Spotlight on the Lake Elsinore Historical Society: preserving the memories of the community
Lake Elsinore Historical Society was founded in 1996 to preserve the history of the Elsinore Valley. While there are many descendants of the pioneers who settled in the region, no one was collecting this information and housing it for future generations. A volunteer-run organization, the Society maintains a museum, curates community historical knowledge, and works with the city of Lake Elsinore when it needs historical information.
Spotlight on Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation: expanding their support for families with medical challenges
Families throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties rely on Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital as the only dedicated pediatric hospital in the region, serving more than 1.2 million children.
Spotlight on the Family Service Association of Redlands: a pillar in the community for over 125 years
Founded in 1898 by Alfred Smiley, the Family Service Association of Redlands has come alongside families in need and in crisis to help them return to a place of self-sufficiency for 125 years. The agency provides basic yet vital support to low-income households, at risk of homelessness or homeless in the East and Central Valley of San Bernardino County. The agency’s goals are to fight hunger and homelessness in the region with a primary focus on households with children under 18 and elderly, disabled and on fixed incomes.
Spotlight on Riverside Arts Council: annual festival includes visual interactive art experience
Established in 1977 as a main source for arts-related services, information, education and outreach, The Riverside Arts Council supports and sustains the arts on several fronts, which made this year’s Riverside Art & Music Festival (on Oct. 7) all the more alluring
Spotlight on California Creative Corps Fund Grantee, Sarah Louise Wilson: seeing the creative process in vivid color
As an artist working diligently and passionately in the community, Wilson recently received a grant from the Inland Empire Community Foundation and the California Creative Corps Fund, which provides grants to local, regional, and statewide organizations in 58 counties to fund unemployed and underemployed artists.
Spotlight on California Creative Corps Fund Grantee, Makeda Kumasi: watching talent fuel the creative mind
The Umoja Ensemble of the Inland Empire, for instance, is one significant group that Kumasi funnels her talents into. The group’s mission is to assist in restoring and regenerating the physical, psychological, and spiritual health of the populations served. This is primarily done through the preservation, practice, and presentation of African Arts. Think of it as a kind of Pan-African “art edutainment.”
Spotlight on the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation: free services for patients and their families
Based in Ontario for the last seven years to better serve the Inland Empire, SCDF is a full-service agency providing free services for people with sickle cell disease and their families. Clients are provided direct services, education, counseling, behavioral health therapy, youth programs, and assistance transitioning from pediatric to adult care. The organization also tries to address transportation, housing and food insecurity.
Spotlight on Assistance League Coachella Valley: broadening its reach and eliminating barriers
Assistance League Coachella Valley continues to expand the ways in which it provides essential needs to Coachella Valley Individuals in need, and their families. The all-volunteer nonprofit organization has been steadfast in eliminating barriers for at-risk or disadvantaged individuals, and is raising awareness around several standout program as it heads toward its 100-year anniversary in 2026.
Spotlight on Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine: making strides by offering no-cost healthcare
Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine (CVVIM) understands affordable healthcare is one of the most significant issues for many people in the United States. To that end, it continues to offer local solutions to a national dilemma by providing a variety of medical services and care at no cost to adults in the Coachella Valley who are uninsured or under-insured.
Spotlight on Variety, the Children’s Charity of the Desert: helping children experience the great joys of childhood
For more than 35 years, Variety—the Children’s Charity of the Desert has dedicated itself to enhancing the health, mobility, inclusion, and independence of disadvantaged and special needs children across Coachella Valley. Great strides have been made, but in many ways, the organization is just getting started.
