COUNTYWIDE : $100,500 in Grants to Go Toward AIDS

The California Community Foundation has announced that it will give more than $100,000 to four Orange County organizations addressing AIDS issues.

The foundation, with assets approaching $90 million, is the oldest grant-making foundation in Southern California and is now in its 75th year.

The local organizations and their grants are: Orange County Center for Health ($50,000); AIDS Response Program of the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County ($29,000); American Red Cross ($19,000), and AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County ($2,500).

The foundation also announced grants totaling about $200,000 to similar organizations in Los Angeles County.

“These programs we’ve chosen to fund, this year more than ever, reflect the diversity of those who are out there battling this epidemic,” said Jack Shakely, president of the foundation. “It is very satisfying to be able to support such a breadth of innovative programs that are focused on those high-risk populations that too often fall through the cracks.”