Together, We Advance and Defend Wellness
A Message From the Board and Staff of The California Wellness Foundation
For 25 years, The California Wellness Foundation has worked with people and organizations across our state to advance wellness for all Californians. Together, we’ve made extraordinary progress. And yet, as we begin 2017, extreme political and social divisions threaten our collective wellness. One thing has become clear:
Even as we advance wellness in California, we also must defend wellness in our state and across the nation.
We remain committed to our Advancing Wellness grantmaking strategy and its three interconnected portfolios: Bridging the Gaps in Access and Quality Care, Promoting Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods, and Expanding Education and Employment Pathways. We also recognize that there are urgent areas where we must focus our time and resources in order to defend progress that’s been made. These are:
- Access to health care and the Affordable Care Act.
- Health and wellness of immigrant communities.
- The social safety net supporting the health of our neediest residents.
- Violence prevention and anti-hate efforts.
- We will deploy all of our resources – our $35 million grantmaking budget, our ability to convene partners and our voices – to advance and defend wellness.
But we can’t do this work alone. We will support efforts to hold government accountable at the local, state and national levels to enact policies that support health and wellness. We’ll also continue to invest in civic engagement so that all communities have a voice and a role in finding solutions to our most pressing health challenges. We’ll look for current and new partners to join us. And we will remain vigilant as other threats to health and wellness may emerge.
In times like these, we build strength and resolve from the humanitarian principles that guide our work:
- We believe health is a human right.
- We believe everyone deserves access to quality health care, regardless of race, gender, religion or immigration status.
- We believe in the power of advocacy and organizing for change.
- We believe in social justice and equity; this means we give priority to California’s most vulnerable people.
- We believe change requires partnerships across sectors: nonprofit, philanthropy, business and government.
- We embrace a public health framework: facts matter.
- Cal Wellness remains steadfast in our mission, and our staff and Board members stand alongside our partners to advance wellness and to defend the progress we’ve made together.