Glendale Memorial Hospital gives out $114,000 in community grants
Seven local nonprofits received a total of $114,000 on Thursday from Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center to provide a variety of services for the homeless, developmentally disabled and less-fortunate in the community.
Through the hospital’s annual “Community Grants Program,” varied amounts of money were given to Ascencia, the city of Glendale’s Commission on the Status of Women, Corporation for Supportive Housing, GAR, Glendale Community Free Health Clinic, Glendale Healthy Kids and the YWCA of Glendale.
Glendale Memorial’s parent company, Dignity Health, has doled out a total of $47 million to nonprofits in California, Nevada and Arizona since 1990, according to Sonia Solin, director of marketing, communications and media relations for the 334-bed local hospital.
“I think it’s wonderful. The idea is for us to be supportive and integrated,” Solin said. “Part of the Dignity Health mission is to be in service.”
For Sandy Doughty, executive director of GAR — an organization that provides services and opportunities for about 128 adults with developmental disabilities — the $16,000 grant will enable her group to hire a much-needed vocational instructor.
“Our instructor works with our clients on vocational training. Basically, money management, time telling, street safety, hygiene, health, exercise and healthy eating,” Doughty said. “Because of their disability, they need ongoing reminders.”
She said this is the third year GAR has benefited from the hospital’s generosity.
“Because we’re a nonprofit, we depend a lot on grants and donations to help make up the difference in our state funding,” Doughty said. “Our mission is to make them as independent as possible, to give them the skills they need so they can go out and find jobs and be part of the community, like you and I.”
The all-volunteer Glendale Community Free Health Clinic provided free health services to 4,200 people last year, according to Sylvia Lofftus, the clinic’s manager. Glendale Memorial’s $20,000 grant will help her organization serve even more people in the coming year.
“Everything that we take in goes directly back to patient care. No one is paid on our staff, everyone volunteers. All the money that comes in is, in turn, used for medications, lab tests, X-rays, anything that we need to put out for our patients,” Lofftus said.
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