Maggie And Andre Ethier Learning Center

By Jon Weisman

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation donated more than $1 million in 2014 — an 82 percent increase from 2013 — to more than 50 nonprofit organizations.

Organizations receiving grants served more than 800,000 youth and families in need throughout the greater Los Angeles region. The average grant size awarded was $20,000, with grants typically ranging between $500 and $15,000.

“The vision of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is to remain a philanthropic force in Greater Los Angeles,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Dodger owner and Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation board member. “We are inspired by the work we were able to do in 2014 and grateful that we can continue to unite the Dodger brand with LADF’s impactful programs, which address some of the region’s most critical challenges.”

LADF’s largest grants went to the following four strategic partners — organizations with a shared vision who commit to large-scale impact in the L.A. community:

  • Union Rescue Mission received a $100,000 grant from the LADF in partnership with Andre Ethier to revitalize and rename its Learning Center, now the Maggie and Andre Ethier Learning Center, which provides over 400 hours of classes to homeless men and women in Los Angeles.
  • The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education was awarded a one-year, $200,000 grant supporting School Fuel, a three-year-old program that provides breakfast to nearly half a million students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
  • The Jackie Robinson Foundation received $150,000 in the third year of a four-year commitment to provide scholarships and leadership development to LADF/JRF Scholars.
  • Vision To Learn received $50,000 in the second year of a three-year commitment to provide free eye exams and free glasses to elementary school students in low-income communities throughout Los Angeles.

Additionally LADF invested $1.5 million into its cornerstone programs: Dodgers Dreamfields and Dodgers RBI.

Visit www.dodgers.com/ladf for more information on the LADF.