Congratulations to the winners of the My LA2050 Grants Challenge! It was a tough process choosing, as we received so many fantastic ideas. We are excited to announce the ten winning proposals to make Los Angeles the best place to learn, create, connect, play, and live.

Winners among the top voted are:

• LEARN: Citizens of the World will develop a model incorporating social-emotional learning into everyday curricula, emphasizing self-regulation and social connection for healthy child development and school safety.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Review of Books will profile an LA writer or artist each day of the year, bringing exposure, locally and globally, to the vibrant creative community in Los Angeles.
• PLAY: Grand Park will pilot the installation of permanent shade structures designed by a local artist at the park in Downtown Los Angeles.
• CONNECT: Los Angeles Promise Zone Initiative will provide students living in the Los Angeles Promise Zone with summer jobs as young ethnographers to conduct 1,800 surveys measuring how the Promise Zone is improving lives.
• LIVE: Heal the Bay, in partnership with Pacoima Beautiful and the Pacific American Volunteer Association, will launch a multi-language conservation project to improve Angelenos' understanding of water challenges and to introduce Angelenos to water-saving strategies.

The jury voted winners are:

• LEARN: Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA), LAUSD's first all-girls public STEM high school will create a makerspace to provide students with hands-on experience using new technologies and innovative processes.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Bioscience Hub, in collaboration with East Los Angeles College (ELAC), will create the Biotech Leaders Academy, establishing a pipeline for East LA's bioscience students to become biotech entrepreneurs.
• PLAY: People for Parks will unlock six new community school parks in 2016, providing more than 25,000 Angelenos access to a safe park within 1/4 mile from their homes.
• CONNECT: CASA of Los Angeles will recruit and train 250 new volunteers who will serve as court-appointed advocates on behalf of abused and neglected youth in the foster care system.
• LIVE: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) will provide at least 180 of LA's 320,000 veterans and their families with support as they transition to civilian life through referrals to critical resources and support systems.

We are thankful for our partner funders, the Annenberg Foundation and the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation who have committed an additional $600,000 to support ideas submitted via My LA2050. Additional grant winners will be announced in 2016.