Project Title: Midtown Site Expansion

Despite being the Farm to Fork capital, Sacramento has persistent, high rates of food insecurity and unreliable access to nutritious foods for people facing hunger. Those affected most are the people already struggling – Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) neighbors experiencing poverty. The two biggest contributors to increased need are inflation and refugee resettlement. RCFB experienced a 41% increase in service in 2022 and anticipates this will continue to rise, all while its building is at maximum capacity.

Funding of $100,000 will build operational capacity and allow RCFB to:

1. Move administration staff offsite, creating more space for food storage.
2. Purchase a larger and more energy efficient refrigerator to safely store perishables.
3. Purchase, transport and distribute healthy, culturally meaningful food to 7,000 people.
4. Purchase a pallet stacker to increase operational efficiency.
5. Renovate the Midtown building to create a safe, usable space for staff and volunteers.

This project will be a springboard for future projects to expand services sustainably.

River City Food Bank is a boots-on-the-ground nonprofit that continually strives to meet the needs of the community. Our staff and volunteers speak the languages of our guests (e.g., Farsi, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese), which allows us to understand what foods are meaningful to each culture. As a trusted community leader for 55 years, RCFB will leverage Impact100’s funding to secure additional support to meet the needs of our neighbors experiencing food insecurity by advancing the following:

• Mission: Alleviate hunger in Sacramento County
• Social Responsibility: Improve energy efficiency, encourage inclusivity, increase volunteerism, and enhance food equity.
• Impact: Provide safety net to help families avoid a crisis, including homelessness, by providing consistent access to healthy, meaningful food for all.

Funding from Impact100 will grow capacity and efficiency at our Midtown location and help us alleviate hunger.

Project Title: Theater Arts & Conflict Resolution Integrated Program

NorCal School of the Arts serves students in Title 1 schools in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. More than 10,000 students and their families and 400 teachers in K-12 public schools are reached by NorCal’s programming, making it one of the most comprehensive arts education programs in our region.

The Theater Arts & Conflict Resolution Integrated Program helps students feel connected to one another and supports self-expression while developing non-violent responses to conflict. The program helps to lower self-destructive risk factors in young people and increases their positive connections to self, peers, and the community.

Post pandemic, students are experiencing isolation, anxiety, depression, and lack of normal connection with peers as well as overuse of technology and social media. Many kids are in crisis. Through theatrical curriculum and rehearsals, students learn to self-reflect, regulate and be intentional in their expressions. Just as performing in front of an audience is stressful, an actor falls back on the many rehearsals and does what has been practiced. When a stressful conflict arises, students have tools and the rehearsal process to guide them in resolving conflict.

Through the artistic process students learn to trust themselves and their decision-making abilities. Through the social emotional learning activities students discover coping mechanisms and strategies to get through feelings of anxiety and build confidence in their abilities to advocate for themselves while remaining respectful of others.

Funding will train 50 classroom teachers and 1,330 students directly. Because lesson plans are provided to the classroom teachers, impact has the potential to last for the rest of a classroom teacher’s career, equipping thousands of students. There is a waiting list of schools that want this program. Impact100’s funding will grow this program into new districts and schools and make it possible for more students to receive this impactful, much needed program.

Project Title: Two Rivers Watershed Resilience Program

American River Conservancy ensures healthy ecosystems within the upper American River and Cosumnes River watersheds through land conservation, stewardship, and education. Our work benefits over 2.41 million people who depend upon the American River as their primary source of fresh water.

• Conservation: We protect over 29,000 acres and restore open space, biodiversity, natural habitat, and cultural resources through land purchases, donations, and conservation easements. Two-thirds of donated land is for public recreation and habitat protection.
• Stewardship: We are responsible for 35 miles of scenic foothill trails east of Sacramento. We steward 13,000 acres and work to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
• Environmental Education: We connect people with outdoors via place-based learning and bolster others to create a more sustainable world for life today and tomorrow.

Impact100’s funding will address these key priorities:

1. During winter 2022-2023, heavy rains and flooding caused a landslide on Lewis Ranch, nearly eliminating a primary access route for the stewardship of this 972-acre property. Repairs of $20,000 will restore this access road.
2. Our Chili Bar Park Conservation Easement on the South Fork of the American River provides river and boating access to 25,000 members of the public annually. Storms caused over 40 times the normal river flow, resulting in $20,000 worth of damage to the park which must be restored to support recreational opportunities.
3. The purchase of a chipper for $30,000 will greatly increase ARC’s ability to reduce fuels on over 6,000 acres of land in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Sacramento. We will decrease excess vegetation, support fire safety in our community and benefit wildlife and plant life.
4. Staff costs to implement and manage this work are $30,000.

We are honored to preserve rivers and land for wildlife, plants, and people in perpetuity. 

Project Title: Ending Congenital Syphilis

Sunburst Projects serves men, women, children living with HIV and those seeking to know their HIV & STD status.

Congenital syphilis is a disease that occurs when a mother with syphilis passes the infection onto her baby during pregnancy. Approximately 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis will be stillborn or die from the infection as a newborn. Babies born with congenital syphilis can have skeletal and facial deformities, severe anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, nerve problems causing blindness or deafness, meningitis, or skin rashes. Newborn babies born to mothers who did not receive syphilis treatment will have to undergo 10 days of grueling and painful injections to try and combat the congenital syphilis. Even with treatment, death is still possible.

In 10 years, female syphilis cases in California have increased over 1,181% and congenital syphilis cases increased over 950%. Studies done by UC Davis School of Medicine show a higher rate of congenital syphilis among women who are experiencing homelessness.

We help unhoused pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis by:

1. Providing housing during the 16-day syphilis treatment regimen is essential to keeping them engaged in treatment which includes painful shots that leave the mother tired and vulnerable. The days between the first and second shot are the most likely time a mother drops out of treatment.
2. Overseeing prenatal care through birth with intensive case management. We support these women by monitoring their medical care, offering personalized supplies, chaperoning to appointments, and supporting them during treatment.

Impact100 funding will allow us to dedicate a full-time medical case manager to this program, provide housing during treatment, provide supplies to mom and baby. Through the delivery of compassionate services, we will reduce newborn deaths, eliminate congenital syphilis among unhoused pregnant women, and bring healthy babies into this world.

Project Title: Effie Yeaw Nature Center Mobile Museum

EYNC is an award-winning environmental and cultural education center located within a 100-acre natural preserve on the banks of the American River. Its small museum focuses on the local flora and fauna of the region by offering hands-on activities, games, and educational exhibits. The center cares for over 30 rehabilitated native wild animals that cannot be released back into the wild. These animals help teach the public about native species, respect for wildlife, and the importance of the ecosystem and include a peregrine falcon, California Desert Tortoise, Western Pond turtle, and an American kestrel. These animals are a highlight for many of the children, offering a dynamic and memorable learning experience.

The EYNC serves 16,000-20,000 school children and welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually. Students experience an up-close encounter with animals, tour the museum, and join a naturalist to explore the Nature Preserve. Children encounter natural phenomena and learn science through the lens of patterns, structure and function, cause and effect, and more.

Impact100 funding will create a mobile museum to travel throughout the region to schools, community centers and events, reaching an even greater number of students. It will eliminate funding and logistical hurdles for schools and parents to coordinate field trips and serve an entire school site without the need for buses and additional staffing. The Nature Exchange Mobile Exhibit is a custom-designed turnkey experience that can be set up in school auditoriums or outdoors with a 200 sq ft design footprint.

The mobile museum allows EYNC to provide programming while our permanent site undergoes renovation that will close the museum intermittently for the next 1.5 years. With the mobile museum, ENYC continues its popular programming and meets the educational needs of area students. EYNC will serve an additional 10,000 children the first year and 20,000 the following year.

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