Gordon Philanthropies Celebrates a Year of Philanthropic Excellence with the Release of the 2023 Annual Report.
Gordon Philanthropies 2023 Annual Report is a testament of our commitment to serving the educational needs of historically marginalized and underprivileged youth and communities. From the funding of classroom reading nooks at schools like Animo Legacy Charter Middle School to the establishment of the first-ever Children’s Library located inside a Correctional Facility Center at Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of book donations and more, 2023 marked a year of philanthropic excellence for Gordon Philanthropies.
“The success of our programs has grown exponentially thanks to our impressive school and community partners. In 2023, we were fortunate to work with 14 wonderful schools and 15 incredible community partners whose shared passion for early childhood and youth literacy inspired us to expand our services and establish new initiatives better to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us. I am so incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished this past year,” stated Dan Gordon, Founder of Gordon Philanthropies.
The numbers speak for themselves: more than 375,000 books distributed and $473,879 contributed towards the support our initiatives; support and services for over 400 educators and 9,000 students; recording more than 500 audiobooks for children of incarcerated parents; the creation of the first-of-its-kind Children’s Library in a correctional facility; and more!
“To think there is such an amazing group of people that give the gift of learning as you have done. Our children do not have the means to purchase books outside of what they are given at school. Our parents and families are struggling financially, and they are hard working families. To allow our students to be able to have this experience and to read outside of their core learning is such a pleasure to witness. Thank you so much for your generosity,” said Montebello Park Elementary School Principal, Gina Andujo.
To support these new initiatives and expansion of services, Gordon Philanthropies added two new dedicated staff members, Destiny Perales and Catherine Reyes-Higueros to support their research and community outreach initiatives. With their support, Gordon Philanthropies has been able to build out new exciting new research initiatives- which has already resulted in an academic paper presented at the Pacific Sociological Association– and increase public awareness of the importance of early childhood literacy initiatives through media coverage in outlets such as Telemundo, NBC, ABC, Spectrum News, and more.
“It has been incredible to direct the growth and expansion of Gordon Philanthropies, all while maintaining the standard of excellence for which we are known. Catherine and Destiny have been incredible additions and deserve recognition for their commitment to our mission of promoting literacy for historically marginalized communities. We are better because of them,” said Sylvia Beanes, Executive Director of Gordon Philanthropies.
Gordon Philanthropies is excited to build on this success with an even more exceptional 2024. Expanding on the incredible reception of the Men’s Central Jail Children’s Library, Gordon Philanthropies established three more at correctional facilities across California. Likewise, demand for Gordon Philanthropies’ services has led to partnerships with Astronaut José M. Hernandez Reaching for the Stars Foundation, Alpha: José M. Hernandez Academy in Northern California. This is in addition to an additional 125,000 books donated and other exciting new initiatives.
To read Gordon Philanthropies 2023 Annual Report, please visit:
