The Pleasanton North Rotary (PNR) Foundation awarded grants Nov. 5th recognizing three Tri-Valley social service organizations that combat homelessness, provide emotional support to vulnerable children and help single mothers address challenges complicating their families’ lives.
At left, Kimberly Curtis, LCSW, executive director of Goodness Village, accepts a check for a $2000 grant from PNR Foundation President Darcy DeCoite and PNR President Michael Cherman. Her organization is responsible for an ambitious project that has put roofs over the heads of the homelessness in the Tri-Valley. Goodness Village is a 28-unit tiny home project that houses formerly homeless families. The houses were built on former farm/ranch property shared with the Crossroads Church, south of Interstate-580 in Livermore.
Goodness Village also provides social services to prevent its residents from sliding back into homelessness. The grant will pay for about a month of 24-hour service support and practical skill development for one individual who lives on the property, Curtis said.
During a recent site tour, PNR Member Larry Carrillo identified potential hands-on projects, including a barn renovation for our club.
At left, Mark Fisher, community pastor with Seek & Save, accepts checks for $2300 grant from DeCoite and Cherman for the non-profit’s work with at-risk youth. Clients include homeless teens, physically and emotionally abused children and adolescents, young victims of human trafficking, gang members, incarcerated kids and unaccompanied immigrant children.
Working on a tight budget, Fisher and his colleagues find these children, befriend them and over time help meet their need for food, clothing, shelter, education, and spiritual and emotional guidance.
Fisher received two checks from our foundation, one will support two women Seek & Save adopted in the African country of Kenya. The other will help the service to continue serving vulnerable and victimized youth in the Tri-Valley with tangible expressions of love and care.
At left, Christine Beitsch-Bahmani , CEO of CityServe of the Tri-Valley, accepts a grant check for $2000 from DeCoite and Cherman for social services assisting at-risk residents who live in poverty and the edge of homelessness.
Founded in 2009, CityServe now provides human services for the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton. It served over 1600 Tri-Valley families in the past month, Beitsch-Bahmani said. The grant will help relieve some of the pressure that has accrued for CityServe staff and volunteers from the recent, growing demand for CityServe’s services.
Under Beitsch-Bahmani’s leadership, CityServe is expanding its services and moving to new facilities. It is launching Season of Serving (S.O.S.), a new platform for programs, which place more emphasis on volunteerism, the core of its original mission. A new Care Advocacy program will train community volunteers to assist its care coordinators, and a new office at the Pleasanton Senior Center, opening Nov. 15th, will be staffed seven days a week with a coordinator providing rental assistance and other services.
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