Foundation Donates $485,000 to 12 Local Organizations
Read the full story below or on the VC Star website.
The Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation announced 12 grants totaling $485,000 to provide support in the areas of youth development, senior services, basic needs, the arts, veteran services, dental care, mental health, philanthropic services and scholarships.
Since joining the Ventura County Community Foundation as a support organization in 1994, the Smith Foundation has awarded more than 250 grants totaling more than $16 million to a vast array of organizations reflecting diverse interests with the common goal of improving the community and enhancing the lives of those who live in it.
“In supporting these organizations, we aim to strengthen the community and lift up vulnerable people in Ventura County. We believe there’s no better way to honor our parents,” said Margie Tegland, Smith Foundation chair and daughter of the late Martin V. “Bud” and Martha Smith.
Recipients include:
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard & Port Hueneme: $100,000 to improve the quality of the club experience while providing programs and services to youths and teens in the Oxnard/Port Hueneme communities.
- CAREGIVERS: Volunteers Assisting the Elderly: $30,000 for the expansion of the core program to sustain and grow volunteer practical care, support and transportation for frail and/or homebound, low-income seniors in Oxnard Plain region.
- DRAGG Inc.: A $50,000 matching grant to fund the creation of the Smith Foundation program director, who will ensure the future success of the program by taking command of daily operations, increasing donations and expanding opportunities for local youths.
- FOOD Share: $25,000 to provide core operating support to sustain elevated level of service while working on long-term poverty alleviation.
- Gold Coast Veterans Foundation: A $40,000 matching grant to fund two new positions in order to meet the growing demand for services from veterans: a veterans resource coordinator and an employment program assistant.
- Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association: $20,000 to support the Bereavement and Hospice Services Project for Seniors in Oxnard, which provides access to Camarillo Hospice’s programs of practical and emotional support and counseling.
- Museum of Ventura County: $50,000 for general operating support to help the museum pursue its mission to celebrate the history, art and culture of Ventura County and the Channel Islands.
- Salvation Army – Oxnard: $40,000 to support the Oxnard Dental Clinic, which provides free care to low-income and uninsured families and individuals, as well as resources and education aimed at reducing long-term oral health risks in the community.
- Terra Marine Research and Education Inc.: $50,000 to support the creation of a research center and educational museum to be built adjacent to the Museum of Ventura County that will focus on the history of the California Channel Islands.
- Turning Point Foundation: $25,000 for the Wooley House Permanent Supported Housing Program in Oxnard, which provides permanent supportive housing with mental health support for individuals in Oxnard who are homeless and mentally ill.
- TEACh Scholarship Fund: $25,000 to provide scholarships for education and training to Ventura County youths who are or have been in foster care.
- Ventura County Community Foundation: $30,000 to support a new position, donor services officer, to build a donor services model and assist in the administrative support for family foundations and donor funds.
The Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation was established by Martin V. “Bud” Smith and his wife, Martha, with the mission “To enhance the quality of life for the residents of Ventura County.”