NALEO Educational Fund Awards $500K to Bolster Vaccination Efforts Among Latino Youth

Newly launched subgrantee program, part of Juntos Podemos campaign, provides additional funding for culturally competent vaccination information outreach in Southern California

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association for Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund — with support from Kaiser Permanente — today released its list of seven subgrantees as part of its Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) campaign to combat the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and boost vaccination uptake among Latino and African-American communities. The funding for subgrantees will give a cumulative $500,000 to seven organizations to invest in culturally competent outreach activities that target Latino and African-American youth in Southern California. The organizations selected to receive the grants are Chula Vista Community Collaborative (San Diego County), Calexico Wellness Center (Imperial County), California Black Women’s Health Project (Los Angeles County), Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (Orange County), Legacy LA (Los Angeles County), Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy (San Bernardino County), and Youth Action Project (San Bernardino County). Organizations throughout Southern California were invited to submit proposals outlining their project plans related to vaccination outreach efforts and were chosen to receive funding based on their strong relationships with the communities NALEO Educational Fund is working to reach. “Data show that Latino and African-American youth vaccination rates continue to lag behind other communities and age groups,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund Chief Executive Officer. “Our strategic partnership with Kaiser Permanente helps us empower young people of color to make more informed choices when it comes to their health and combat the spread of vaccine misinformation.” As part of these outreach efforts, NALEO Educational Fund has also teamed up with Luz Collective and L. Norwood & Associates to create culturally and linguistically competent digital assets for the subgrantees to use in their digital outreach efforts. Subgrantee organizations were consulted during the creation of these assets to ensure cultural competency when speaking to Latino and African-American youth. Finally, two additional benefits for subgrantees are access to Kaiser Permanente’s healthcare expertise and the opportunity to come together with other participants to share best practices, challenges, and successes encountered in the field. “We thank NALEO Educational Fund for their commitment to helping end this terrible pandemic. Community collaborations are crucial to creatively and effectively dispelling harmful misinformation and increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates. Life-saving vaccines are key to resuming the lives we all yearn to enjoy again,” said Yesenia V. Monsour, Associate Director, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Regional Government and Community Relations. Through the Juntos Podemos campaign and related initiatives, NALEO Educational Fund is committed to combatting COVID-19 by collaborating with and providing resources and funding for various partners to bolster awareness and halt the spread of misinformation — particularly in communities the pandemic has hit the hardest.