FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 10, 2001

For further information, contact:
Susan G. Zepeda
Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 714-245-1650
Fax: 714-245-1653

HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION FUNDS HEALTH EDUCATION PROJECTS

The HealthCare Foundation for Orange County has just issued grants to four community-based organizations to expand their outreach and education services.

In grants totaling $38,000, the Foundation provided support for:

• A Vietnamese language version of the popular Guide for New Parents, produced and distributed by Prevent Child Abuse Orange County;
• Introducing a health component to the YMCA Orange County home visit program, Home Environment Learning Program (HELP), which offers up to a year's assistance to families at risk;
• Designing a program to reduce risk-taking behavior of Latino adolescents, sponsored by Planned Parenthood - Orange and San Bernardino Counties; and
• Health education for families in the Shelter for the Homeless facilities in central Orange County.

These projects represent the most recent round of funding, under the Foundation's "Healthy Orange County" grant program which provides grants directly to community-based organizations assisting low-income families in central Orange County. The Foundation also offers grants to local hospitals, through its "Partners for Health" program, and joins with other local foundations in The Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, in support of a multiyear diabetes initiative. The next filing deadline for Healthy Orange County grant proposals is October 1, 2001; Partners for Health proposals must be submitted by May 7, 2001.