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OCCF Blog

OCCF Blog

Orange County’s issues are connected—and so are you. We invite you to get in touch with critical information, promising approaches and a growing community of partners who share your passion for our county. Already, we are making strides toward the dream we share for Orange County.

In Celebration of the Season of Giving

nd doers. All year long, we have the unique privilege of working with the best hearts and minds in Orange County. At our Annual Meeting last month, many of you shared why you work so passionately for the good of our community by adding handwritten messages to our "What's Your Why" art installation. If you didn't get a chance to attend the Annual Meeting, you still can contribute your message by tweeting @OCCommunityFdn. We'll add ...
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From the Heart: Recapping the 2016 Annual Meeting

Nearly 700 philanthropists, business and community leaders convened at our 2016 Annual Meeting, held on November 9, 2016 at Hotel Irvine. The theme of the Annual Meeting was “What’s Your Why”, illuminating what motivates local philanthropists to support our community with such energy and passion. This theme is continued in our Annual Report, which we invite you to explore here. We announced during the Annual Meeting that OCCF awarded $60 million in grants and scholarships ...
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A Guide to Getting the Most Out of the New OCCF Website

It’s more than simply a new look. The revamped OCCF website represents a bold departure from the past, designed to enhance how we communicate both with donors and with our community partners. WATCH the story of why we love what we do at OCCF. JUMP right in to learn ways to give, how to change your community or partner with us. STAY INFORMED by visiting our blog often, where you’ll find the latest news about ...
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Shop for a Cause This Holiday Season

If you’re searching for the perfect gift, you’ll love the OCCF Holiday Gift Guide. Each organization represented uses a portion of its proceeds to support a charitable mission. Give while giving back this holiday season! ...
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Dr. James Doti Eyes Next Chapter of Leadership – His Own and the Country’s

Dr. James Doti dreams to live in a community where everyone has an equal opportunity – where we inspire the next generation to reach for the stars. Fortunately for us, Doti has done more than simply wish for a better future for Orange County; he’s helped shaped it. Doti, president emeritus of Chapman University, led the Orange campus for more than 25 years before stepping down this year to return to his first love: teaching ...
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CHOC Children’s Breaks Ground on Pediatric Mental Health

One out of five children suffers from a mental health condition. But despite this prevalence, the more than 150,000 children in Orange County who are affected often are stigmatized or shamed – and the lack of behavioral health options prevents them from accessing critical treatment. How could their lives be improved if their families could seek timely, appropriate help? CHOC Children’s is finding out by building Orange County’s first inpatient mental health program to accommodate ...
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Helping Kids Not Only Survive but Thrive after Pediatric Cancer

In 2009, Susan and Steve Giusto entered a world no parent ever expects when their daughter Cathryn was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, the second most-common form of solid tumor in childhood. Of the nearly 16,000 children diagnosed annually with pediatric cancers, 2,000 will not survive, and three of five survivors will develop health complications—some fatal-- as a result of the cancer treatment they are undergoing to save their lives. Through The Friends of Cathryn Fund, the ...
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Ueberroth Family Foundation Sees Health and Education Converge at SOS-El Sol Wellness Center

When is trust a prescription for good health? When it comes to serving the families of El Sol Science and Arts Academy in Santa Ana, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in May. Not only is the award-winning charter school’s English and Spanish dual-immersion model credited with enabling its nearly 1,000 preschool-through-eighth-grade students achieve high levels of academic success, the new SOS-El Sol Wellness Center also is providing El Sol families a wide range of on-site ...
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Giving Every Kid a Reason to Smile

Dental disease is the No. 1 chronic disease of children, even more common than obesity and asthma. Although it’s almost entirely preventable, one out of three Orange County children has untreated tooth decay. Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County has been grappling with this epidemic since 2001, and now, with its new Smiles X-Press program, children living in some of Orange County’s most impoverished neighborhoods are getting a high-tech, high-touch way to access preventative ...
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A Water-Wise Orange County Is Within Reach

Is it possible to conserve our way out of California’s relentless drought? Garry Brown, chief executive officer of Orange County Coastkeeper, says it is – if we adopt new habits in the near term and embrace innovative water treatment technologies in the long term. “Although this is one of the most extreme droughts we’ve had in California history, it’s not out of the ordinary. We have to get used to living with drought,” Brown said ...
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