News Release
The trustees of the Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation recently awarded grants totaling $630,000 to nine local non-profit organizations providing services to youth and adolescents in Ventura County. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $110,000, and were allocated as follows:
- $95,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura to provide $100 clothing gift cards, hygiene kits, school supplies, and two new books for 1,760 students in 47 Ventura County schools
- $110,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark and Simi Valley to fund youth development programs such as Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Power Hour, STEM (Science, Technology, English, Math), workforce development, teen leadership, civic engagement, academic support, and emotional wellness training for 1,517 youth in Moorpark and Simi Valley
- $75,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley to fund STEM (Science, Technology, English, Math) learning, including: 3D printing, green screen technology, Pro-Scope microscopes, Snap Circuits engineering and electronics, Sphero BOLT coding robots and VEX Robotics, as well as iPads loaded with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards applications
- $95,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Conejo Valley to add staff and intensify SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) and LEAP (Learning, Engagement, and Assistance Program) classes to assist youth facing stress, anxiety, disconnection, social isolation, and learning loss
- $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme for expanded Manadoob (puppet) training to assist youth with the processing of emotions; group and individual sobriety support; staff training in suicide prevention and intervention; plus continuation of academic, STEAM (Science, Technology, English, Arts, Math), and social skills programming
- $30,000 to City Impact for mentoring, case management, counseling, crisis intervention, educational support, social skills training, employment assistance, homework assistance, arts and crafts, and recreation activities for 1,000 at-risk youth at home, in schools and at community centers, and at the Juvenile Justice Facility
- $50,000 to the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation to purchase 2 Omnibed Carestations for a comfortable, controlled thermal environment for babies to heal, grow, and thrive
- $65,000 to Conejo Free Clinic for medical, dental, orthodontic, vision, and acne treatment services for 350 uninsured and underinsured children and teens in low-income families; plus partner with Glenwood Elementary School in Thousand Oaks for dental treatment and supplies for displaced Ukrainian and Russian refugees living in Ventura County
- $10,000 to Hospice of the Conejo to staff a therapist who will provide long-term grief support services for youth, as well as staff funding for the VolunTEEN program where high school students volunteer to assist seniors at home and in care facilities with activities, errands, and housework
Grants are awarded in the spring and fall of each year. The deadline for letters of interest for Spring 2024 grants is September 30, 2023. For more information about the Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation, including instructions on how to apply for a grant, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.samuelssonfoundation.org.
The Harriet H. Samuelsson Foundation was established in 2005 upon the death of Harriet H. Samuelsson, an Oxnard philanthropist, at age 96. The Foundation awards over $1 million in grants each year to organizations providing services for the health, education, guidance, or welfare of children under the age of 18 residing in Ventura County, to organizations conducting cancer research, and for the purchase and maintenance of fetal monitors at St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard.
