Виноделы долины Напа инвестируют 1,8 млн долларов в создание центров здоровья в школах округа

Napa Valley Vintners will invest $1.8 million in five local nonprofits providing wellness services on school campuses across Napa County, the organization recently announced. The grants will support Mentis, Napa Valley Education Foundation, Aldea, On the Move and UpValley Family Centers, which together bring different areas of expertise to on-campus wellness centers and create a coordinated network of care for students. The centers offer everything from a quiet place to reset during the school day to counseling, peer support and connections to additional resources. Supporting students at school is one part of Napa Valley Vintners’ broader focus on helping local youth lead healthy, balanced lives, according to a news release. In the coming weeks, the announcement states, the organization will announce more grants supporting young people after school, at home and throughout the community. “We tend to be their first form of contact with a trusted adult, and students feel comfortable telling us what’s going on in their lives,” Jessica De Leon, a youth outreach coordinator with On the Move at the Wellness Center at New Technology High School, said in the release. “We can then provide students with the support they need.” Today, 55% of Napa County public high school students use an on-campus wellness center, the release adds, demonstrating how integral the resources have become to student life. For students like Vanessa, a freshman in the Napa Valley Unified School District who was struggling academically, feeling isolated and losing her sense of belonging, the release states that regular check-ins with a youth outreach coordinator helped her build friendships, attend class and eventually seek therapy. By her senior year, she was bringing other freshmen into the center and sharing what the space had meant to her. “This place saved me when I was exactly where you are,” she said, according to the release. Since 1981, funds raised through Auction Napa Valley have enabled Napa Valley’s vintner community to invest in Napa Valley’s children and families. To date, the group has given out $245 million. Grant recipients include: Mentis: $400,000 grant; lifetime total of $7.6 million in Napa Valley Vintners funding since 1998, with 28 years of partnership. Mentis focuses on mental health. It provides group discussions, coping tools and therapy for 2,000 middle and high school students each year, character-building programs for NVUSD seventh-graders, and training on suicide warning signs. Napa Valley Education Foundation: $400,000 grant; lifetime total of $6.2 million in Napa Valley Vintners funding since 2019, with eight years of partnership. The education foundation supports student success through mental health screenings for 16,000 students annually, helps operate on-campus wellness centers that see 250 students daily across seven campuses, and engages 350 school staff members in training conferences. Aldea: $400,000 grant; lifetime total of $11 million in Napa Valley Vintners funding since 1996, with 30 years of partnership. Aldea provides behavioral health services. Its programs address substance use, provide mental health services for children in foster care, and support young adults transitioning out of foster care. On the Move: $400,000 grant; lifetime total of $7.2 million in Napa Valley Vintners funding since 2004, with 22 years of partnership. On the Move mobilizes youth to take action. Youth outreach coordinators engage students through peer support, wellness education and activities that foster connection. They also help create welcoming, inclusive spaces where students feel seen and heard. UpValley Family Centers: $200,000 grant; lifetime total of $5.9 million in Napa Valley Vintners funding since 2004, with 22 years of partnership. UpValley Family Centers helps operate student wellness centers on school campuses in the northern Napa Valley. It coordinates wellness programs at school, referrals for students, prevention-focused groups for teens, and parenting support.