Barton Foundation and Barton Health’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) gave more than $26,000 in grants to help several South Lake Tahoe groups who are in constant need of medical funding and services. The Foundation received 22 grant proposals and nine were awarded at Barton’s second annual Grant Awards luncheon on National Philanthropy Day on Friday, Nov. 5 at Riva Grill.
Lake Tahoe Children’s Dental Coalition received $10,000 – the greatest amount of the nine recipients. Margaret McKean, District Nurse for Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD), wrote the grant on behalf of the dental coalition.
“We have been working with the CAC on how we can address the dental needs of the children in our community,” McKean said. “Right now we are trying to fix all of the (dental) damage that has been done.” The grant will help educate both children and their parents.
“This year we are targeting health education with children in kindergarten through fifth grade with LTUSD, St. Theresa Catholic School and Zephyr Cove Elementary,” she said. “It’s really a nationwide issue even with families who have insurance, dental care is usually the last thing to be addressed.”
Last year, Barton Foundation awarded Tahoe Magic $10,000 for hospital dentistry services for children with extreme dental cases and McKean took part in identifying and coordinating the services with Wendy David of Tahoe Magic.
“This is CAC’s second year and we are progressively educating one-another about what services Lake Tahoe’s agencies offer and what health needs persist,” said Kindle Craig, executive director, Barton Foundation. “Together we are creating a common understanding and addressing the “holes” within our community.”
2010 Barton Health Grant Recipients:
- Lake Tahoe Children’s Dental Coalition “Health Education for Children and Families.” $10,000
- We Can! “Funding for the Spanish Language Learning Program” $7,500
- Police Activities League “Local Youth Programs” $1,500
- Tahoe Youth and Family Services “The Backpack Buddies Program” for at-risk youth $ 1,500
- Family Resource Center “Nutritional Snacks and Education for Latino Youth” $1,500
- Bijou Community School “Equipment for Physical Education Classes” $1,415 and $900 for the Walk-A-Thon prizes
- Sports Connection “Funding for Local Youth to Participate in Athletic Programs” $1,000
- NAMI “Funding for medications of mentally ill patients.” $1,000