FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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CONTACT: Olivia Stafford, Jean Walcher, 619-295-7140

Olivia@jwalcher.com, Jean@jwalcher.com

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Multicultural Health Foundation chosen as 2021 Nonprofit of the Year

NONPROFIT HONORED BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER DR. AKILAH WEBER

San Diego (August 17, 2021) – Multicultural Health Foundation is proud to announce it was honored as the 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber. Last week, the Multicultural Health Foundation was honored by the assemblymember with a proclamation at MacArthur Park in La Mesa. Multicultural Health Foundation is one of more than one hundred nonprofits that was honored by their state senators and assemblymembers for their tremendous contributions to the communities they serve.

The Multicultural Health Foundation is in partnership with the County of San Diego to address the urgent COVID-19 related needs of African American and Black individuals and families throughout San Diego County who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic through the Together Against COVID campaign.

The Together Against COVID campaign identified Black healthcare professionals, local elected officials and pastors to be trusted messengers in media interviews and free virtual webinars. Through personal stories about how they celebrated a safe, socially distant holidays or gave the vaccine to friends and community members in the neighborhoods they grew up in, these familiar faces encouraged the community to protect themselves and their families, neighbors and coworkers from COVID-19 by getting tested and getting the vaccine. For the lifespan of the campaign thus far, September 2020 to August 2021, monthly impressions across all campaign mediums started with two million in its initial month and reached 54 million last month.

“Our hope for the campaign is to address the needs of people who are underrepresented and give them the resources they need. We are deeply humbled to be recognized by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber as a 2021 Nonprofit of the Year,” said Multicultural Health Foundation Interim Executive Director Cynthia James-Price.

“The pandemic and shelter-in-place orders of the past year and a half have put nonprofits  – usually hidden in plain sight – in the spotlight,” explains Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits). “California Nonprofit of the Year is an opportunity for our elected officials to celebrate the good work they see nonprofits doing in their districts, and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.”

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About Multicultural Health Foundation

The Multicultural Health Foundation’s mission is to bring health justice and wellness to the multicultural communities of San Diego County by focusing resources on the most vulnerable populations with community-based wellness strategies, social-clinical interventions, and research that will lead to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Founded in 2012, Multicultural Health Foundation is the only organization in San Diego County unifying the fragmented independent physicians’ sector, which makes up the largest medical safety net for indigent patients. The foundation also collaborates with insurance companies, community clinics, hospitals, the public sector, philanthropists, faith-based volunteers, and most importantly, the patients themselves to advance effective health and prevention programs.

The foundation is working to promote change at the institutional level by advancing multicultural health research and policies that aim to eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Learn more at mhfwellness.org.

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About California Nonprofits Day

California Nonprofits Day, now in its sixth year, was formally recognized by 2021 Assembly Concurrent Resolution 80, authored by Assemblymember Luz Rivas, and co-authored by Senator Monique Limón. Each year legislators from across California have chosen a Nonprofit of the Year in their district.

Traditionally, honorees and legislators are invited by Cal Nonprofits, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Senator Monique Limón (Santa Barbara), and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Assemblymember Luz Rivas to a celebratory luncheon on California Nonprofits Day. This year, like 2020, the luncheon was canceled in response to pandemic restrictions, but legislators moved forward with honoring nonprofits doing great work in their districts.

According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by Cal Nonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.

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