LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, LA2050 announced the ten winners of the My LA2050 Grants Challenge, a $1 million competition seeking creative and innovative solutions to shape a better Los Angeles.

In its third year, the My LA2050 Grants Challenge received 302 submissions to make Los Angeles the best place to learn, create, play, connect, and live. LA2050 selected winners based on public support via online voting, in addition to winners selected by a jury.

The winning proposals reflect an ambition to improve the quality of life for Los Angeles' vulnerable populations, including veterans and foster youth, in addition to an enthusiasm for increasing access to opportunities for all Angelenos. "All of the proposals craft a hopeful future for Los Angeles," said Tara Roth, president of the Goldhirsh Foundation, which supports the LA2050 initiative. "The My LA2050 winners are championing innovative ways to repurpose public space, celebrate local creative professionals, and strengthen career pipelines for the future workforce."

The My LA2050 Grants Challenge is part of LA2050's effort to drive progress toward a shared vision of success for Los Angeles. LA2050 has engaged 30,000 Angelenos through community conversations about the future of Los Angeles. More than 200,000 individuals voted in its three grants challenges to support their favorite ideas moving LA forward.

In addition to the Goldhirsh Foundation's $1 million commitment, the Annenberg Foundation and the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation will provide a combined $600,000 in awards for submissions in the grants challenge. Additional winners will be announced in 2016.

Winners among the top voted are:

• LEARN: Citizens of the World will develop a model incorporating social-emotional learning into everyday curricula, emphasizing self-regulation and social connection for healthy child development and school safety.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Review of Books will profile an LA writer or artist each day of the year, bringing exposure, locally and globally, to the vibrant creative community in Los Angeles.
• PLAY: Grand Park will pilot the installation of permanent shade structures designed by a local artist at the park in Downtown Los Angeles.
• CONNECT: Los Angeles Promise Zone Initiative will provide students in the Promise Zone with summer jobs as young ethnographers to conduct 1,800 surveys measuring how the initiative is improving lives.
• LIVE: Heal the Bay, in partnership with Pacoima Beautiful and the Pacific American Volunteer Association, will launch a multi-language project to improve Angelenos' understanding of water challenges and to introduce Angelenos to water-saving strategies.

The jury voted winners are:

• LEARN: Girls Academic Leadership Academy, LAUSD's first all-girls public STEM high school, will create a makerspace, providing students with hands-on experience using new technologies and innovative processes.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Bioscience Hub, in collaboration with East Los Angeles College, will create the Biotech Leaders Academy, establishing a pipeline for East LA students to become biotech entrepreneurs.
• PLAY: People for Parks will unlock six new community school parks, providing more than 25,000 Angelenos access to a safe park within 1/4 mile of their homes.
• CONNECT: CASA of Los Angeles will recruit and train 250 new volunteers who will serve as court-appointed special advocates on behalf of abused and neglected youth in the foster care system.
• LIVE: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) will provide at least 180 of LA's 320,000 veterans and their families with support as they transition to civilian life through referrals to critical resources and support systems.

View all of the winners at www.la2050.org/challenge and connect with LA2050 on facebook.com/LA2050, twitter.com/LA2050, using #LA2050, and at www.la2050.org.

For media inquiries, please contact: 
Angie Jean-Marie, 240.498.3237 
connect@la2050.org

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151207/293924

SOURCE LA2050

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