The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in August 2020.

Scientists Project Precisely How Cold the Last Ice Age Was
Smithsonian Magazine, August 28, 2020
A new study, led by Jessica Tierney, climate scientist at the University of Arizona, projects the average global temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum for the first time. The study––which included scientists from the University of Michigan, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Washington––was also featured in the Arizona Daily Star and KOLD 13 News. The Foundation’s Science program supported the scientists at the University of Arizona, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington, in this study.

Preschoolers Are Mask-Licking Germ Bombs — Yet Few Catch the Coronavirus, Data Show
Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2020
“What we don’t know from the data is whether, or the extent to which, cases have been transmitted among adults in child-care settings, or whether the adults have been exposed elsewhere,” said Lea Austin, director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), in this article about whether or not preschoolers are resilient to the novel coronavirus. CSCCE is supported by the Foundation’s Education program.

Nearly 35 Million Households Will Lose Their Utility Shutoff Protections Over the Next Month
CNBC, August 27, 2020
The National Consumer Law Center’s analysis is featured in this article about the imminent expiration of most state and public utility commissions’ moratoriums on utility shutoffs, which may disproportionately affect low-income, Black, and Hispanic households. The National Consumer Law Center is supported by the Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program.

‘Snapshot’ of COVID-19 Impact on Tulsans Shows Job Loss, Food Insecurity, Distance Learning Challenges
Tulsa World, August 24, 2020
This article highlights a study by the Early Childhood Institute at Oklahoma University-Tulsa and Georgetown University about the experiences of families and first-grade students during the first three months of the pandemic. The study was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Education program.

The Power of Community Bail Funds
The New York Times, August 23, 2020
In this op-ed, Mary Hooks, co-director of Southerners on New Ground (SONG), writes about the “non-sensationalist ways” community bail funds allow people to “fight their cases while keeping their families, homes and jobs.” SONG is supported by the Foundation’s Human Rights program.

Imara Jones: Why Black Trans Women Are Essential to Our Future
TIME Magazine, August 20, 2020
“Black trans women are essential to creating the future, because when everything fails you, you’re more clearly able to reimagine what it would look like if things worked,” writes Imara Jones, journalist and creator of the multimedia platform TransLash media. TransLash media is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

During the Pandemic, Are the Little Kids All Right? Survey Shows COVID is Taking a Toll Now And Will In the Future.
USA Today, August 19, 2020
Survey results and insights by Phil Fisher, project director of the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project) at University of Oregon, are featured in this article about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on babies, toddles, preschoolers, and kindergartners. The RAPID-EC Project is supported by the Foundation’s Education program.

Foundation Moves Quickly to Help During Pandemic
Los Altos Town Crier, August 5, 2020
This article spotlights the Los Altos Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Relief Fund, which supports nonprofit organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View. LACF’s Nonprofit Relief Fund is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

Health Professionals, Violence, and Social Change
Annals of Internal Medicine, August 4, 2020
Dr. Garen Wintemute at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program authors this piece about an increase in firearm violence amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “That violence, like the pandemic itself,” he writes, “is shining a powerful spotlight on stark disparities and lethal abuses of power that threaten our existence as a free society.” The UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.