Youth, trauma programs receive Solana Beach Fund grants

North Coast Current

Youth and trauma intervention programs have received a financial boost with grants from the Solana Beach Fund.

The fund, part of Coastal Community Foundation of North County, awarded $15,000 to three local organizations, the fund announced June 11.

“The funds for these grants come from individuals who believe in the power of philanthropy to strengthen their community and wish to give to programs vetted by a committee of interested citizens,” Laura Fleming, chairwoman of the fund’s grant committee, said in the announcement.

The recipients:

PEP! — A pilot program that helps low-income, preschool children gain key pre-kindergarten skills, the program is conducted through Casa de Amistad in collaboration with the Solana Beach School District, Head Start and the Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Youth Summer Leadership Camp — Sponsored by La Colonia de Eden Gardens Foundation, about 60 at-risk teenage boys and girls will spend time at the Whispering Winds Conference Center in the mountains near Julian, where they will take part in outdoor activities and learn from presentations led by staff members from MiraCosta College and the San Diego County Office of Education. Partners from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and San Diego Alliance for a Drug Free Life will also participate, according to the Solana Beach Fund.

TIP — The Trauma Intervention Program will use its grant money to provide public health services to Solana Beach residents, the Solana Beach Fund announced. Volunteers will give guidance to help individuals in the grieving and healing process after a crisis.

The Solana Beach Fund, now in its second year, is a fund of the Coastal Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization serving the North Coast for more than 25 years. More information online: www.coastalfoundation.org.