Fresno dispensary donates $40K to community groups

Two Fresno organizations received a total donation of $40,000 from a local cannabis dispensary Friday.

The Artist Tree, headquartered in West Hollywood, presented two $20,000 checks to The Fresno Arts Council and The Poverello House.

Artist Tree co-owner Courtney Caron presented the first check to Poverello House CEO Zach Darrah, applauding the work he and the team at the homeless shelter perform for the community.

“There is no possible way that we would be here to doing the work that we continue to do without the incredible philanthropic support of the business community. The Artist Tree, of course, is a newer part of that community, but we are just blessed to have partnerships and relationships with people who care about Fresno,” Darrah said.

Poverello House will use the funds for meals at Papa Mike’s Café as well as frozen fruit and water bottles. His team passes out 1,500 bottles a day.

Caron said that all their dispensaries feature work from local artists.

“We are an arts-based cannabis company, which is why this donation really is a perfect synergy of what we believe and what we are hoping to continue to grow in Fresno,” Caron said.

The Fresno Arts Council will use the $20,000 to support its Art Haven program.

Lilia Gonzales-Chavez, executive director of Fresno Arts Council, said every person in the community deserves, and has the right to engage in, the arts.

“When we think about the unhoused, and their challenges, we recognize the cathartic benefits that the arts have,” Gonzales-Chavez  said. “We know that just by engaging in the arts, people develop a more positive sense of self.”

The program also provides opportunity for individuals to sell their work so they have a source of revenue, which can be really challenging for individuals living  on the streets, she said.

Gonzales-Chavez said the team at the arts council is looking for a community gallery where artists in the program that transition from their assisted living situation to being independent can continue their artwork and showcase it.

Caron said that she looks forward to continuing their partnerships with the Fresno Arts Council and Poverello house, and the opening of the second Artist Tree store in Fresno next year will provide them more funds to give back to the programs.