Pasadena Community Foundation to Virtually Honor Local Heroes Thursday

The Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) will honor local heroes on Thursday during a virtual Local Heroes Celebration that spotlights the important work done by nonprofit organizations in the greater Pasadena area.

The term “local heroes,” a PCF statement said, includes the leaders and staff of nonprofits in the area who work to make a significant impact on the lives of residents. They also include generous donors whose support enables the PCF to make significant grants each year.

For more than 22 years, the celebration has traditionally been held in person at the University Club of Pasadena but had to go virtual since last year because of the pandemic.

Thursday’s event, which begins at noon, is open to members of the public, who may connect through Zoom via https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88515856552?pwd=VVlwLzRKb2oxNVZUTWY4ejlscjFsUT09. The meeting ID is 885 1585 6552 and the pass code is 597217.

This year, Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo kicks off the 45-minute program by introducing a video that will help Pasadena residents appreciate the ongoing work that it takes to build and nurture a healthy community, said Sarah Hilbert, PCF marketing and communications manager.

“The video will focus on the Equitable Vaccine Initiative, which brought PCF together with our city’s Public Health Department, Huntington Hospital, and local nonprofits like the NAACP, Harambee Ministries, and Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley to ensure that ALL residents could receive COVID-19 vaccinations,” Hilbert said.

“Together – with funding from PCF – these organizations were able to establish neighborhood pop-up vaccine clinics to serve neighbors throughout the city,” she said. “We’re very proud of funding this incredible collaboration and it will be a signature highlight of our event.”

The event will also showcase that, by this years’ end, PCF will have awarded $2.7 million directly to local nonprofit organizations.

Under its Capital Grant Program, the PCF has awarded $659,000 to local nonprofits to help with mission-critical infrastructure projects. Three of the grantees – Door of Hope, Pasadena Heritage, and Villa Esperanza Services – received $50,000 each as a special, one-time award that’s expected to be transformational to their missions.

Aside from the Equitable Vaccine Initiative, PCF has also supported the city’s COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program by helping 59 small businesses – most of them minority-owned – received funding to help keep their doors open during this perilous time.

The foundation has awarded nearly $100,000 as part of its Performing and Visual Arts Recovery Grant Program providing relief funds to local arts organizations severely impacted by the pandemic, and through its PCF Scholars Program has supported 28 Pasadena Unified School District graduates attending Pasadena City College.

The foundation will also announce the debut of two new grant programs: an Animal Welfare Grants Program, with $25,000 in funding to Pasadena Humane and PAWS/LA; and a Racial Equity Grant Program that intends to provide up to $250,000 in awards starting later this year.

“The event provides great inspiration to get more involved in our community and to support both PCF’s efforts and those of the local nonprofits,” Hilbert said.