Newport Beach-based Decorative Arts Society (DARTS) has awarded over $410,000 in grants to 14 local community non-profit agencies, all of which provide critical services to Orange County women, children, and families in need.
DARTS has given over $4.5 million to local non-profit organizations since its inception 29 years ago.
“The ever-increasing cost of living has not only made it more challenging for charities to fundraise in recent years, but to also meet the needs of those who are experiencing hardship or who are at-risk,” said Madeline Hayward, the outgoing president of DARTS. “We are proud to continue our grants program that provides much-needed funding for food, housing, and other valuable services for local women and children.”
More than 50 guests attended the grant awards luncheon at the Pacific Club on June 6, where Hayward presented charity representatives with their checks. The Orange County nonprofit organizations receiving grants for the 2024-25 fiscal year focus on providing health and basic needs, counseling and support, and educational services, including:
- Project Self Sufficiency in Newport Beach will fund its low-income, single-parent educational case management services through college and beyond. Their support includes financial assistance for childcare, auto repair, textbooks, and emergency rental assistance.
- Beyond Blindness in Tustin, which will fund its Family Support Services program, specifically to provide mental health counseling for children and parents with visual impairments.
- Boys and Girls Club of Buena Park will provide funding for its SMART Girls program focused on mentoring girls ages 11-18 to lead healthy lives, develop positive relationships, and have productive lives.
- Family Support Network in Orange will fund its program, Bright Horizons, which provides resources and services to families and children for comprehensive early developmental screenings while helping them navigate complex systems.
- Fristers in Irvine will fund its programs dedicated to helping teen and young parents build healthy and stable families and lives through educational classes, workshops, mentoring, and case management.
- Hope Harbor in Tustin will fund its Residential Shelter Care Program, which provides long-term teen shelter and counseling for teens at risk of homelessness.
- Human Options, a leader in supporting victims of domestic violence, will use its DARTS grant to renovate one unit at Second Step Transitional Housing Program. This program provides housing for abuse victims and survivors for up to one year while receiving counseling and therapies.
- Intervention Center for Early Childhood (ICEC) in Irvine will fund its ICEC Feeding Program, which supports individual and group therapy for children with various feeding problems.
- Mariposa Center will use its Grant to purchase an eight-passenger van. Based in Orange, Mariposa’s Enhanced Care Management (ECM) is a community-based program that provides transportation to clients for outpatient treatment for medical appointments, life skills and basic needs support, court appointments, and other needs.
- Mary’s Path in Tustin is a short-term residential therapeutic program as a residential treatment center for pregnant teenagers/teen mothers and babies in the foster care system. Mary’s Path provides safe housing, medical/therapeutic services, and case management to help teen mothers heal from histories of abuse, violence, and abandonment, or who have experienced human trafficking.
- Radiant Futures empowers survivors on their journey toward self-sufficiency and recovery. Based in Fullerton, the organization will fund its bridge housing, supportive services, community education, and advisory programs.
- South County Outreach in Irvine will support its Hunger and Homeless Prevention program, which includes a unique food bank operating much like a traditional market. The program also includes re-housing support, case management, and financial literacy education.
- Thomas House in Garden Grove will use the funds to support two “We are Thomas House” transitional housing apartments for one year. This will provide all apartment expenses for two families with children who are victims of domestic abuse and violence. In addition, a one-time Grant will provide funds for renovation and repairs for the shelter.
- WISE Place will support its Steps to Independence Primary Project, which provides services to unaccompanied women, giving them safe housing and a comprehensive suite of wraparound services.
The Decorative Arts Society (DARTS), established in 1995, is a membership organization that offers an annual lecture series by nationally and internationally renowned experts in the decorative arts, including interior design, architecture, landscape, fashion, and other aspects of the arts.
Through subscriptions, donations, and other fundraising, the Decorative Arts Society provides grants to Orange County charities serving women, children, and families.
For more information on the Decorative Arts Society and membership opportunities, please visit www.decorativeartssociety.net.
