Southern California Children’s Endowment's Impact On Disadvantaged Youth
This charity is dedicated to meeting all the needs that other local organizations can’t by partnering with the right organizations, broadening its services, and focusing funds on growth rather than one-time spending.
By Logan Reboja
What happens when the child of an impoverished family in Long Beach has basic needs that don’t fit into the scope or mission statement of other non-profits? Before the Southern California Children’s Endowment (SCCE) was created, not much could be done.
Countless local non-profits and government departments were forced to turn a blind eye when dealing with families that so clearly needed more financial help than specifically earmarked funds were able to cover. Now the Southern California Children’s Endowment partners with these organizations and when social workers and volunteers meet a family
with a greater need, they know who to call.
The Long Beach WIC Program helps low-income pregnant women and mothers of young
children purchase food that promotes healthy eating habits. The WIC is a perfect example of an organization dedicated to solving one problem in the Long Beach community, but unable to help the families it meets beyond the scope of nutrition.
Long Beach WIC Specialist Jasmine Croom explained to our magazine how thankful WIC clients were for the extra help they are able to receive from the SCCE. Necessities, such as
strollers, diapers, cribs and more, are regularly bought for families with too little income to
provide these basic needs.
It works this way: someone from the Long Beach WIC or another program will nominate a family that needs more help than what their organization can supply. The SCCE then researches the nomination and determines what they might need and the ages and sizes of the children. Rather than giving money directly to the families, the SCCE prefers to get the family started with donations of items. They will also help families pay for expenses such as electricity bills or hotel rooms.
We talked to a Long Beach WIC referral and SCCE funding recipient, Ariane Dearing. She’s a homeless mother who was pregnant at the time she originally contacted the WIC. They referred her to receive extra help from the SCCE. She received a stroller and a car seat allowing her family to move around better as they searched for a place to live, as well as a sufficient supply of diapers. Ariane was so grateful that she called founder Nick Worthington
to thank him herself! Upon hearing she was on a two-month waiting list to enroll in housing at a shelter, he went above and beyond and extended her and her family’s stay at a local hotel.
“The SCCE helps families who are in need,” says Ariane, “and Nick Worthington went above and beyond to help. He didn’t have to help with the hotel, but he did.”
Worthington and his Board of Directors are steadfast in their belief that Long Beach and all of Southern California benefit from a charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth but not limited to any certain need.
The best part about donating to their endowment is that it is never a one-time donation. Your contribution is put into their principal fund and invested with the purpose of creating long-term growth and profits that will benefit children in Southern California for decades to come!
The mission of the Southern California Children’s Endowment is to help, educate, and protect the hungry, abused, and poor children of Southern California. This is accomplished through direct assistance and by partnering with the most effective local organizations. The needs of southern California’s children are not limited to food, medical care, clothing, or education and our endowment is not limited in scope in the ways we will seek to accomplish our mission. Our goal is to protect and elevate the future promise of southern California’s most disadvantaged youths. We want as many children fed, cared for, and educated as possible, as effectively and efficiently as possible. This cannot be accomplished by a one-time donation or limited to occasional fundraising drives. It requires a major and sustained effort. Our endowment ensures that donations will fund our mission for perpetuity. With every dollar, our ability to accomplish our goals grows, and it will never diminish. Expenses are restricted to 20% of the endowments income unless a donor requests that their funds be used towards a particular expense item. Budgets are based solely on income from earnings and never from the principal contributions. This policy delivers industry-low expense ratios allowing as much money as possible to be delivered in support of our mission. The endowment is self-sustaining and constantly growing. All donations flow into the principal fund of the endowment which is invested in a conservative manner with the highly respected investment firm Creative Planning. The annual income will be budgeted and applied towards achieving our mission. Learn more at socalendow.org.
