text: In a new round of COVID-19 relief grants,
  (The Foundation) announced on March 2 that it’s awarding $1.3 million to five local organizations to address urgent healthcare needs in the community.(JFS), (JFLA), (LAJH), (MLKCH) and (VFC) are receiving funds from the Foundation in its .
  Through its ongoing outreach with local nonprofits and other funders, The Foundation zeroed in on helping the elderly, small businesses and minority communities to ensure they receive everything they need during the ongoing pandemic. President and CEO Marvin I. Schotland said the pandemic has resulted in greater isolation of many seniors who lack the technology or knowledge to access essential care.
  “This a global health crisis of a magnitude never experienced in our lifetimes. Vast needs continue to emerge that require support,” Schotland said in a statement to the Journal. “Because The Foundation is in regular contact with non-profits, we are able to respond quickly as critical needs are identified, including funding for urgent physical and mental healthcare disparities and businesses that are struggling. With these significant grants to five organizations, our dollars will favorably impact thousands of individuals in need in the Jewish and larger community.”
  “Because The Foundation is in regular contact with non-profits, we are able to respond quickly as critical needs are identified.”
  The funding for JFS will help provide Chromebooks and internet so elderly clients can access services and connection with others through technology. Due to the pandemic, JFLA has received a significantly higher number of applications for interest-free loans, which average $20,000, for struggling businesses and for launching new enterprises. This grant will help grow its loan fund and allow JFLA to continue offering loans without turning applicants away.
  The Brandman Centers for Senior Care—Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) at LA Jewish Home provides a complete range of health, social and nutritional services for nursing home-eligible seniors. This latest grant will enable staff to take resources to PACE seniors —more than 250 are enrolled— who, due to COVID, are unable to come into the facility for services.
  “I would like to express deep appreciation for this generous grant. This award ensures we will be able to continue providing the highest quality of medical care – including essential safety materials – to meet the challenges of COVID-19, while also purchasing communications devices such as iPads for the residents, to help maintain a sense of normalcy during these extraordinary times,” Dale Surowitz, CEO and president of Los Angeles Jewish Home, said in a statement.
  Venice Family Clinic (VFC) is also using the funding for Telehealth and technology infrastructure. The grant will allow VFC to purchase an integrated telehealth video tool enabling patients to complete pre-visit paperwork, have fully encrypted visits, and receive post-visit details via video.
  The pandemic has hit Black and Latino communities served by MLKCH the hardest, and the hospital is addressing new critical needs to ensure its COVID patients receive proper care with the use of the Foundation’s funding. MLKCH converted an entire floor into an intensive care unit to meet the unanticipated level of critical care needed for COVID patients.
  The facility also supports patients who continue to experience symptoms or require additional care. The post-COVID clinic has also seen a surge. MLKCH converted existing space into a clinic where patients receive comprehensive services including pulmonary appointments, respiratory therapy services, mental health services, and continuing support from their ICU medical team.
  “Access to quality health care is one of the ultimate acts of social justice,” Dyan Sublett, president of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Health Foundation, said.
  “Through its generous support, the Jewish Community Foundation has lifted our community in the full continuum of caring and healing. The Foundation’s supportive partnership of our work throughout the pandemic has enabled MLKCH to expand our care to accommodate all the critically ill COVID patients who need us in South Los Angeles — and we’ve supported our innovative post-discharge COVID clinic, making sure our patients continue to see the nurses and doctors who cared for them as they continue their recovery at home.”
  In 2020, The Foundation and its donors distributed $127 million to 2,700 nonprofits with programs that span the range of philanthropic giving. Over the past 12 years, it has distributed more than $1 billion to thousands of nonprofits across a diverse spectrum.