Dignity Health donates to Sacramento nonprofits
Dignity Health has announced the distribution of more than $1 million this year to over 30 communitybased organizations in Nevada, Sacramento and Yolo counties in an effort to meet community health needs outside hospital walls.
The grants are funding an array of different projects but all have one common goal — to assist those most vulnerable in the region, from low-income, under-insured/uninsured individuals to human-trafficking survivors, according to officials.
“At Dignity Health, we have a long history of partnering with others in the community to improve people’s quality of life because we understand health and wellness does not begin within our hospitals,” said Laurie Harting, Greater Sacramento Division president of Dignity Health. “These grants continue to be an important extension of the work done in our care facilities and a way to help us care for the whole person through unique collaborations.”
In total, Dignity Health funded 15 projects, but it considers only grant proposals that come from at least three collaborating organizations.
“Our work in community grants is an extension of our mission as an organization,” said Dignity Health Community Health and Outreach Manager, Phoua Moua. “Using a holistic approach, innovation and collaboration are used to ultimately increase the continuum of care for our patients and the communities we serve beyond the hospital walls.”
Dignity Health conducts a needs assessment every three years in each county to determine priorities for giving.
Moua works with nonprofits receiving the grants to ensure they are successful and encourages returning organizations to make enhancements to their programs in an effort to continuously challenge themselves and evolve.
As was the case with the Food Literacy Center this year who teamed up with the Health Education Council to reach their students’ parents as part of the FEAST program, which inspires students at Sacramento’s low-income elementary schools to eat fresh and locally-sourced fruits and vegetables.
“At Food Literacy Center we inspire kids to eat their veggies, which sets them up for a lifetime of healthy habits, said Founding Executive Director, Amber Stott. “All the partners funded by this grant provide our programs for free to the five low-income schools we serve, reaching students at highest risk for diet-related diseases. Building partnerships like we have with Health Education Council takes time, and very few grants are large enough to fund all the partners collectively. We’re grateful that Dignity Health recognizes existing nonprofit partnerships as valuable.”
Grant projects address issues affecting children all the way through the various communities’ senior population.