By Lookout Staff
March 5 -- If it takes money to make money, there should
be more homeless people in Santa Monica bringing in a paycheck thanks
to the Jewish Community Foundation.
The Foundation last week gave Chrysalis -- which has one of its
three Los Angeles County employment service centers in Santa Monica
-- a $10,000 grant for its program to help the poor and homeless
step out of poverty through a steady job.
“At the heart of Chrysalis is our strong belief that every
person has the potential to find work and become self-sufficient,”
said Adlai Wertman, president and CEO of Chrysalis. “We are
deeply grateful for their support to help our homeless and poor
clients find work and move out of poverty.”
Chrysalis’ nationally recognized program offers supportive
social services and paid transitional employment to help clients
secure and retain work, Wertman said. Services include counseling,
job-preparation classes and resources, transitional employment and
job-retention training.
Since 1984, Chrysalis has helped 25,000 individuals at its centers
in Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles (Skid Row) and the San Fernando
Valley, Wertman said.
Ninety-three percent of those completing Chrysalis’s program
successfully secure employment, he said.
Foundation officials said they hope the funds will help men and
women get off the streets and into jobs and housing.
“We are proud to support an organization that is so effective
at combating homelessness and poverty throughout Los Angeles,”
said Marvin Schotland, president and CEO of the Jewish Community
Foundation. “Chrysalis brings about positive change for many,
many people.”
Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation is the largest
manager of charitable assets and the leader in planned giving solutions
for Greater Los Angeles Jewish philanthropists.
The Foundation currently manages assets of nearly three-quarter
billion dollars and, according to the National Foundation Center,
ranks among the ten largest Los Angeles foundations based on assets.
In 2006, The Foundation and its more than 1,200 donors distributed
$63 million in grants to more than 1,500 organizations with programs
that span the range of philanthropic giving. |