Last week, Heluna Health staff, leadership, and partners gathered at our headquarters in City of Industry for our annual Client Recognition Awards. Recipients were honored for their growth, tenacity, and commitment to advancing public health, and for the meaningful impact they make in communities across California.
The celebrations highlighted the accomplishments of recipients: Carolyn Kordich Family Resource Center (CKFRC), Saving Our Legacy (The SOL Project), CinnaMoms, the San Francisco Department of Public Health Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI), and Long Beach Early Childhood Education (LBECE). Heluna Health congratulates all our award recipients on their remarkable accomplishments!
Carolyn Kordich Family Resource Center (CKFRC)
Quarterly Award for Longevity
For more than 30 years, CKFRC has been a steady source of support for expectant parents and for families raising children who have, or are at risk of, disabilities. A Heluna Health partner since 2014, the center offers emotional, informational, and educational support, helping families navigate some of the most uncertain moments of parenthood.
CKFRC serves families in Manhattan Beach, Torrance, Catalina Island, and Long Beach, providing information, resource referrals, parent-to-parent support groups, and education. Just as importantly, it offers resources and support to the professionals who serve these families, strengthening the wider network of care around them.
Over three decades, this combination of practical guidance and peer connection has made CKFRC a trusted resource for the communities it serves, and a model of what lasting commitment looks like.
Saving Our Legacy (The SOL Project)
Quarterly Award for Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Success
Based in Sacramento, The SOL Project advocates for healthy, smoke-free communities for African Americans and other populations disproportionately affected by tobacco use and the social conditions that drive it.
When a budget reduction hit this past year, the team chose not to scale back. Instead, they tapped existing partnerships with aligned organizations to secure alternative funding. Those efforts brought in supplemental funding to support activities across two programs and earned The SOL Project a prize from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Turning a setback into new opportunities without sacrificing their work is exactly the kind of resourcefulness this award recognizes.
CinnaMoms, a program of PHFE WIC
Quarterly Award for Longevity
Founded in 2015, CinnaMoms has now surpassed its 10-year milestone. What began as a mission to increase breastfeeding support among Black women in PHFE WIC has grown into a movement. Today, the program offers culturally congruent breastfeeding and parenthood support circles at nine PHFE WIC offices in LA County, extending care beyond the traditional WIC services.
CinnaMoms gives Black mothers a safe space to discuss historical feeding practices, cultural traditions, and family experiences while fostering community and connection. In 2023, the program opened CinnaMoms Crenshaw, a dedicated program space where families can “rest, nest, and connect” and receive the support they need.
A decade in, CinnaMoms shows how a program built on trust and community can grow stronger with time.
San Francisco Department of Public Health Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI)
Quarterly Award for Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Success
CLI promotes a diverse, talented workforce and advances health equity by sharing resources, testing new technologies, training and coaching staff and partners, mentoring emerging public health professionals, and building partnerships across sectors.
This year, CLI showed remarkable resilience amid significant funding changes stemming from shifts in federal support. Despite delays, reductions, and evolving compliance requirements, the team adapted and sustained critical services, minimizing disruptions for the communities they serve.
By keeping its mission on course through uncertain times, CLI exemplifies what it means to overcome challenges and achieve success.
Long Beach Early Childhood Education (LBECE)
Annual Performance Award
LBECE has served the Long Beach community for more than 20 years and has been a Heluna Health partner since 2017. Through its annual Symposium and Early Learning & Kindergarten Festivals, LBECE connects families, children, and early childhood professionals with school readiness resources, educational workshops, health services, and community support.
Since 2021, the Symposium has drawn more than 400 early childhood professionals each year, with 30 bilingual workshops and more than 35 exhibitors. The festivals serve hundreds of families annually, distributing over 130 backpacks, 200 bilingual books, and numerous oral health kits, while offering dental screenings and educational resources. Virtual programming extends the reach further, drawing more than 390 viewers each year.
Year after year, LBECE’s consistent, high-impact work has earned its place as a standout performer in the Long Beach community.
Congratulations to all our award recipients and thank you for the difference you make. Heluna Health is proud to be your partner in advancing public health.
