In Support of 'Giving Tuesday,' SoCalGas Donates an Additional $100,000 to Help Address Food Insecurity in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In support of "Giving Tuesday" and with the understanding that great need continues to exist in Los Angeles County, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced $100,000 in donations to support local food distribution events and holiday toy drives put on by three Los Angeles County non-profit organizations.

Since March, SoCalGas has donated more than $3.2 million to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 recovery efforts, including supporting the region's workforce, feeding the hungry, providing bill assistance to customers, and more. The company has provided COVID-19 relief grants to more than 200 nonprofit organizations throughout its service territory during this time.

Alma Family Services, Meet Each Need with Dignity (MEND) and Mid Valley Family YMCA will each receive a share of the $100,000 donation announced today.

"Underserved neighborhoods in the First District, which are predominately communities of color, have been some of the hardest hit by COVID-19, and also those suffering the most from sustained food insecurity," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. "Since the start of the pandemic, the County of Los Angeles has remained committed to helping families put food on the table through nutrition programs and free meal distributions. Thanks to SoCalGas' generous donation, and Alma Family Services' consistent presence in the community, we will continue to make sure anyone who needs sustenance will receive fresh produce and protein because no one should go to bed hungry."

"For years, MEND has been a lifeline for families in the San Fernando Valley, helping them make ends meet through a myriad of services, and especially through its food bank program," said 7th District Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. "Thanks to their generous donation, SoCalGas is providing a critical support to MEND and the families that rely on their weekly food pantry during the toughest economic hardship our community has experienced in recent history."

"This Giving Tuesday is important more than ever, especially around the holidays, a time of need for many, and this year is no exception," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government and community affairs for SoCalGas. "I know personally that these contributions will help ease some of the worries our neighbors are experiencing in this unprecedented time."

"Alma deeply appreciates this generous donation from SoCalGas which will allow us to provide resources for children and their families. During the Holiday Season, families struggling with multiple stressors cannot afford to dedicate any resources outside of their basic needs," said Lourdes Caracoza, president and CEO of Alma Family Services. "Many children in our community would not have the opportunity to celebrate Hope & Solidarity during the Holiday Season without the partnership between caring CBOs and Donors such as Alma and SoCalGas as well as the collaborative work with elected officials. For the past four years we had the opportunity to work with Los Angeles County 1^st District Supervisor Hilda Solis to offer tangible resources for disadvantaged children. This donation has come at a critical time in an unprecedented year in which children and their families' needs have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Community engagement initiatives such as these have the potential to strengthen protective factors for children during their formative years as it demonstrates the caring and investment of their community in their emotional well-being."

"It has been such a hard year… harder than any of us imagined back in March – high unemployment, business closures, and social isolation. Not only that, our region in the northeast San Fernando Valley is the hardest hit by COVID-19 infections," said Janet Marinaccio, president of MEND. "Today is Giving Tuesday, a day when the world comes together to provide hope for the most vulnerable. Receiving such a generous gift from Southern California Gas Company on this day means so much to us. It not only is doubled because of a challenge match we received, but also provides incredible relief for thousands of people who line up at MEND every week in need of food. This year has been especially challenging because the food supply chain is overloaded. We have also seen a drastic drop in donated goods because of cancelled food drives. For the first time, MEND has had to purchase volumes of food to meet the demand. We are truly grateful for the partnership of SoCalGas."

"Since the beginning of this pandemic the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles has continued to serve the needs of the community by providing meals to children and families, establishing digital hubs for internet access to close the digital divide as well as providing emergency childcare for children of first responders and other essential workers," said Lionnel Zaragoza, Senior Branch Executive of the Mid Valley YMCA in Van Nuys. "The Mid Valley Family YMCA is honored to have been selected to receive this gift to support our COVID-19 relief efforts. We could not do this work without the support of our sponsors and are grateful to SoCalGas for their generous continued support."

Alma Family Services provides a comprehensive range of multilingual community-based services for families including those with special needs. The organization plans to use the SoCalGas donation to help fund food and holiday toy distribution events in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

MEND has provided services in Los Angeles County for nearly 50 years, including the operation of a food bank, homeless care services and a clothing center. Today's "Giving Tuesday" donation will be used to address food insecurity in the community.

The Mid Valley Family YMCA plans to use this donation for the organization's food distribution activities.

For more information on SoCalGas's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovation energy company in America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that mission, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2015 through 2019, the company invested nearly $7 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. 

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company

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