Futures Without Violence announced Dec. 7 that Blue Shield of California and Genentech have contributed $1.5 million and $5 million respectively to All In For Kids, which will invest in selected Bay Area community collaboratives and policy coalitions working to interrupt and prevent childhood adversity. From the announcement:
Futures Without Violence today announced the launch of the All In For Kids Fund with a $5 million seed investment from Genentech and $1.5 million from Blue Shield of California Foundation. The new multi-donor fund is the first of its kind focused on preventing traumatic childhood experiences and supporting Bay Area families and communities affected by trauma and domestic violence -- both of which are being caused or worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In California, one in seven children experience trauma by age five, with disproportionately higher rates among Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities. Domestic violence affects two out of three Californians, either directly or indirectly.
A growing body of research shows that repeated exposure to traumatic stress caused by domestic violence, abuse, neglect or other stressors like poverty and discrimination can harm children’s developing brains and bodies, over time resulting in higher rates of life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma and Alzheimer’s. Childhood exposure to domestic violence is a risk factor for future domestic violence. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can also limit life opportunities like completing high school and achieving economic success.
The All In For Kids Fund will invest in pioneering, community-led strategies and policy changes that protect children from trauma and provide more comprehensive health, safety, education, housing and economic supports for caregivers and families. The announcement of the Fund comes at the launch of the All In For Kids Virtual Series, which will feature three free 15-minute social media summits every day at 4:00 p.m. PST from December 7-9. More information about the series can be found at www.AllinForKidsCA.org.
“Childhood trauma is a predictor of healthcare disparities, and for the past several years we’ve committed our resources, expertise and employee passion to help build a movement to address this complex issue,” said Kristin Campbell Reed, Executive Director of Corporate and Employee Giving at Genentech. “We recognize that a challenge as multifaceted as childhood trauma cannot be solved by any one approach, or any one funder. By pooling our resources through the All In For Kids Fund, we can make so much more progress toward mitigating the impacts of trauma and promoting a fundamentally different way of supporting kids and families across the Bay Area.”
To read the full announcement, click here.