Victims of domestic abuse, indigent and foster children—especially those with special needs—wheelchair users, and people suffering from mental illness are among those who benefited from grants from The Community Foundation’s “Field of Interest” funds. A total of almost $170,000 was given to 17 nonprofit organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino County from the five funds. Field of Interest funds are established by donors who wish to support a specific type of cause or a specific geographic area.

Seraphim Fund - Aids women and children, including the economically disadvantaged, victims of domestic abuse, and those suffering from physical or mental illness or substance abuse.

Camp Alandale.  Camp Alandale serves abused and neglected children who live in group homes, foster homes, and emergency shelters. Their mission is to give these children the experience of being loved, and to break the cycle of abuse that is continued from parent to child. The children are referred to Camp Alandale by County Social Services.  The $7,200 grant will pay for the cost of sending 24 children to winter and summer camp sessions.

Lutheran Social Services of Southern California (LSSSC). LSSSC offers a variety of programs to low income, abandoned, and abused populations in the Yucca Valley, Big Bear, and Victorville areas. The $6,160 grant will support their “Survivors Offer Solidarity” program, a 12-week support group and training workshop for victims of domestic violence. The program focuses on long-term support and transition to independent living rather than temporary shelter.

Mental Health Systems, Inc. Mental Health Systems provides mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services to low-income people. They provide case management and work closely with government agencies to get comprehensive services for their clients, all of whom are low income. The $10,000 grant will help provide emergency assistance at the Riverside, Hemet, and Indio centers in the form of bus passes for transportation, and cash for needs such as immediate medical attention, food, shelter, clothing, diapers, and baby formula.

Option House, Inc. Option House provides 24-hour crisis intervention, shelter, transitional housing, outreach, legal services, information, and counseling to family violence victims. They operate the only domestic violence shelter serving women and children in the Central Valley region of San Bernardino County. The $8,000 grant will help provide counseling services to women who are victims of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse.

Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center (RARCC). The RARCC serves women and children in western Riverside County. In addition to providing support to victims of sexual assault, the Center works to strengthen and enrich families to protect children from abuse. The $8,000 grant will support a program to deliver in-school presentations on child abuse prevention, self-defense classes, and printed materials for young children. 

Victor Valley Domestic Violence, Inc. The mission of the organization is to advocate for and assist women and children victimized by domestic violence by providing shelter and support programs, and to contribute to social change through intervention, prevention, education, and community awareness. The $8,890 grant will pay for counseling services for women and children who are the victims of domestic violence.

Fred and Eva V. Stebler Fund – Provides for the treatment and care of indigent children in Riverside County, with a strong emphasis on children with special needs. 

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH). The LLUCH includes a specialized craniofacial center to treat infants with the birth defects cleft lip and cleft palate. Babies born with cleft palate need modified feeding bottles until they are eligible for corrective surgery at the age of about 12 months. These bottles cost $25 each, and new infants require between six and ten bottles per day, an expense many families cannot afford. The $10,952 grant will provide these bottles to low income families.

Operation SafeHouse, Inc. Operation SafeHouse provides emergency shelter, intervention, and outreach services to runaway, homeless, and other youth ages 12 through 17 who are in crisis. It is the only 24-hour emergency shelter of its kind in Riverside County, helping about 600 children each year through a structured 14-day program consisting of daily individual, group, and family counseling sessions, and continuing support groups after the sessions end. The $10,000 grant will help provide these counseling and intervention services.

Walden Family Services. Walden Family Services, which covers most of Southern California, has served the foster care needs of abused, neglected, developmentally disabled, or otherwise at-risk youth ages 0 to 18 for more than 30 years. The goal of their Independent Futures program is to help children aging out of the foster care system gain the skills to successfully transition from foster care to adulthood. The program provides hands-on training in money management, employment skills, and setting educational goals. The $19,848 grant will help launch an Independent Futures program in Riverside to serve up to 30 children annually.

James Bernard and Mildred Jordan Tucker Fund- Benefits wheelchair users.

Community Access Center.  The Community Access Center is an independent living center whose mission is to empower people with disabilities to control their own lives. The $6,639 grant will help fund the RAMP program (Residential Accessibility Modification Program), which provides the materials and services for home modifications such as wheelchair ramps, mechanical lifts, grab bars, door widening, door handle adaptation, and roll-in showers.

Orange Empire Railway Museum. The museum has been in Perris since 1958, offering visitors a close-up look at historic rail streetcars, interurban electric cars, diesel and steam locomotives, passenger cars, freight cars, and cabooses. The $7,000 grant will purchase a wheelchair lift to give the disabled access to the historic trains for lectures, tours, and rides.

Pomona Valley Workshop. The Workshop was founded 40 years ago by parents of disabled adult children who wanted to ensure them a full and productive life. They now provide vocational training, independence training, and community involvement programs for clients throughout western Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The $25,000 grant will pay for a wheelchair accessible ramp at the main training facility.

Stroke Recovery Center. The Stroke Recovery Center, located in the Coachella Valley, serves the needs of people living with the consequences of stroke and provides support for their families.  The $20,000 grant will pay for three automatic, sliding doors to allow easy access for clients who are in wheelchairs or otherwise impaired.

Bank of America-Hemet Community Benefit Fund – Benefits the residents of the city of Hemet.

Central County United Way. This program brings together senior citizens—“foster grandparents”—with at-risk elementary school children in the San Jacinto Valley who show a need for individual attention and tutoring. The foster grandparents work with their students in the classrooms after school. Volunteers spend 20 hours a week working with their foster “grandchildren,” focusing primarily on reading. A secondary benefit of this program is to provide the volunteers, who are low-income senior citizens, with the opportunity to become more involved and active in the community. The $5,000 grant will help pay for the volunteers’ transportation and other expenses.

Hemet Hospice Volunteers, Inc. The Hospice Volunteers provides funding and services for the terminally ill and their families. The Happy Hearts Kids Camp was developed three years ago to help school age children who have suffered the loss of a loved one. At the weekend camp, children are given the opportunity to express their grief in a supportive environment, as well as help from counselors trained in bereavement and from other children who are going through the same experience. The camp also provides fun activities such as hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing. The $6,480 grant will help pay for the camp facilities at Paradise Valley Ranch in Hemet, as well as camp activities.

Irene S. Rockwell Fund - Benefits the residents of the city of Perris.

Perris Valley Historical & Museum Association. The museum  was established in 1964 to gather, protect, and preserve the history of the Perris Valley. It is run entirely by volunteer staff. The $6,816 grant will pay for upgrading the office equipment and permanent files to preserve the artifact collections and records.

YMCA of Riverside City and County. The YMCA will work with the City of Perris to provide swim lessons at the Perris city pool to over 2000 children and adults over a two-month period. The goal of the program is to prevent drowning and other swimming accidents through training in swimming skills and water safety. The $3,408 grant will help subsidize the cost of the lessons so that they can be offered at a reduced rate.