The MBA Opens Doors Foundation announced yesterday the launch of the MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program, which aims to support children and families affected by the wildfires in the Southern California area.
The foundation will provide an additional $100,000 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). As one of Opens Doors’ 13 hospital partners through its Home Grant Program, CHLA can access the funding until the full $100,000 has been exhausted.
The Home Grant Program provides monetary relief in a time of personal crisis, particularly when a parent or guardian must take unpaid leave to be with a sick child. Grants of up to $2,000 are made monthly to families in need of mortgage or rental payment assistance at one of the 13 network hospitals across the country. To date since its inception in 2011, the program has provided more than $25 million in mortgage and rental payment assistance to more than 17,000 families.
“The MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program is a new initiative that complements the Foundation’s existing Home Grant Program and will double the amount of housing assistance available to families with a child in treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles who have been impacted by the horrific wildfires in Southern California,” said MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “For families navigating the sudden loss of their homes, businesses, or jobs while caring for a sick or injured child, the Disaster Relief Program is a tangible reminder that when crises hit, the real estate finance industry is there to help.”
The special disaster relief funding is in addition to CHLA’s regular monthly grant funding and is intended to provide relief to families impacted not just by a medical crisis but also by the Los Angeles wildfires.
Families applying for grants from the Disaster Relief Program must provide an impact statement detailing how they have been affected by the LA wildfires and meet Opens Doors Home Grant Program qualifications to be eligible.
“We continue to keep all the people impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles in our thoughts and in our hearts,” said Deborah Dubois, president of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation. “The launch of the MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program addresses the unique needs of families caring for critically ill or injured children who have been impacted by a growing number of natural disasters. I am confident that this relief program will serve as a model for future programs at children’s hospitals across the country.”
