Foothill Unity Center, Helping People Changing Lives

Foothill Unity Center acts as a lifeline for very low income individuals and families who are struggling to survive. 38% of them are children. Our service area covers eleven cities in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County: Monrovia, Arcadia, Duarte, Bradbury, Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale. Clients are often unemployed, employed at wages too low to provide for their families, on welfare, or facing a temporary crisis. We also serve seniors, homeless, disabled, emancipated foster youth, victims of domestic violence, students on limited incomes and individuals just released from prison. In 2010, with support from the community and a large group of dedicated volunteers, we served 12,644 unduplicated persons (4,606 families).

Kidney Quest Foundation - Greater Awareness, Greatest Hope

Arnold and Carolyn Urquidez are the founders of Kidneys Quest Foundation. When Arnold was diagnosed with a rare genetic kidney disease, he thought his life was over. They were determined to learn whatever was necessary to help prolong Arnold’s life and enable him to live life to the fullest. This has brought many changes including a healthier way of living, a more nutritious renal diet, having a positive attitude, and focusing on how to gain good physical conditioning. After much research, Arnold and Carolyn have found a successful journey for living with a kidney condition.

Kidneys Quest Foundation, Inc. is an outreach organization dedicated to families and individuals with kidney disorders and those in need of kidney transplants. The foundation is designed to help people focus on building inner strength and learning how to take action to manage their health condition.

KQF is committed to educating and providing people with knowledge about the choices that are available. The goal of KQF is to support and direct kidney patients when they feel they don’t know how to get to that next step and to alleviate some of the fears and stress of living with a kidney disease.

Kidneys Quest Foundation works in several areas:
• Support and direct kidney patients on next steps to take after being diagnosed with a kidney disorder.
• Dialysis support
• Training potential candidates to do dialysis at home so they can have time available for employment.
• Preparing renal patients to become and stay active on a Kidney Transplant List as a recipient.
• Dieting with enjoyment, including menus located in our cookbook.
• Exercising or staying active, and being involved in hobbies.
• Staying in control of your life with a kidney condition.
• Mentally and emotionally surviving this time in your life.
• After kidney transplant support services.
• Outreach events to let people know we are here for them.
• Bringing information to the community on how to become a Live Kidney Donor (how to give the gift of life).

www.kidneyquestfoundation.org

Hillsides - Creating a Safe Place for Children

Hillsides has always created safe places for children; strengthened families, provided special education; and advocated for children’s rights.

From its inception in 1913 as an Episcopal Orphanage, The Church Home for Children, until its present-day status as a private, nonprofit foster care and treatment center, Hillsides has never wavered from its commitment to creating a safe place for children. Although it began as an orphanage, Hillsides now works to end the cycle of child abuse that destroys children and tears families apart. Loving care, therapeutic healing, special education, family crisis intervention and children's rights advocacy are at the heart of the agency's mission. These priorities were created by the vision of Deaconess Evelyn Wile. At Hillsides, children suffering from abuse and mental illness can still find a "safe place" to call home. Today, the children’s charity located in Pasadena is considered an official institution of the Los Angeles Diocese of the Episcopal Church.

Children in residence, who are in foster care or suffer from mental health needs, are referred to Hillsides by the Dependency Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court and the Department of Mental Health. Although they come from all over Southern California and encompass every ethnic and socioeconomic group, they share a common experience - the emotional scars that result from child abuse. With counseling and mental health treatment, children at Hillsides learn that they are not alone, that they are safe and cared for through. Six programs constitute the framework for Hillsides treatment services-Residential Treatment, the Education Center, the Family Center, and Advocacy.

PVW: Your Business to Business Solution

PVW invests in people and that investment pays off in a multitude of ways. People with developmental disabilities are offered the tools and support needed to be more productive members of society. They learn work skills and earn a paycheck which boosts their self esteem and self worth. They pay taxes which boosts our economy. And many reduce the level of benefits received by State and Federal governments as they become more self-sufficient as part of the local economy’s work force. It’s a win-win situation for the individual and for the business community!

Since 1966, Pomona Valley Workshop has been partnering with businesses by providing contract packaging and employment solutions. There are many qualified, trained and work-ready men and women with disabilities seeking employment opportunities yet they are often overlooked. However, it has been proven time and time again that providing employment opportunities for these individuals is good for business. Save time and money, improve entry-level turnover and absenteeism and build goodwill with your customer base through a positive public image.

The Good Neighbor Tool Kit: Improving Your Community

By giving of your time, you can help make your community a better, safer, cleaner, and more pleasant place to live. And often, very small gestures can make a difference.

23 Simple Ways to Give Back to Your Community
Not every volunteer effort has to change the world. Let your efforts make your corner a little brighter. Here are some simple ways you can improve your community:

1. Help an elderly neighbor rake leaves, shovel snow, or do home repairs.

2. Plant flowers in the town center.

3. Give away free flowers or seeds in the spring.

4. Put out flags for the 4th of July in neighborhood front yards or the town center.

5. Sponsor a Little League team where there wasn't one already.

6. Become active in the chamber of commerce.

7. Organize a garden walk.

8. Speak at career day at the elementary school.

9. Repaint a playground.

10. Take your pet to the local senior center.

11. Organize a summer cleaning or painting of the local school.

12. Ask past clients to take part in a house tour.

13. Give a free first-time homebuyers seminar.

14. Collect customer donations in your office lobby.

15. Encourage sellers to donate clothing and furniture rather than throw it out.

16. Sit as a member of your city capital improvements task force.

17. Use your real estate contacts and skills to identify property that might be donated or purchased for charity use: building low-income homes, local schools, hospitals, or group homes.

18. Bring a carload of newspapers, towels, and blankets to an animal shelter.

19. Ask a local teacher what supplies his or her class needs most, then donate them.

20. Hold a canned food drive, then deliver the goods to a soup kitchen.

21. Organize a town clean-up day.

22. Take a lonely child with you when your family goes to the movies.

23. Join the PTA.

www.realtor.org