CAMARILLO, CA - The Ventura County Community Foundation will honor the service of four individuals and two organizations at the third annual Community Leadership Awards luncheon at the Museum of Ventura County on May 23.
These awards spotlight the exemplary volunteer work of residents, businesses and nonprofits that strive to build community in Ventura County.

"We at the Community Foundation have been fortunate enough to partner with all of them during our almost 25 years in existence, allowing us to do more together than any of us could have accomplished alone," said VCCF President and CEO Hugh Ralston. "They have given of their time, talent and money with the dream of improving the quality of life in Ventura County."

Dorothy Loebl of Ojai will receive the Philanthropist Award. Loebl began volunteering at public and private educational institutions in Ojai, and then expanded her efforts to include financial support and leadership for countywide programs and causes. A former VCCF board member and past chair of the Interface Children & Family Services board, Loebl focuses on health care, education and social services.

The Organization Award goes to Verizon for its support of local nonprofits, including VCCF's Destino: The Hispanic Legacy Fund, the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at VCCF and youth initiatives launched by the Ventura County Civic Alliance at VCCF. Californians in need were helped by more than $8 million from the Verizon Foundation in 2011.

Jessie Peterson of Oxnard, winner of a VCCF Training and Education Achievement by Children, or TEACh, Opportunity Scholarship, will receive the Next Generation Award — an honor that shows philanthropists can start early. Through her experiences in the foster care system, the 21-year-old San Francisco State University student became an advocate for children. Last summer, Peterson interned on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, where she created a policy recommendation report, "The Future of Foster Care: A Revolution for Change." The report was presented at a Congressional briefing and was released to policymakers and advocates across the country.

Director and lead teacher of the Bell Arts Factory Youth Art Program, Michele Foster of Ventura will receive the Kesa Ryono Award commemorating the late VCCF colleague who went above and beyond in supporting people from all walks of life in her community. Nominated by the public for her work, Foster is a passionate domestic-violence activist who uses art as a tool of healing.

Former VCCF Board Chair Bill Bang of Thousand Oaks will be honored by the current board with the Founders Award, which was established to celebrate a long-time leader from the Community Foundation itself. Bang joined the VCCF Board in 1995, serving as chair from 2000 until 2005. A long-term advocate for the arts and The Wellness Community, he has been instrumental in the advancement of the Museum of Ventura County, the Alliance for the Arts and the New West Symphony.

The Chairman's Award, honoring a person or organization that sets an example of community leadership and extends the important work of collaboration and partnership, will go to the United Way Ventura County. Founded as the Ventura County War Chest on April 2, 1945, the United Way long has supported social service organizations in our county and has partnered with the Community Foundation to provide basic services through Ventura County Together and in the award-winning Freeze Fund, which assisted farmworkers who lost their jobs in the killer freeze of 2007.

Sponsors of the annual event include The Gas Co., Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Granite Peak Partners, Zestnet, Canterbury Consulting, FOOD Share, the CLU Center for Leadership and Values, Roz McGrath, Mary Schwabauer, the Erickson Group, Public Policy Associates, Hank Lacayo, Chuck Maxey, Ph.D., Manchester Financial, Terri Lisagor, Ed.D., 20/20 Consulting and Mike Silacci.

The Community Leadership Awards, which are open to the public, will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 23, at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura. Individual tickets are $50 and a table of 10 is $500. All proceeds go to the Mary Schwabauer Leadership Fund, created in honor of VCCF's fourth board chair to support VCCF operations.

To RSVP, contact Lindsay Smith at (805) 988-0196, Ext.115, or by email at lsmith@vccf.org.

ABOUT VCCF
VCCF invests the charitable capital that drives the philanthropic engines of Ventura County. Its portfolio performance ranks in the top 11 of all community foundations in the United States for long-term growth. With total assets of $110 million, its mission is to promote and enable philanthropy to improve our community for good for ever, which it does through grantmaking, scholarships and training at its Center for Nonprofit Leadership. Visit vccf.org or call (805) 988-0196.