Dreams Come Alive
More than 300 volunteers from the city of Anaheim, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim Family YMCA and the community joined KaBOOM! on Jan. 26 to build the city’s first ramped playground with features accessible for children with disabilities. It was built in six hours at Barton Park in Anaheim, and it’s the 11th Disney-sponsored KaBOOM! playground in the city.
“This event is a great example of why all of us at the Disneyland Resort are so proud to call Anaheim home,” said Josh D’Amaro, president of the Disneyland Resort. “The collaboration between nonprofit organizations, the city of Anaheim, the Disneyland Resort and local residents is truly inspiring.”
The play area includes unique equipment and features that allow children to play together regardless of ability, including a merry-go-round style platform called a Unity Spinner with seatbelts for wheelchairs. Other features include accessible swings and a new age teeter-totter called a Teeter Tunnel that helps children transfer out of a wheelchair and onto the teeter. Several features were also included for visually impaired children such as braille panels.
“Working with Disney and the city of Anaheim, the Anaheim Family YMCA is proud to be a contributing organization to these worthwhile projects that strengthen the Anaheim community and its residents,” said Dr. Rick Martens, chief executive of the Anaheim Family YMCA. “For our many staff members and volunteers, this type of service is always a rewarding experience.”
Making a Difference
Antis Roofing & Waterproofing wrapped up 2018 with more than $775,000 in financial and in-kind charitable gifts. Donation highlights include $140,000 in cash sponsorships to nonprofit organizations, more than $203,000 in grants from the Antis Foundation, funding 20,000 seats to Ducks hockey games for nonprofits, and more than 1300 volunteer hours.
This year also marks a 10-year relationship with Habitat for Humanity. Since 2009, Antis Roofing & Waterproofing has donated $1 million in roofs to the nonprofit.
Sign on the Line
Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised nearly $220,000 for the firm’s Signature Fund for Giving. The money will be distributed among various charities including: A Place Called Home, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Toberman Neighborhood Center and Second Story.
“It is a privilege to be the leader of an organization that prioritizes giving back to our local communities, not only during the holiday season, but year-round,” said SEIA President and Chief Executive Brian Holmes. “The charities we choose to work with are extraordinary supporters of those in need with a focus on mentoring and providing for youth, a cause that SEIA strongly believes in supporting.”
Creating the Solution
Tustin-based Priority Workforce, a staffing company that places more than 25,000 employees at 650 companies annually, launched a nonprofit called Off the Street, Back to Work, or OTSBTW, to help those living on the streets.
Operating as a separate entity, OTSBTW finds and secures meaningful jobs for the homeless and formerly homeless that matches their skills, including blue-collar, administrative, and management posts. The goal is to engender a constant sense of inspiration for these once homeless individuals, so they can be motivated to lead more stable, productive lives.
Bits & Pieces
Cox Charities awarded $65,000 in “Innovation in Education” grants to 23 schools throughout Cox Communications’ Orange County service area to fund innovative programs for students in grades K-12, including skills-based learning, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Mathematics), digital literacy and cyber citizenship. … Longtime Orange County nonprofit executive Lisa Fujimoto has been named executive director of the Child Abuse Prevention Center, where she will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration and fundraising. … The OC Food Bank hosted its 20th Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 21, where nearly 1,000 volunteers opted to “Take a Day On, Not a Day Off” in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s lifelong commitment to community service. OC Food Bank is part of Community Action Partnership of Orange County’s program. … Human Options was recently awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to fund additional bilingual legal services in family law and other matters for 420 victims over the next three years.
