Jessica Koslow

Kimberly Galindo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 18. Although she had symptoms for over two years — abdominal and lower back pain and irregular periods — doctors dismissed her concerns, suggesting she had gastritis. Since her diagnosis, she has endured multiple surgeries and chemotherapy sessions, restless nights and difficult days. Throughout her journey, she found herself longing to connect with a supportive community, which she eventually found at Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation (SROCF), a nonprofit launched as a response to the issues Galindo was facing.

“I was a gynecological oncology nurse and took care of Sandy Rollman when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 32,” explained Robin Cohen, CEO and co-founder of SROCF.

“Every day was a fight to keep her alive. While taking care of her, I learned a lot about the emotional toll of the disease and the lack of resources and support for women with ovarian cancer. After Sandy died, her sister and I started the organization and based it on what wasn’t available to Sandy at the time of her diagnosis.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

As the chairman and president of The Goldhirsh Foundation, respectively, Benjamin Goldhirsh and Tara Roth have the capability to do extreme good in the world. Luckily for Los Angeles, in 2013 the foundation’s LA2050 initiative launched the LA2050 Grants Challenge, which has directed more than $23 million to local social impact organizations. This year, 55 Los Angeles organizations received $3.1 million in funding, and at Oct. 14’s LA2050 Grantee Showcase, the recipients were announced and celebrated at the SmogShoppe in Culver City.

“One of my favorite days of the year is the Grantee Showcase,” shared Roth. “In one day, I get to see all the people who are doing such incredible work, who are putting themselves out there and being true civic community servants in making Los Angeles better. What I love about the work is that not only do I get to see these incredible heroes, but I get to promote and amplify their work and connect them where I can. We have people going in to prisons to teach entrepreneurship. We have people greening spaces that were otherwise blighted spaces. I’m inspired and gratified that I get to participate in this in some way.”

The Grants Challenge consists of several stages. First, organization screening; second, Angelenos vote on the issues that matter most to them and determine the areas eligible for funding. Next, organizations selected through Part 1 are invited to submit funding proposals for a specific program, project or initiative that aligns with the top-voted issues. Those proposals are reviewed and recipients are chosen. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

On Oct. 15, around 235 unhoused people and their pets gathered in the Inner City Law Center (ICLC) parking lot for the seventh biannual Skid Row Community Connect Day. In partnership with the Los Angeles Central Providers Collaborative, ICLC invited housing organizations, medical teams, legal advocates and mental health professionals to deliver services to unhoused and low- income Skid Row community members.

The event is part of ICLC’s mission to serve the city’s most vulnerable: extremely low-income families struggling to stay housed in LA. Thirty percent of its clients are homeless, and 48% of its clients last year had annual household incomes under $10,000. In the simplest terms: The nonprofit, poverty law firm helps people who are very precariously housed try to hold on to their housing, and people on the streets try to find a pathway into housing.

UCLA School of Law graduate Nancy Mintie started ICLC in 1980. After moving to the Catholic Worker Soup Kitchen, also known as Hippie Kitchen, in the Skid Row neighborhood, she began providing legal services to people in the area. Cases ranged from eviction and habitability issues to securing benefits. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.