JCF Hospital Foundation Awards Grant to ICES
July 2, 2025 – As part of its Community Health Grant funding program, the John C. Fremont Hospital Foundation awarded Infant Child Enrichment Services (ICES) $2,000 for its annual training event for all levels of childcare providers in Mariposa County. The event was held at Tenaya Lodge the weekend of April 26-27.
ICES is a nonprofit organization located in Mariposa with a mission to enrich the lives of children and families in Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties. They provide direct services to families, educating the community about childcare and child development as well as advocating for the increased quality and availability of childcare. ICES also supports a broad spectrum of providers from “Friends and Family Network” providers to licensed day care programs.
ICES’ training provides support for complying with state regulation, including health programming, as well as advancing further learning on early childhood education. In particular, an essential goal of their off-site training retreats is to help retain existing providers and encourage new providers to get their license, thus increasing the quality and capacity of childcare in our county.
Childcare providers (pictured above) participated in a craft workshop at ICES' April training event. They picked up new ideas and skills, and had a great time doing it!
“Childcare is critical infrastructure for the healthcare workforce.” said Heather Bernikoff, the Foundation's President and Giving Committee Chair. “ICES helps recruit, retain, and ensure quality care. They also help providers stay up-to-date on the latest healthcare knowledge and regulatory compliance.”
ICES was able to utilize state grants to cover most of the costs of the weekend training, but not all. Given that childcare is a critical form of infrastructure that assists the Mariposa County community, the JCF Hospital Foundation was happy to provide sponsorship of the event, helping to defray the costs of meals served.
“When considering this grant request, we found that a number of John C. Fremont Healthcare District staff have in the past as well as currently rely on ICES-supported childcare providers to go to work and serve our community healthcare needs each day,” Bernikoff said.
“Although our Community Grants are very limited,” Bernikoff continued, “they can provide that extra bit of leverage to move a quality program or training forward.”
The Foundation’s Community Health Grants are designed to be flexible so that programs that support and enable health provision can be considered. The Foundation's funding guidelines take into account educational or service projects provided by community-based organizations, tribes, or Mariposa County departments that demonstrate a clear need and benefit to the community. Foundation guidelines also require that successful programs include strong program-based elements.
The ICES training included best practices that are replicable, collaborative partners, a strong need, and measurability of their work. ICES supports healthcare workers, including JCF Healthcare District staff, promoting and funding quality childcare for this community’s workforce. The Foundation is proud to support organizations that improve critical infrastructure for our healthcare workforce.
The JCF Hospital Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening communities by working together to achieve mutual health goals. The Foundation’s philanthropic partnerships with John C. Fremont Healthcare District and the communities it serves span over 40 years.
To make the organization even more robust, the Foundation continues to look for additional members. If you are passionate about the need for healthcare in Mariposa County and interested in joining this dynamic team, please contact the Foundation at admin@jcfhospitalfoundation.org, (209) 966-1166, or speak with any board member.
To stay up to date with the Foundation’s latest news, follow JCFHospitaFoundation on Facebook and Instagram or sign up for our newsletter by visiting www.jcfhospitalfoundation.org.
If you would like to apply for a grant, please contact the Foundation to receive a copy of funding guidelines and an application.
If you would like to financially support the work of the Foundation and its mission, you can do so by sending a check to JCFHF, PO Box 1093, Mariposa, CA 95338, or through the online fundraising site at secure.qgiv.com/for/jcfhospitalfoundation. Donations are tax-deductible.
Source & photo: John C. Fremont Hospital Foundation
