Senator Glazer honors health care provider for its work protecting underserved populations during COVID-19
CONTRA COSTA – Senator Steve Glazer, D-Contra Costa, has chosen La Clínica de La Raza as the Nonprofit of the Year for his Senate District.
La Clínica has been critical to Contra Costa County’s vaccination efforts, teaming up with Contra Costa County to facilitate Covid testing and vaccinations for communities of color and other underserved and disproportionately impacted segments of the population.
“I am proud to honor La Clínica for its vital work in providing much needed health services when the Coronavirus pandemic was at its worst,” said Senator Glazer. “Without La Clínica’s devotion to maintaining health care access, there is no telling how much worse the effects of COVID-19 would have been to communities of color and other underserved people. We are indebted to Nonprofit organizations like La Clínica, which are fulfilling a truly critical mission that is so valuable to us all.”
Celebrating its 50th year anniversary this year, La Clínica’s sites are in the District’s most underserved areas where the need for healthcare services is the highest so resources are closest to those who need them the most. Their six locations in Senator Glazer’s District are in Oakley, Pittsburg and Concord and include three medical sites, two dental offices and a mental health clinic. La Clínica has provided health care services since its formation in 1971 by a group of UC Berkeley students and community activists. Through 2019, La Clínica served 91,523 patients with 367,074 visits.
“La Clínica is honored to have been chosen as the Nonprofit of the Year,” said Jane García, La Clínica’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re thankful to Senator Steve Glazer for selecting us and recognizing our efforts to ensure that vulnerable communities have equitable access to vaccines, testing, and other healthcare services they need and deserve.”
The founding UC Berkeley students and community members, influenced by the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and César Chávez during the social justice movement of the 60s, opened the original community-based storefront clinic in East Oakland. Aware of the gap in health care for lower-income populations, its goal was to ensure every person had access to high-quality, culturally appropriate health care, regardless of their ability to pay.
This is the sixth year of the California Nonprofit of the Year initiative. In this year of extreme uncertainty and suffering, nonprofits have continued to step up to support our communities as circumstances and needs change swiftly.
“Nonprofits are a community of stubborn optimists,” explains Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits). “Our belief that the world can be better – more equitable, more kind – is powerful. Honoring a California Nonprofit of the Year shows that elected officials recognize and celebrate the good work they see nonprofits doing in their districts.”
