South Los Angeles Foster Care Advocate Zaid Gayle One Of Ten Americans Chosen To Receive $125,000 National Award For Improving Local Health Conditions

PRINCETON, NJ (October 27, 2008) – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today announced Zaid Gayle, a longtime advocate for the health, safety and well-being of foster children in impoverished South Los Angeles neighborhoods, as one of ten exemplary Americans who will receive the Community Health Leaders Award for 2008. The distinguished annual award honors extraordinary men and women from all over the country who conquer huge obstacles and take commanding action in local communities to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing the nation. Awardees are celebrated with national recognition and $125,000.

This year, more than 800 nominations were submitted from across the United States. Through a rigorous process, the Foundation selected ten outstanding individuals, all of whom have worked to improve health conditions in their communities with exceptional creativity, courage and commitment. The Foundation chose Gayle this year for his leadership at Peace 4 Kids, a social service agency enriching the lives and improving the physical, mental, social and emotional health outcomes of foster children in disadvantaged South Los Angeles communities. Gayle will accept his award on October 29 at a special ceremony honoring each of the 2008 recipients during the Community Health Leaders Annual Meeting in San Diego.

"Zaid Gayle works tirelessly and selflessly to assure healthy and constructive transitions for foster children in South Los Angeles," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award. "He has been able to gain and sustain the trust of the young people and simultaneously inspire adults and other officials throughout the city to implement new and more effective strategies for developing healthy and constructive young adults."

Gayle cofounded Peace4Kids in 1998 to improve life prospects for children in the foster care system who are constantly surrounded by violence, despair and extreme poverty in the destitute South Los Angeles neighborhoods of Watts, Compton, South Gate and Willowbrook. Gayle leads the organization in its efforts to prevent foster children from becoming products of dangerous and troubling environments in which they are teeming with drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, low life expectancy, poor physical and mental health, incarceration and unrealized potential. Peace4Kids works to mitigate these influences and provide a nurturing environment for children as they age through the system and make the challenging transition into adulthood.

The organization guides children to steer clear from street conflicts, live healthier lifestyles and avoid becoming teen parents. It teaches them life skills, cooperation and conflict resolution while enhancing their personal development and building their self-esteem. Through field trips, creative educational courses, athletic programs, nutrition counseling, group activities and mentorship, Peace4Kids helps foster children develop their potential while helping them transition into positive, productive and self-sufficient young adults.
"I am extremely honored to receive the Community Health Leaders award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation," said Gayle. "This is a monumental accomplishment, not just for me, but more importantly for the community of foster youth that Peace4Kids serves. Our youth have often been silenced by the system that serves them but this award furthers the effort to give value to their voices in order to drastically improve their outcomes."

Under Gayle’s leadership, Peace4Kids has intervened in the lives of more than 1,000 foster children and youth 5-24 years of age. Its impact on the young people it touches has been so significant that the County of Los Angeles recruited the organization to help lead a county-wide initiative to provide adult mentors to all teens in the Los Angeles foster care system. Essential to the effectiveness of Peace4Kids are the personal life plans the youth create for themselves; the "community as family" philosophy the organization upholds; and the concepts of choice and personal responsibility it instills in all program participants. In a letter of recommendation supporting Gayle’s nomination for the award, 18-year-old Trayvon Johnson, who joined Peace4Kids at 13, wrote that Gayle taught him the importance of making the right choices in life and that "I have complete control over my destiny...."

Gayle and each of the 2008 awardees will join the ranks of 153 Community Health Leaders in 45 states and Puerto Rico honored since 1993. The $125,000 award consists of a $20,000 personal gift and $105,000 to support their work. In addition to Gayle in California, this year, Community Health Leaders hail from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Alabama, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Hawaii. Nominations can be submitted for the 2009 Community Health Leaders Award through November 7, 2008. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.


The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

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