LLUCH Foundation Receives 10000 Grant for AdoptASchool Childhood

By: Herbert Atienza

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LLUCH

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Representatives from Bank of America present a check to officials of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation to support the foundation’s “Adopt-A-School” Childhood Obesity Program at Victoria Elementary School in San Bernardino. From left to right: Shauna Gifford, grants officer, LLUH; Timothy Gillespie, faith and health liaison, LLUH; Dora Barilla, assistant vice president for strategy and innovation, LLUH; Al Arguello, market president, Inland Empire, Bank of America; Clara Vanderpool, vice president, Bank of America; Dr. Marti Baum, assistant professor of pediatrics, LLU School of Medicine and director of Healthy Neighborhoods Project; Angela Coaston, community health development manager, LLUH; Maria Valverde, office of philanthropy administrative assistant, LLUH; and Laura Acosta, community health development coordinator, LLUH.
Representatives of Bank of America presented a check for $10,000 to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) Foundation on Dec. 12, to go towards the foundation’s “Adopt-A-School” Childhood Obesity Program. The 12-month program, which started this fall, will allow Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) and LLUCH professionals to identify the needs, introduce a fitness and nutrition program, and provide resources for students and teachers at Victoria Elementary School, which is located in an underserved community in San Bernardino. “We are proud to partner with LLUH and the LLUCH Foundation to support efforts making it easier for families to access better nutrition and become physically active,” said Al Arguello, market president, Inland Empire, Bank of America. “Many families simply do not have the resources they need, including time, money, and knowledge to buy and prepare nutritious food or be physically active every day; that is why this Childhood Obesity Program that benefits entire families is so important,” he said. Dora Barilla, assistant vice president for strategy and innovation at Loma Linda University Health and associate director of the Institute for Community Partnerships, said the program supports LLUH’s overarching goal and mission of bringing healing and education to the community. “LLUH and LLUCH Foundation have been instrumental in creating partnerships to improve our community’s health through multi-sectoral health initiatives,” she said. “We are very grateful to Bank of America and its customers for their support of the ‘Adopt-A-School’ program to help improve the health of the children at Victoria Elementary School.”