Pasadena Community Foundation Grants Make Spirits Bright This Holiday Season

The Pasadena Community Foundation has helped make an otherwise dreary holiday season a good bit brighter for 11 local nonprofit organizations with grants provided by the PCF’s Yes, Virginia Fund.

Now in its 26th year, the fund is so named for the famous response to a letter to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897 in which a little girl asked, “Is there a Santa Clause?”

The editor’s now-immortal answer inspired PCF supporters to establish the Yes, Virginia Fund in 1994 to provide annual grants to local nonprofit agencies so that Pasadena-area children in need could receive toys, books, gifts, and special experiences for the holidays. 

The 2020 grantees are:

• Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena 
• Community Health Alliance of Pasadena 
• Door of Hope 
• Elizabeth House 
• Families Forward Learning Center 
• Flintridge Center 
• Impact House 
• Pasadena Altadena Community Endowment Fund (PACEF) – The LINKS 
• Pasadena Altadena Coalition of Transformative Leaders (PACTL) 
• Professional Child Development Associates 
• Treasure Little Children Foundation 

At Door of Hope, which seeks to end the cycle of homelessness for needy families, staff used their grant funds to create a drive-through Christmas Carnival complete with game booths and a selfie station. 

Executive Director Megan Katerjian reported that this year, thanks to the Yes, Virginia grant and additional community funds, the agency added an important level of direct assistance to families, providing $200 grocery cards to each of the 101 families that attended, plus $50 Target cards for each child – all 225 of them.

At Elizabeth House, which provides shelter and services to pregnant women and their children experiencing homelessness, Santa arrived in a Cadillac convertible and supervised the delivery of festive bags full of toys and books to 50 families arriving by car, funded in part by the Yes, Virginia grant. Alumni and current clients also received $100 grocery cards, and each child received a $25 Target card. 

For  Elizabeth House founder and Executive Director Debora Unruh, the day meant finally seeing families in person, even from a distance.

“When they drove up and we could see them up close and see the kids – there were lots of kids on both sides of the car windows,” Unruh said. “I told my staff and volunteers ‘I want us to be the cheering section – waving, clapping, shouting – because these are courageous people who have been through a  lot this year. We can’t hug them, but we can show them our love with our voices and spirit.”

Managing more than $120 million in charitable assets, the PCF works with individuals, families, and organizations to establish philanthropic funds, create and build endowment funds, and distribute charitable gifts to nonprofit organizations. 

Last year, after 25 years of dedicated fundraising and community support, the Yes, Virginia Fund achieved its endowment goal of $500,000, ensuring the PCF will be able to continue supporting local nonprofit agencies. 

This year, families and children suffered never-imagined hardships and heartaches created by the coronavirus, and donations are still welcome to help the Yes, Virginia Endowment grow and provide holiday magic for years to come. 

Find more information at https://pasadenacf.org/funds/yes-virginia fund.