10 Nonprofit Groups Receive Grants

WOODLAND HILLS — Ten local organizations providing everything from dental care to the poor to meals for the elderly on Wednesday were awarded grants of $5,000 each by the Los Angeles Times Valley and Ventura County editions.

The 1996 Community Partnership Awards, presented at a luncheon in Woodland Hills, recognize nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping the community, said Jeffrey S. Klein, senior vice president, consumer marketing for the Times.

“This is among the most valuable recognition we’ve ever achieved,” said Susan Kaplan, executive director of Friends of the Family in Van Nuys. “We see it as an award for work well done as much as it is a grant for future programming.” The group, which provides educational, social and health programs for young mothers and their babies, won an award in the Youth/Education Services category.

A panel of nine community and business leaders selected the recipients from more than 250 applications by nonprofit organizations based in or serving the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and Ventura County.

One of the judges, Luther Luedtke, president of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said the grant applications reflected a strong philanthropic spirit and demonstrated that “a love of humankind” is alive and well in the community.

Another judge, Louanne Kennedy, provost at Cal State Northridge, said, “This is an extraordinary tribute to extraordinary people in our region.”

Also honored was the Trudy & Norman Lewis Valley Shelter in North Hollywood, which received a grant in the Social Services category. The largest shelter in the San Fernando Valley area, it provides employment assistance, adult education and counseling to homeless families and individuals.

Common Cause and Concerns Inc. in Palmdale was also honored in that category for its Help’s House program, a transitional home for abused, chemically dependent and/or homeless women and children.

The Valley Community Clinic of North Hollywood will use its award in the Health Services category to help fund a pregnancy prevention program for young males.

For a dental clinic that provides care to poor, uninsured families, Meet Each Need with Dignity, MEND, of Pacoima received a grant in the Health Services category.

In the Youth/Education Services category, the College of the Canyons Foundation in Santa Clarita was honored for a program to familiarize Boys & Girls Club members with the college.

The Senior Nutrition Action Council in Camarillo, which delivers meals to homebound seniors, won an award in the Senior Citizen Services category.

Also for service to senior citizens, the Long Term Care Service of Ventura County in Ventura received a grant. The nonprofit organization provides advocates for elderly patients and residents of long-term care facilities to help protect them from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

Theater Arts Festival for Youth in Canoga Park was awarded in the Cultural Arts category for a theater arts education program for youth.

In the Environment/Ecology Services category, the Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley received a grant for an environmental awareness program.

The Community Partnership Awards, created by The Times seven years ago, have provided more than $350,000 to local nonprofit organizations.