The Central California Food Bank and Marjaree Mason Center are two of 31 nonprofits in the Central Valley receiving Wonderful Company Community Grants this year, the company announced Wednesday.
Grants to agencies in Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern counties will total nearly $1.1 million, raising The Wonderful Company’s community awards total to more than $5 million.
The grants support programs that emphasize health and wellness, recreation, community beautification, art, and social services.
“We believe in the importance of investing in our own local neighborhoods — supporting community organizations in the places where we operate and where our colleagues live and work,” Andy Anzaldo, chief operating officer, corporate social responsibility at The Wonderful Company, said in a news release. “Through Wonderful Community Grants, we are supporting organizations and schools across the Central Valley that, we believe, will help build and maintain vibrant, healthy communities now and for future generations.”
The grant to the Central California Food Bank will pay for a school pantry program in Firebaugh and thrice-monthly fresh produce markets in Avenal, said Alicia Linares, director of programs and partnerships at the food bank. “We are committed to sustaining programs that promote equitable food access in our region, and these grants will provide enhanced food support in underserved communities where it is needed most.”
The local grants include:
- Del Rey: Marjaree Mason Center, to provide domestic violence intervention and support services to approximately 550 adults and their children; Central Valley Scholars, to offer college-prep workshops to help students submit successful college applications.
- Firebaugh: Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County, to deliver after-school programming for youths age 6 to 18 and paid apprenticeships for teens; Junior Achievement of Northern California, to offer economics and personal finance courses to improve financial literacy of middle and high school students.
- Mendota: Fresno Council on Child Abuse Prevention, to educate more than 7,283 people in a child maltreatment prevention program.
- Sanger: Teens That Care, to train students in grades 1-6 and their parents on bike and scooter riding safety practices and provide helmets for participants.
“The Marjaree Mason Center is grateful for this significant donation from The Wonderful Company, which will allow us to enhance outreach and prevention efforts, as well as direct services in the communities of Del Rey, Sanger, Mendota, and Firebaugh,” said Nicole Linder, executive director at the Marjaree Mason Center. “This additional funding will allow us to serve Fresno County better and ensure that all residents have access to healing-centered domestic violence services.”
