventions to 30 special needs preschool children showing significant communication delays and non-verbal cognitive skills
● $75,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura for wrap-around support services for youth recovering from academic, social, emotional, and physical challenges associated with COVID-19 school closures; adding a Positive Action Social/Emotional Learning Program; relocating the Addison Club site in 2021-22; and opening a Teen Center in the Fall of 2021
● $125,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark and Simi Valley for Power Hour (homework help/tutoring), Triple Play (making healthy choices), and STEM (Science, Technology, English, and Math) programming
● $75,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley for on-site and virtual educational instruction; access to iPads for check-out to assist with programming or schoolwork; and subscription access to Buzz Math and MagicBlox to build and maintain math and reading skills
● $15,000 to the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation for group and individual mental health therapy; volunteers to provide assistance with homework, college applications, and scholarship opportunities; acquisition of a case manager; and Lexia Core5 and DreamBox reading and math software
● $25,000 to the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast to provide services building leadership, science, and math skills for approximately 410 low-income, predominantly Latina girls ages 5-17
● $75,000 to the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation to support six research studies in Hairy Cell Leukemia (blood cancer) and inform scientific research in other malignancies
● $10,000 to Many Mansions for online and in-person programming for 100 youth, including Homework Club, Camp Many Mansions, Youth Friday Enrichment, Teen Friday Enrichment, and supportive activities (Spring Fair, game nights, donation drives, and holiday events)
● $17,000 to Reins of H.O.P.E. for eight monthly horse therapy sessions for incarcerated youth at the Ventura County Juvenile Facilities in Oxnard
● $43,000 to the St. John’s Healthcare Foundation for the purchase of 10 new GE Monica Novii fetal monitors, which are non-invasive, waterproof, Bluetooth Wireless sensor patches that display fetal heart rate, maternal heart rate, and uterine activity
● $20,000 to the Ventura Police Community Foundation (formerly Ventura Police Activities League) for after-school program supplies (i.e., homework supplies, exercise and sports equipment, art and music supplies, and games)
Grants are awarded in the spring and fall of each year. The deadline for letters of interest for spring 2022 grants is September 30, 2021. For more information about the Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation, including instructions on how to apply for a grant, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.samuelssonfoundation.org.
The Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation was established in 2005 upon the death of Harriet H. Samuelsson, 96, an Oxnard philanthropist. The Foundation awards over $1 million in grants each year to: organizations providing services for the health, education, guidance, or welfare of Ventura County youth; St. John’s Regional Medical Center for the purchase, maintenance, and support of fetal monitors; and organizations conducting cancer research.
