Names of Note: Bank of America invests in west Modesto. Stan State professor wins award
The West Modesto Community Collaborative got a $200,000 grant from Bank of America to promote jobs, housing and other goals.
The money came from the bank’s Neighborhood Builders program, which aids nonprofits around the nation. It will be used over two years on leadership development and other tasks.
“The West Modesto Community Collaborative is helping bridge important gaps to help families and children chart a path toward economic opportunity and success,” said CP Parmar, the bank’s regional president, in a news release.
The collaborative dates to 1991 and operates out of the King-Kennedy Memorial Center. It offers mental health counseling, senior lunches, education on healthy births and more.
The release noted that west Modesto has an 18% jobless rate, compared with 7% statewide. About two-thirds of the residents are Latino.
The group plans to use the grant to connect people with jobs and to train leaders on how to advocate on issues brought by COVID-19.
“The two immediate issues we see in this area are housing and economic development, so we’re starting there,” Executive Director Perfecto Munoz said. “We all know that a healthy body and healthy mind don’t occur without having a job, so empowering residents with training in finding solutions and opportunities is something we’re very excited about.”
Since 2004, the bank has provided about $5.5 million in Neighborhood Builder grants to 29 nonprofits in the six-county region that includes Stanislaus County. The national total is about $280 million to 1,400 groups.
Professor wins $20,000 award
Steve Arounsack, a professor of cultural anthropology at California State University, Stanislaus, has received a major statewide honor.
He was one of the 2022 recipients of the Wang Family Excellence Award. It was given to four faculty members and one staff member at the Jan. 25 virtual board meeting for the 23-campus system. Each received $20,000.
Arounsack is part of a refugee family that fled Laos in 1980 and eventually lived in Modesto. He has taught at Stan State, his alma mater, since 2005.
Arounsack supervises the Keck Visual Anthropology Lab at the Turlock campus. He helps students create visual media projects that reflect their diverse backgrounds.
The professor consulted over two years on “Raya and the Last Dragon,” the first animated film from Disney with a Southeast Asian heroine. It opened last March.
“He is an extraordinary professor who truly embodies the spirit of the Wang Award,” Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn said in a news release.
The award program was created in 1998 by Trustee Emeritus Stanley T. Wang and is administered through the CSU Foundation. This year’s other recipients are from campuses in Pomona, Long Beach, San Luis Obispo and Northridge.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
