PacifiCare gives grants to six agencies

What sort of ideas and projects does the PacifiCare Foundation fund?

After the latest round of giving, that answer now includes airplane flights for people in need of getting to a hospital; anti-drug and anti-violence messages to teens; computers in the classrooms; training manuals for people interested in being legal guardians; assistance to go from welfare to work; and 15,000 visits to a museum by at-risk kids.

In a brief breakfast ceremony at the PacifiCare Health Systems valley headquarters in Henderson, the foundation awarded six $5,000 grants to Las Vegas agencies, bringing to $250,738 the total value of the PacifiCare grants, which have gone to 28 different agencies since 1997.

Kayla Arnesen, public relations director for the health-care corporation, said at the presentation ceremony, "This is a way for us to send a message that we want to give back to the community."

The six agencies receiving grants from PacifiCare Foundation on July 17 were:

Angel Flight West -- Nevada Wing

John Davis, assistant wing leader for Nevada, said several pilots fly out of the North Las Vegas and Henderson airports, and added there is always a need for more.

Primarily, the organization flies patients and families that can't otherwise afford to get to a distant hospital.

"It doesn't have to be a patient," he said. "We've even flown the family dog to a young patient that was in a hospital."

The organization recently had its 10,000th Angel Flight, a feat that will be commemorated in September with an anniversary celebration and reunion at the Regent, in Summerlin.

BEST Coalition

Standing for Bring Everyone's Strength Together, BEST is part of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Kevin McClure, an anti-violence specialist who works with Las Vegas youths, said the grant will go toward developing a 15-member youth coalition that will promote education about drug and alcohol abuse among teens.

"We are trying to interrupt the process," he said.

Bishop Gorman High School

The Catholic prep school on Maryland Parkway is in a 50-year-old building, which isn't wired for modern technology.

So, according to Jeanne Hamrick, director of development, the PacifiCare Foundation grant will go toward "mobilized computers." These aren't just laptops. Instead, they are laptops on a cart, which can be wheeled to classrooms when needed.

With the mobile models, the students will be able to use the applications and surf the net.

"They will be able to see how technology is going to be a significant part of their everyday lives from here on out," she said at the gathering.

Clark County Public Guardian

This nonprofit agency helps many of the 800 people in Las Vegas who have been declared incompetent in court but who don't have any family members who can serve as a legal guardian.

The PacifiCare grant will go toward printing copies of a training book called "A Model Code of Ethics for Guardians," used in training sessions for people willing to be volunteer legal guardians.

Kathleen Buchanan, of the organization, said the books will be provided free at the training sessions.

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

The "Learning Safari" program at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum is one of the more important programs at that facility, according to Nancy Gillespie, the director. The museum was founded 10 years ago. "Learning Safari" started a few months later.

This past year, some 15,000 at-risk kids visited the museum in free field trips arranged by schools and neighborhood clubs.

"We see a lot of kids who, for a lot of them, have never been outside their urban neighborhood," she said. "I think we can spark a desire to learn."

Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow

The purpose behind this nonprofit agency is "training to be self-sufficient," said Christy Johnson, the program director. She said the clients -- mostly women but not all -- get help with improving their economic situations, with such things as job training tuition and supplies, transportation, child care, "whatever it takes to get that person from Point A to Point B."

The organization has had 60 "graduates" since it started in 1997, although the agency didn't get going full-time until June 2000. There are now 180 clients taking part in various programs.