BIGHORN Golf Club Charities has selected 39 qualified Coachella Valley non-profits to receive more than $415,000 in grant funding. The well-deserved non-profits are selected based on the need for funding specific projects that benefit the most under-served citizens in the area.
“It’s such a pleasure to be able to assist these non-profits and help them succeed at their missions. These organization are making a real difference in the lives of so many Coachella Valley residents of all ages,” said Joe Kirby, BIGHORN Cares chairman. “It’s a privilege and an honor to be BIGHORN resident and the generosity of my fellow members shines through, year after year.”
BIGHORN Cares is supported by member contributions of which 100% of funds are passed through to qualified local non-profit agencies. More than 130 applications were received with requests for over $1.7 million in funds.
“It’s always difficult to select one organization over another, however, we feel those receiving the grants represent a wide-range of deserving people and programs in the area,” said Kirby.
Those receiving the grants including the following local non-profit organizations:
- Aids Assistance Program – Support the food voucher program for low-income people suffering from life threatening diseases.
- Baseball Buddies – Support disabled children’s baseball fields and equipment.
- Basic Assistance to Students in the Community – Fund bus transport to the Summer Reading Academy in Borrego Springs for under privileged youth.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert – Expand site-based mentoring program to Mecca.
- Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City – Replace an air-conditioning unit in their Program House that is used as a computer lab, music studio and for one-on-one tutoring.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coachella Valley – Indio Unit – Equip their Summer Meals Program that serves over 2,000 meals.
- Braille Institute of Rancho Mirage – Purchase equipment, software and assistive technologies essential to outreach services.
- California CareForce – Provide a free 3-day clinic offering Medical, Dental and Vision Services
- California State University San Bernardino Philanthropic Foundation Expand CSUSB’s Neurofeedback Program to school aged children suffering with ADHD and ADD.
- Catholic Charities San Bernardino and Riverside Counties – Support the Coachella Valley Family & Community Services Program providing new shoes and socks to children living in poverty.
- Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert – Bring the popular “Litezilla” exhibit permanently to the museum.
- Christopher’s Clubhouse – Present the Always Be Safe Assemblies to children in the Palm Springs Unified School District.
- Cielo Vista Charter School – Provide a portable shade structure and two refillable water stations to keep students shaded and hydrated in the summer months.
- College of the Desert Foundation – Provide childcare grants for Veteran Students so they don’t have to choose between education and providing for their family.
- Desert Sands Unified School District Educational Foundation – Purchase 1,400 music recorders for 8 different elementary schools.
- Family YMCA of the Desert-Youth & Government Program – Fund transportation of the Youth and Government Program.
- Father’s Heart Ranch – Build a shade structure and water fountain for their playground to allow abused and neglected boys more outside play time which reduces anxiety and stress.
- FIND Food Bank – Place 2 refrigeration units on their pick up/delivery trucks so they can safely deliver food to 85,000 people each month in the Coachella Valley
- Full of Grace – Support one whole year of their “Feeding the Homeless” project to the Eastern Coachella Valley and Sunrise Park areas every other Saturday.
- Galilee Center – Fund the Back Pack Distribution and School Supplies Program, ensuring that 1,200 children receive school supplies and helping over 3,500 children fight hunger.
- Hidden Harvest – Purchase and maintain equipment vital to keeping produce fresh and delivered on time to low-income housing and senior farmers markets.
- Las Palmitas Elementary School – Sponsor a trip to Pathfinder Ranch in Hemet for the top 25 students in the 5th and 6th grades.
- LGBT Community Center of the Desert – Support the Youth Suicide Prevention & Anti-Bullying Project.
- LifeStream Blood Bank – Purchase 4 new laptops to assist in keeping accurate records and making it easier for donors to give blood.
- Loma Linda Children’s Hospital Foundation – Assist in funding a new outpatient Pavilion housing a pediatric specialty clinic, pediatric urgent care and the SAC Health System.
- Martha’s Village and Kitchen–Replenish their Food Services Program by purchasing a combination oven to better assist in serving over 170,000 meals annually.
- McCallum Theatre – Support the East Valley Project offered to middle and high school students from Thermal to explore the art of dance and create an original piece.
- Mecca Elementary School –Purchase new physical education equipment reaching 820 students.
- Neuro Vitality Center – Purchase specialized exercise equipment designed to aid Parkinson ’s and other diseases sufferers in the Coachella Valley.
- Pueblo Unido CDC – Upgrade the electrical system at San Antonio Del Desierto mobile home park in Mecca that experiences frequent blackouts due to improper electrical wiring.
- Red Hot Ballroom – Fund the Ballroom Dance Competition Finals for all three school districts in the area.
- Sacred Heart School – Update the technological infrastructure in the school allowing teachers to personalize learning.
- The Salvation Army of Cathedral City Corps – Provide weekend meals to 100 underprivileged children in the Coachella Valley for 1 year.
- Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School – Purchase materials to enrich their STEM Education program.
- Tools for Tomorrow – Support the Tools for Tomorrow Theatre Troupe, a new venture providing 25 at-risk students to design a student presented theatrical production at no cost.
- United Way of the Desert – Bring the Raising a Reader program to a local school, covering the cost of books, supplies, back packs, parent education material and manuals to last the school 6 years.
- Virginia Waring International Piano Competition –Provide music lessons at Sea View Elementary School in the Salton Sea.
- Well in the Desert – Purchase a stainless steel commercial refrigerator and freezer to ensure the quality and safety of the food they prepare.
- Xavier College Preparatory High School – Outfit the new Makerspace Lab with cutting edge STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math) technology and equipment to encourage innovative ways of thinking.
Funds will be awarded at the end of December and a celebratory recognition event was held January 17, 2018. Applications for the next round of funding will be available in May 2018.
BIGHORN Golf Club Charities
Since its inception in 2006, BIGHORN Golf Club Charities and BIGHORN members have donated over $105 million to support wellness programs, education, the arts, and building the BIGHORN Golf Club Charities Veterans Resource Center at College of the Desert for the 400 warriors attending the institution. BIGHORN Golf Club Charities is the parent organization for both BIGHORN BAM, which funds a number of local cancer related causes, and BIGHORN Cares, which funds specific projects for local non-profits that demonstrate a need and make a real difference in the quality of life for people in the Coachella Valley.
