Bay Area LIFE: 2 organizations work to empower Latino communities

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Latino Community Foundation is a California based organization that works to inspire philanthropy, invest in Latino Communities, and encourage positive and possible solutions for change.

The mission of LCF is to create a culture of philanthropy for and by Latinos and to invest in Latino-based non-profit organizations.

By doing this they hope to build a stronger, more resilient Latino community and state of California overall. LCF helps to empower Latino donors and community leaders, so that they can work together to transform Latino lives and communities.

Currently the Latino Community Foundation is expanding board leadership, growing a donor program called the Latino Giving Circle, and building the California Latino agenda (an advocacy platform designed to improve lives of Latinos throughout the state of California.)

The Latino Community Foundation organizes their vision in a three pillar model. Each of the three pillars: Inspire, Transform, and Empower are supported by various goals, programs, events, and fundraisers.

These include a vast variety of resources including their annual Gala, educational summits, and parental engagement programs.

The LCF has already invested over $3 million in more than 50 Latino-based organizations throughout California, encompassing arenas such as education, technology, health and civic engagement. They stand by the belief that the power for positive change in the Latino community is possible through empowerment of the community itself.

Another group, HOMEY is a San Francisco based Non-profit that specializes on violence prevention and youth development.

The name HOMEY is an acronym created by the very youth it serves. It stands for Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth. HOMEY began in 1999 as a response to the vast number of youth murders that were occurring in the streets of San Francisco.

From the beginning they worked to prevent violence and help create a resource for affected youth to escape detrimental and often devastating fates. Community members and youth banded together to create a safe haven in the program that is HOMEY.

Today HOMEY not only continues its work in violence prevention, but offers a variety of other resources for San Francisco's youth as well. They offer programs such as the Kalpulli Leadership program, Joven Noble/Noble Youth program, and Native Graphix Screen Printing program.

These programs help inspire youth by encouraging critical thinking, cultural understanding, and civic engagement. HOMEY utilizes the Joven Noble and Noble Youth program to create school based groups designed to help young people avoid unplanned pregnancies, substance abuse, and community violence, while encouraging youth to act in a responsible and respectable way.

HOMEY also works to inspire and support youth so that they can graduate high school and move on to further their education in college.