Ford Motor Company Fund Contributes $50,000 to Ventura County Community Foundation

VENTURA COUNTY, CA – In a recent announcement, the Ford Motor Company Fund has committed $150,000 in financial assistance to organizations providing wildfire relief support across the state. The Ventura County Community Foundation, which has served as a central hub for donations in response to the Woolsey Fire, was selected by Ford to receive one-third of those funds.

“The Ventura County Community Foundation has been blessed to receive an outpouring of financial support from funders both big and small to assist in Hill and Woolsey Fire recovery efforts,” said Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF’s Executive Director. “The Ford Fund’s extremely generous $50,000 contribution will allow us to provide ongoing child care and hospice support to affected families, emergency equipment funding, and assistance with animal security and safety.”

For its part, the Ford Fund is also donating $50,000 to the Cal Fire Foundation for the Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency (SAVE) program, which covers the entire state and provides $250 gift cards to people who have lost their homes or been severely affected by the fires. The Salvation Army – Del Oro Division will also receive $50,000 to assist people impacted by the massive Camp Fire in northern California.

“When disaster strikes, we know firsthand that families and communities are torn apart, including members of our own workforce,” said Kyle Green, coordinator, Ford Motor Company Fund. “This contribution to VCCF is part of our broader effort to give back to the people and families of California in their time of need.”

The Ventura County Community Foundation has granted more than $664,000 since the start of the Hill and Woolsey fires, including:

$150,000 to the Pacific Coast and Ventura County Chapter of the American Red Cross (Red Cross) for an Emergency Response Vehicle
$115,000 to the Red Cross for Ventura County Recovery Coordination
$146,250 to the Red Cross for General Operations Support
$1,394 to Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship for Evacuation expenses for horses, additional staffing, fuel for trailers, stall cleaning
$10,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley for expenses related to serving children during school closures, club clean-up, and counseling services
$30,000 total to KCLU Public Radio (California Lutheran University) with $20,000 to replace damaged main transmitter and supporting equipment and an additional $10,000 for matching funds for the campaign to replace equipment, which they met.
$5,000 to 805 Help to support their immediate response to bring online access to our community during the fires
$15,000 to Senior Concerns for adult daycare, meals, and support for our community’s seniors who were evacuated and need care
$5,350 to Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association to help cover costs associated with evacuations of those on hospice
$7,000 to the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club to cover costs associated with emergency childcare needs due to school closures
$9,500 to the Southeast Ventura YMCA to cover costs associated with emergency childcare needs due to school closures
$1,827 to Mark Watring Stables for the evacuation of 43 horses, hauling of feed and water supplies, and overtime
$25,000 to the Economic Development Collaborative for General Operations Support as they serve business owners impacted by the fires
$21,500 to Cal State Channel Islands Foundation to feed and house students evacuated by the fires
$500 to Cal Lutheran University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership to sponsor a free webinar entitled “Fundraising in Response to a Community Crisis”
$121,000 for the Southeast Ventura County YMCA to provide individual assistance to families affected by the fires.

“VCCF has been called into duty over the past few weeks in ways that we couldn’t have imagined,” said Ms. Bechtel. “Just like so many others, we’ll continue to do everything possible to support our neighbors in need as we also seek to build a more tight-knit and resilient Ventura County.”

For more information or to donate, please contact Vanessa Bechtel at 805-330-6676.