Lava Mae Receives $1M Grant to Scale Service in Oakland and Berkeley
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) June 15, 2018 -- Lava Mae (http://www.lavamae.org), a San Francisco-based nonprofit transforming the way communities see and serve our unhoused neighbors, announced today that The San Francisco Foundation (http://www.sff.org/), together with its donors, has awarded the organization $1M to provide access to mobile hygiene and Pop-Up Care Villages for Oakland and Berkeley’s houseless population.
The funding enables Lava Mae to build on its initial Oakland expansion, which was made possible by generous funding from Kaiser Permanente and collaboration with the City of Oakland. Lava Mae currently provides mobile showers in Oakland four days a week on Mondays & Thursdays at 27th & Northgate, and on Tuesdays & Fridays at 6th & Castro. With this new grant, Lava Mae will bring its time-tested mobile showers and toilets on wheels to new East Bay neighborhoods to help more individuals experiencing homelessness rekindle dignity, restore a sense of health and well-being, and boost resilience as they persevere in seeking employment and housing.
Lava Mae will also collaborate with a wide range of businesses, volunteer groups and community-based organizations to scale its Pop-Up Care Village program across Oakland and Berkeley. Lava Mae Pop-Up Care Villages are one-stop events that mobilize businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, social entrepreneurs and volunteers to bring critical services to the streets, where people moving through homelessness need them most. In addition to Lava Mae’s mobile showers, Pop-Up Care Villages provide haircuts, clothing, food, medical care, dental/vision care, mental health counseling, art therapy, employment services, veteran services, resource referrals and more – all delivered in a welcoming and festive atmosphere featuring live music and Lava Mae’s signature approach to Radical Hospitality.
The San Francisco Foundation organizes donor learning sessions and walking tours of key neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area. Last November, the foundation brought its donors to San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood to learn about innovative programs, including Lava Mae, that impact San Francisco’s unhoused population. The $1M will enable Lava Mae to further scale its service across the Bay, in both Oakland and Berkeley.
“Lava Mae is enormously grateful to The San Francisco Foundation and its donors for their incredible generosity and for boldly making it possible for us to serve thousands more of our houseless neighbors in the East Bay,” said Lava Mae founder/CEO Doniece Sandoval. “We also deeply appreciate The San Francisco Foundation for its leadership in connecting donors with on-the-ground innovation in the community.”
Founded in 2013, Lava Mae launched its mobile hygiene service in June 2014 and has since provided 50,000+ showers to 12,000+ guests in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles – all delivered with an unexpected level of care known as Radical Hospitality. Lava Mae has also inspired 80+ mobile hygiene services modeled after its own, and launched an online mobile hygiene replication toolkit + platform to help people everywhere bring showers and toilets on wheels to their own communities. More than 900 people across 13 countries have already downloaded Lava Mae’s replication toolkit.
Lava Mae has already received an early and enthusiastic response from individuals, businesses, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, schools and others across Oakland and Berkeley wanting to volunteer, partner, donate and contribute in-kind necessities such as hygiene items, clothing, shoes and other essentials for Lava Mae shower guests. Those interested in supporting Lava Mae’s work can learn more at lavamae.org and email volunteer(at)lavamae(dot)org and donations(at)lavamae(dot)org.
About Lava Mae (http://www.lavamae.org)
Lava Mae is a design company innovating to transform lives in the world of homelessness and disrupt the way communities see and serve our unhoused neighbors around the globe. Founded in San Francisco in 2013, Lava Mae began by converting public transportation buses into showers and toilets on wheels to deliver hygiene and rekindle dignity for our houseless neighbors. To-date, Lava Mae has delivered 50,000+ showers to 12,000+ guests in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, dramatically raised awareness about the lack of access to showers and basic hygiene across the U.S. and around the globe, inspired 80+ mobile hygiene services modeled after its own, and launched a mobile hygiene replication toolkit + platform to help people everywhere bring showers + toilets on wheels to their own communities. For more information, please visit lavamae.org, and connect with the Lava Mae community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Contact: Deborah Schneider, deborah(at)lavamae(dot)org / 415.637.3686
About The San Francisco Foundation (http://www.sff.org/)
With more than $1.4 billion in assets, The San Francisco Foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the country. The foundation is committed to expanding opportunity and ensuring a more equitable future for all in the Bay Area. Together with its donors, the foundation distributed $146 million to nonprofit organizations last fiscal year. The San Francisco Foundation serves Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.
Deborah Schneider, Lava Mae, http://www.lavamae.org, +1 415-637-3686, [email protected]
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