OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire—Kaiser Permanente awarded $14.2 million in grant funding to more than 500 community organizations in the second quarter of 2012.

"Good health starts by building healthy communities. That's precisely why we partner closely with local organizations whose work touches the critical health needs in the communities where our members, physicians and employees live and work," said Raymond J. Baxter, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Healthy Policy. "These grants support efforts that are underway right now as well as initiatives to improve the health of communities longer term."

Kaiser Permanente awards grants in distinct categories including, but not limited to, promoting healthy communities; expanding access to health care; and developing and disseminating knowledge. 

Included among the grants awarded by Kaiser Permanente in the second quarter of 2012 were.

$660,000 to 11 community clinics across the Northern California region to increase their ability to connect patients to important community and public resources, including food stamps, the Women, Infants, and Children program, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and job training programs.

$58,150 to the MUST Ministries Summer Lunch Program in Georgia to help ensure that children receive free or reduced lunch during the school year and get proper nutrition during the summer months.

$45,000 to Family Health Centers of San Diego, to support the care coordination for a primary care medical home.

$69,215 to The Alexandria Childhood Obesity Action Network for its Food & Play Program, which addresses the growing obesity epidemic among children, ages 2-5, through policy and community change. 

$136,320 grant to the Oregon Health Authority to engage and align diverse community voices  to assure the elimination of avoidable health gaps and promote optimal health in Oregon.

$40,000 to North Coast Health Ministry, a free clinic providing health care services to low income, uninsured men, women, and children in Cleveland, to increase their capacity to see more patients, improve clinical quality, and provide patients with the education and support they need. 

For more information about Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit programs visit www.kp.org/communitybenefit.