First 5 Contra Costa Awards $240,000 in Community Grants for Community Improvement and Safety Projects
42 Community Groups Receive Proposition 10 Funds For Projects That Help Local Families

—Contact: Tracy Irwin 925/335-9991 ext. 13

Martinez (January 7, 2003) — Yesterday First 5 Contra Costa, also known as the Contra Costa Children and Families Commission, awarded $240,000 in Proposition 10 funds to 42 community groups and nonprofit organizations to conduct local community improvement projects benefiting families with children up to age 5. This is the fourth cycle of Family-Friendly Community Grants, which provide community groups with grants up to $5,000 or nonprofit organizations with grants up to $10,000 for projects that improve community safety or provide enrichment activities for parents and children.

“Family-Friendly Community Grant projects have benefited hundreds of families and we want to continue building on those successes,” said Brenda Blasingame, executive director of First 5 Contra Costa. “Parents have been trained on infant CPR techniques and proper smoke alarm use, toddler playgrounds have been refurbished and non-custodial fathers have learned important parenting skills.”

The Head Start Male Involvement Committee received a $5,000 grant to host a Fatherhood Volunteer Festival in Concord to celebrate the importance of male involvement in First 5 Contra Costa young children’s lives. This volunteer-run group hopes to demonstrate to local fathers how volunteering in early education helps the whole community. A parents group in Pinole also seeks volunteers for its $5,000 project, a creek clean up at Fernandez Park, which will provide activities that introduce ecologically safe habits to preschool-age children.

The Richmond Arts and Culture Commission, a group of 15 volunteers appointed to advise the city of Richmond on arts-related matters, will receive $5,000 to create a safe pathway for children near Lincoln School with personalized stepping stones which include the footprints and names of local children. “With this community project, children and families will not only have marked, safe areas to walk, but will have the opportunity to own a piece of their city and become a part of the city’s history,” said Sydney Metrick, chair of the commission.

La Clinica de la Raza, a community health clinic in Pittsburg, received $8,000 to educate parents and caregivers about the causes, symptoms and triggers of childhood asthma, which is one of the most serious health issues among East County’s Latino population. The Valley Children’s Museum, a volunteer run organization of Alameda and Contra Costa community residents, will expand its Museum Without Walls program at community events by creating two infant and toddler play and learn areas.

In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 10, which levied a 50-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes. Revenues generated are used to fund local programs that promote early childhood development, targeting children during their first five years of life. Approximately $9 million per year funds programs and projects in Contra Costa County. More than $600,000 has been allocated for Family-Friendly Community Grant projects over the last two years.