NOVATO -- The Marin Community Foundation said today that it distributed grants totaling $1 million to an array of nonprofits to help low-income older adults in Marin County.
Part of the foundation's strategic focus on successful aging, the grants will go toward services such as food delivery, community center programs and employment services, the foundation said.
Several grants will increase the ability of local nonprofits to provide case management services to older adults, the foundation said.
"This is a key component of helping maintain the independence of this population, since these agencies coordinate their clients' medical care, arrange for transportation, oversee in-home care, and help them access public assistance, " said Thomas Peters, president and chief executive officer of the foundation.
The grants include a number of projects in Marin that will provide volunteer opportunities to the county's older adults, as well as others that aim to engage volunteers in working with young people, helping with administrative tasks and serving as companions for other older adults, according to the foundation.
"These kinds of programs have multiple benefits," Mr. Peters said. "They reduce the risk of social isolation, they improve the volunteers' quality of life, and they are of tremendous value to the agencies themselves, given the budgeting challenges they face."
Grants from the Strategic Plan have funded services for more than 5,000 older adults in Marin, according to the foundation.
The grants are as follows:
-- Audubon Canyon Ranch: $16,200
-- Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership: $50,000
-- Dance Palace: $20,000
-- Episcopal Senior Communities: $70,000
-- Jewish Family Children's Services: $85,000
-- LifeLong Medical Care: $50,000
-- Marin Center for Independent Living: $20,000
-- Marin Villages: $30,000
-- Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services Foundations: $30,000
-- Novato Historical Guide: $20,000
-- San Geronimo Valley Community Center: $7,500
-- Senior Access: $75,000
-- Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay: $60,000
-- West Marin Senior Services: $20,000
-- Whistlestop: $200,000
-- YWCA of San Francisco + Marin: $85,000
