The Christopher K. Jarvi HELPING HANDS grant program focuses on strengthening youth, residents and community through supporting community-based organizations. Named after the founding Executive Director of the Anaheim Community Foundation, the Helping Hands grant honors the memory of Chris Jarvi, who passed away April 22, 2013. He was a strong advocate for youth and the Anaheim Community. If you’d like to support Helping Hands, we invite you to make a donation online.
2023 Helping Hands Grant Application
Helping Hands Grants & Year-Round Support
ACF believes in supporting our community. From youth enrichment scholarships to grant programs, we are dedicated to giving a helping hand to enrich the lives of Anaheim residents.
Helping Hands Grant applications are accepted in the Fall annually, followed by a funding announcement in December. Gifts are typically $250-$2,500. Emergency Helping Hands Grants are available year-round to support organizations facing a one-time challenge. You can submit an Emergency Grant application HERE!
Helping Hands 2023 Grant Recipients
The ACF awarded over $66,000 to the following 38 non-profit organizations to provide programs and services that improve the lives of Anaheim residents.
| Name of Organization | Program |
| Ability Together, Inc. | Communication Equity in Healthcare – Hearing Loss Training |
| Abrazar, Inc. | Sparkpoint OC is a financial empowerment program that provides free one-on-one financial coaching and case management to families in Orange County. |
| Access California Services | Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Program- This program supports primarily immigrant and refugee youth by providing youth with the opportunity to identify and prioritize goals that will support their integration as they acclimate to a new culture. |
| American Career College Educational Foundation | HSE Academy model was designed to eliminate persistent barriers to HSE certificate attainment through financial support, flexible class offerings, individualized attention, and holistic programming. |
| Anaheim Ballet | STEP-UP!, Anaheim Ballet’s no-cost community outreach program for underserved Anaheim youth ages 8-20 years old provides daily classes in classical ballet. |
| Anaheim Fall Festival | Anaheim Fall Festival & Halloween parade |
| Anaheim Family YMCA | Water safety education and learning how to swim is important because it can reduce the risk of drowning. |
| Anaheim Flag Day Celebration | Anaheim Flag Day Community event |
| Anaheim Public Library Foundation | Chess for Change is a program that will benefit at-risk youth by achieving academic improvement, educational opportunities, youth engagement, community building, character development, cultural exchange, and positive recreation. |
| AUHSD – Savanna High School | Savanna Community School Garden |
| Chance Theater | CHANCE THEATER will offer one six-week workshop for veterans (Veterans Speak Up) using theater as a means for rehabilitation by sharing their experiences with the public, providing a better understanding of the life of a veteran–its challenges as well as its points of pride. |
| Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Orange County | CASA of Orange County’s Mentor-Advocate Program |
| Dreams for Schools | Coding Classes for Anaheim Students in Libraries |
| FentanylSolution.org | Anaheim Aware Against Fentanyl (AAAF) |
| Fristers | Kidsters is our child development and school readiness program for children, ages 3 months to 5 years. |
| Girls Inc. of Orange County | StrongHer Together provides Anaheim teen girls with educational and health and wellness programming. |
| Growth Opportunities Through Athletics, Learning, and Service-GOALS | GOALS for ABC: In 2018, GOALS launched a multi-year community improvement project in West Anaheim called GOALS- A Better Community or “ABC.” |
| Higher Ground Youth & Family Services | Thriving Families Program |
| JMh-Anaheim Foundation Inc | Love Our Seniors Care Bags |
| Junior Achievement of Orange County and Inland Empire | JA of Orange County will provide JA’s interactive classroom programs to one Anaheim classroom, reflecting one or more of our three learning pathways Financial Literacy, Work Readiness, and Entrepreneurship. |
| Lamb of God Lutheran Church | Tabitha’s Room gives out 2 sack lunches, water, new underwear, socks hygiene products, blankets, sleeping bags, (when we have them), shoes, jackets, pants, shirts, hats and towels. |
| Lestonnac Free Clinic | Lestonnac’s Eye Care, We Care program provides optometry/ophthalmology services for impoverished Anaheim individuals and families. |
| Magnolia School District | Magnolia School District support for student needs and addressing gaps, including clothing, diapers, shoes, and other living essentials. |
| Orange County Adult Achievement Center dba My Day Counts | Equitable Access to Higher Education and Employment Options for Adults with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities. |
| Orange County Community Housing Corp | OCCHC’s SteppingUP Program, which is committed to preserving affordable housing and providing equitable educational services to help our clients overcome barriers, regain economic stability and move up in social mobility. |
| Orange County Human Relations Council DBA Groundswell | Youth and Education program strives to create cross-cultural understanding. |
| Pathways of Hope | Our Anaheim-based Via Esperanza (VE) emergency shelter annually serves 20-25 families (approximately 100 individuals) who are currently experiencing homelessness in OC. |
| Pearson Park Amphitheatre | Pearson Park Amphitheatre’s Summer Nights Under the Stars Family Series |
| Project Access, Inc | Project Access’s Education for Youth & Families Program helps level the playing field for low-income students by making high-quality academic support and enrichment activities accessible without traditional transportation or cost barriers. |
| Radiant Futures (formerly known as Women’s Transitional Living Center, Inc.) | Supportive Services which include counseling, legal advocacy, support groups, housing assistance, and connections to resources and referrals to help our clients prepare for independent living. |
| Reaching Youth Through Music Opportunities | Reaching Youth Through Music Opportunities – A year-round after-school program that teaches teens, mostly from troubled environments, to achieve a career in the music industry. |
| Rio Vista Elementary PTA | Equipment for outdoor physical education activities. |
| Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County | Funding for 4 Permanent School Pantries in Anaheim. |
| Sight & Sketches | Sight & Sketches provides at-risk underserved youths of Anaheim with an art course series. |
| The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Anaheim-Cypress | Workforce Development-provides comprehensive workforce development programming. |
| Together We Rise | Foster Love will identify and serve transition-age, systems-impacted youth who are at imminent risk of dropping out of college due to the threat of homelessness, food insecurity, or displacement. |
| Uniforms For Hope | Anaheim School District Uniform Project |
| West Anaheim Organization | Tree Lighting at Twila Reid Park |
