NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA —
The Sierra Fund is pleased to announce that The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) has awarded a $200,000 grant to their Gold Mining’s Toxic Legacy Initiative. Created in 1992 as an independent, private foundation, The California Wellness Foundation’s mission is to improve the health of people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.
The Initiative will provide environmental health education and screenings for Sierra Nevada residents affected by mining toxins. It will also work with partners including health professionals, tribal leaders, conservation leaders and others to build public support for much greater resource investment in monitoring, assessing and remediating mining toxins.
This grant funds Phase 2 of our initiative, originally launched in June 2005 with support from The California Endowment. Over the last two years The Sierra Fund has developed a working Gold Ribbon Panel of community leaders and experts that have developed a strategic plan for addressing the environmental and health legacy of the gold rush. An agency panel of scientists and policy experts have provided expertise and insight into this plan. The plan will be released in early 2008. The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and True North also supported Phase 1.
