Three community-benefit organizations from the Central Valley will receive funds to improve accessibility, volunteer management and public advocacy programs in the region thanks to Humanics Program students at Fresno State who are involved in Students4Giving, a project that is part of a national initiative offering hands-on experiences in philanthropy and leadership.

The grants will be presented by students at a reception at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 13, at Arte Américas (1630 Van Ness Ave.) in Fresno.

“The Central Valley is the heart of California, where grants have been the powerhouse to build upon our heart to support anyone within it in all walks of life,” said Kayleigh Hanson, a Fresno State student who is part of the project. “These grants have built up existing neighborhoods off of Blackstone through Fresno Metro Ministries and also improved after-school, summer and mentoring programs through Care Fresno and so many more. These grants touch lives in the community in hopes that we continue to grow together.”

This year, the three organizations each receiving a $5,000 grant are the Jakara Movement, which engages Sikh youth in immigrant rights, resident empowerment, educational justice and civic participation; Every Neighborhood Partnership, which is building resident community leadership to advocate for Fresno neighborhoods; and Central California Adaptive Sports Center, which will help create more opportunities for those with cognitive and physical disabilities who have limited access to a recreation lifestyle.

The Humanics Program at Fresno State created its first such project in 2007 with an $8,000 seed grant from the Central Valley Community Foundation and flourished into what is now the Students4Giving Initiative of Campus Compact and Fidelity Charitable Gifts Fund with significant financial support from Whitney Foundation, Central Valley Community Foundation and numerous individual donors and student fundraising efforts.

Thirteen years later, the project has provided $162,000 in grants to 36 different community-benefit organizations in the San Joaquin Valley.

The Humanics program is offered in the Department of Sociology and allows students to earn a minor in philanthropic and community-based leadership and/or a certificate in administration and leadership for community-benefit organizations. Dr. Matthew Jendian, chair of the Department of Sociology at Fresno State, is the founding director and Dr. Don Simmons is the lead faculty member.

For more information, contact Kayleigh Hanson at kayleighhanson@mail.fresnostate.edu or 661.706.7116.