To celebrate its 10th year of community benefit funding, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento (SMCS) will award one of its community partners an additional $10,000 grant for 2011. The winner will be determined through online voting that will close on February 16. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) and 16 other local agencies are using social media to help garner the votes they need to win the additional grant money. "If the DSP is fortunate enough to be granted the additional funding, our organization plans to use it to fund homeless and youth outreach,” said Ryan Loofbourrow, DSP community services director, “Mental illness is one of the leading causes of homelessness. We would love

When children are brought into this world, the universal hope for them is a loving, supportive, healthy life, with loving parents, a good education, and every need met with the utmost satisfaction. The sad truth is that even in our own Sacramento community, children are placed into the foster care system. Child abuse, neglect, drug addiction, and poverty are only a few of the nightmares faced by many young members of our city. These kids never asked to be in these situations nor do they have much of a say as to what happens to them including where they live or where they go to school. This is where Sacramento Child Advocates comes in! They have Given a voice and protected the rights of ove

On November 21, 2009, the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities collaborative hosted two events in Oak Park and South Sacramento, designed to educate communities on the 10-year Building Healthy Communities (BHC) process. Earlier this year, the California Endowment awarded funding to 14 communities over ten years as part of their Building Healthy Communities program. This effort was designed to infuse at least $10 million into each community to bring about systemic change. The efforts are to be driven by four goals: • Health systems are family-centered and prioritize prevention. • Schools anchor communities, promote healthy behaviors and are a gateway for resources and services. • Human