The Fund for People in Parks
In its most recent Trailblazer newsletter, The Fund for People in Parks announced several new projects in California and beyond. Included in these projects is the production of ten short films providing first-person accounts from people of diverse backgrounds involved in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ history. Another grant is going towards the creation of a new and improved version of the film Bears of Sequoia.
Other projects include the rebuilding of a bridge on the Backbone Trail in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the replacing of deteriorating shade canopies in Death Valley National Park.
Learn more and donate to these projects.
Attendance Works
Attendance Works recently shared a new resource, “3 Tiers of Intervention”, to help schools and districts address the current spike in absences in many schools. Along with a worksheet and graphic, the tiers suggest practices that can help reduce absenteeism. 
The three-tiered approach starts with foundational supports for the whole school, such as access to computer equipment, internet connectivity, learning support for students, and support for families to help them facilitate learning at home.
Vision Zero Network
Vision Zero Network was excited to share good news via Twitter about Glasgow’s decision to create a new car-free zone in the city center. This initiative is largely due to the impact of the pandemic. As the city reopened after lockdown, city officials decided to reprioritize public space and “give it to people rather than cars.” This move to create more car-free zones is also a part of the city’s larger goal of achieving net zero living by 2030.
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In honor of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on November 21, Vision Zero Network is urging everyone to call on Congress and President Biden to support the Congressional Resolution to make a national commitment to zero traffic deaths.
Digging Deep Project
In order to address the need for social-emotional learning resources for tweens and teens, Digging Deep published “The Shadow’s Edge Guide to Self-Awareness: A Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Workbook for Teens” in partnership with psychologist and author, Kristi Pikiewicz, PhD. The exercises are organized into three stages (disruption, disillusionment, and discovery), “which represent a path toward growth after a difficult event, life challenge, or period of confusion.” The full workbook is available for purchase on Amazon. The “Disruption” chapter is available for free here.
Get to Know Community Initiatives’ Senior Leadership!
Heidi Hernandez Gatty
As our Vice President of Client Services, Heidi applies her years of experience as a thought partner who helps social change leaders manifest their vision into reality.
Before jumping into the world of fiscal sponsorship, Heidi was a stage manager and thespian herself. It was working for an educational theater company that steered her into the nonprofit sector.
Growing up as an only child with a very adventurous mother, Heidi spent a lot of time camping with her parents and being whisked away on day trips around California. Now, as a parent of two daughters (ages 15 and 12), Heidi cherishes spending time outdoors with her family in Tahoe, enjoying the lake in the summer and skiing (poorly) in the winter.
Heidi’s love of performing has been passed down to her daughter, Julia, who now dances ballet at the same studio where Heidi danced as a kid.
Heidi is also an avid runner. For the last two years she has completed the Mermaid Series’ challenge of running 200 miles in 100 days.
You can find out more about Heidi on the Meet Us page of our website.
Let us know what’s going on with your project and we’ll do our best to get it into the next Project News and share on social media.
Email Stephanie at communications@communityin.org.
If you would like to learn more about our projects, please visit our projects page.