Dominican Awards Grants to Six Local Nonprofits

Annual Community Grants Program Provides $170,000 To Local Organizations

Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has awarded more than $170,000 in grants to six local nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Grants Program. Each of the nonprofits is dedicated to improving health and providing resources and support for the families, youth, and individuals in Santa Cruz County who are most in need.

“Central to Dominican’s mission is supporting the health and wellness of our community in meaningful, measurable ways,” said Dominican Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, MD. “The six organizations receiving these grants continually inspire us with the impactful work they do, and we are honored to help support them.”

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

• Dientes Community Dental Care: $40,000 to connect homeless individuals of all ages to a dental home, so that lack of dental care doesn’t stand in the way of finding employment, securing housing, and going to school.
• Digital NEST: $19,000 for the Food Enterprise program, which will provide economic security through vocational training for 50 youth participants; business development support in web and video for at least four local, food-related businesses; job creation and youth income; and the provision of at least 2,250 healthy meals to participating youth.
• Encompass Community Services: $30,000 for Project Bright Start, a program to prevent and address mental health emergencies among adolescents, reduce stigma, enhance capacity for service coordination, and increase parent capacity and skills to recognize and address needs.
• Homeless Services Center: $26,000 for the Recuperative Care Center to address the issue of homelessness in Santa Cruz County by providing health care services and links to community resources for homeless individuals at the conclusion of a hospitalization or ER visit.
• Janus of Santa Cruz: $40,000 for Project Unite, which will foster a more integrated approach to behavioral health and more efficient use of services through interagency collaboration and care coordination.
• RotaCare Bay Area: $16,000 for the Santa Cruz RotaCare Free Clinic, to market a program that addresses the health needs of the uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented populations of Santa Cruz County.

Dominican’s community grants were awarded at a luncheon event on Friday, Feb. 10 at Chaminade Resort & Spa. Since the early 1990s, community organizations have received nearly $2.5 million in grants from Dominican Hospital to promote the health and wellness of Santa Cruz County.