Alaska Airlines Foundation grants awarded to address critical community needs

News provided by

Apr 23, 2020, 08:05 ET

SEATTLE, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alaska Airlines Foundation is awarding $315,000 to 23 nonprofits in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. These LIFT grants, the first round of 2020, are in response to urgent needs of food insecurity, shelter, remote educational support and other needs of families caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alaska Airlines Foundation board member Andy Schneider sorts books for Bay Area youths during a nation-wide week of volunteerism October 2019.

"COVID-19 has had a profound impact on individuals and the world around us – from jobs, to education, to paying rent and getting food on the table," said Diana Birkett Rakow, chair of the Alaska Airlines Foundation Board of Directors. "We're honored to support these nonprofit organizations, and their teams, at the forefront of helping individuals and families through crisis."

As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Alaska Airlines Foundation has supported communities for more than 20 years.

"We call these LIFT grants, inspired by the principle of lift behind an airplane taking flight," said Birkett Rakow. "Today, we think about that very literally, to enable opportunity, sustain, and lift one another to come through this crisis with immediate needs and for the long term."

Cash grants were made to the following 23 organizations including:

Alaska:
"AK Can Do" Fund for COVID-19 Response - Alaska Community Foundation/United Way
Abused Women's Aid in Crisis – COVID-19 Response
Armed Services YMCA Of Alaska - Food Pantry
Covenant House Alaska
Fairbanks Community Food Bank – COVID-19 Response
Lutheran Social Services of Alaska, Inc. – Food Pantry
Southeast Alaska Food Bank - COVID-19 Pandemic Relief

California:
Silicon Valley Strong Fund - Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Alameda County Community Food Bank – COVID-19 Emergency Response
Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank – COVID-19 Response
The Oakland Public Education Fund – COVID-19 Rapid Relief Fund
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley – COVID-19 Response
SPARK SF Public Schools - COVID-19 Response
YMCA of San Francisco

Hawaii:
Hawaii Resilience Fund - Hawaii Community Foundation
The Food Basket - COVID-19 Response
Hawaii Foodbank – COVID-19 Response
Hawaii Foodbank Kauai – COVID-19 Response
Maui Food Bank – COVID-19 Response

Oregon:
#EmergeStronger in the Wake of COVID-19 - Oregon Food Bank

Washington:
Curiosity Never Closes: Curiosity at Home - Pacific Science Center
WA Food Fund - Philanthropy Northwest
United Way of King County - COVID-19 Relief Fund

The Alaska Airlines Foundation is a private, independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Anchorage, Alaska. The Foundation's core mission is to enable opportunity for young people through LIFT grants in the communities where we fly. Learn more about the Alaska Airlines Foundation.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines