FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2003

Contact:
David Littlefield, TCWF
(818) 702-1900

TCWF GRANTEES OFFER HEALTH AND WELLNESS INFORMATION AT L.A. TIMES FESTIVAL OF HEALTH

Broad Range of Services Highlighted at TCWF Pavilion

Los Angeles — Three nonprofit organizations funded by The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) will participate in the fifth annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness. The free event is open to the public and will be held Saturday and Sunday, October 4-5, at the University of Southern California’s University Park campus.

The participating organizations are Bienestar Human Services, Inc.; Great Beginnings for Black Babies; and Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero. As a major sponsor of the festival, TCWF has arranged for the organizations to present their health information at the Foundation’s pavilion.

Festival attendance has increased each year since its inception in 1999. Last year, the Festival drew some 65,000 attendees, and an even larger crowd is expected this year, as the Festival will feature a variety of panels, information booths and speakers.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness, an event that underscores the importance of bringing people together around health topics,” said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. “The outstanding grantees participating in this year’s festival are dedicated to improving the health of their communities. Their work benefits diverse and often underserved communities of Los Angeles.”

Founded in 1989, Bienestar Human Services provides HIV/AIDS prevention and care services for Latino communities in eight areas throughout Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and San Diego. Bienestar provides educational programs on sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol and substance abuse, violence, domestic violence, women’s health and nutrition. Other services include street outreach, counseling and testing, information and referral, a food bank and a needle exchange. Bienestar’s programs most directly serve men and women living with HIV/AIDS, children and families of those living with HIV/AIDS, underserved Spanish-speaking immigrants, those without health insurance, substance users, those living below the federal poverty level and the homeless.

Working for the past 13 years to reduce the high incidence of low-birthweight infants and infant and maternal mortality, Great Beginnings for Black Babies serves some of the poorest, most densely populated and medically underserved areas in South Central Los Angeles. The community-based organization provides prenatal care information and education through outreach, case management, mentoring, special events and media. It also offers social support and empowerment workshops, homeless support services and after-school education and sports programs.

Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero was established in 1983 by members of the Central American refugee community and their supporters to provide care to those who had no other options for health care, and it continues to offer free health and dental care, comprehensive health education, and related support services to the underserved. Primarily serving the Latino immigrant community in the Pico-Union/Westlake area and Boyle Heights, Clinica Romero provides primary medical and dental care; immunizations; screenings; classes in parenting; HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention; tobacco cessation, and alcohol and other substance abuse prevention; as well as community outreach and organizing work through computer training to neighborhood activists.

The California Wellness Foundation is an independent, private foundation created in 1992, with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.

The Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: diversity in the health professions, environmental health, healthy aging, mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, women's health, and work and health. It also provides funding for special projects that fall outside the eight health issue areas.  Since its first year of operation, TCWF has awarded 3,267 grants totaling approximately $412 million.  It is one of the state's largest private foundations, making an average of $40 million in grants each year in pursuit of its mission.

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Note to reporters & editors: "The" in The California Wellness Foundation name is part of the Foundation's legal name. Please do not drop or lowercase the "T."