The following was published in the Del Mar Times, Solana Beach Sun, & Carmel Valley News on April 17, 2020
Participants at BocceFest 2019. Bocce events each year helped to build a reserve for unexpected emergencies.
Del Mar–Solana Beach Rotary Grants $25,000 to Five Nonprofits
Serving San Diegans Most In Need Due to the Coronavirus
Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary recently donated $25,000, split equally, to five nonprofits at the forefront of serving the needs of those most hurt by the coronavirus outbreak in San Diego County. An additional $1,250 is being sought for the same five nonprofits via matching grants from our local Rotary District’s reserves.
DMSB Rotary has been very successful in raising funds via its annual Bocce fundraisers to support many local non-profits over the last 23 years. In addition, prudent planning led the Club to create a special reserve fund at the San Diego Foundation from which these recent donations were made. These donations were split equally among the following five organizations. The Club has already received heart-felt thank you emails from the nonprofits that received the donations.
Just in Time for Foster Youth (JIT), as a human services nonprofit, provides essential support to foster youth in San Diego transitioning out of the system. JIT fills the expanding needs of the youths aging out of the foster system that have no other support system to help them. (https://jitfosteryouth.org/)
Community Resource Center focuses on providing safety, stability and self-sufficiency to individuals & families in San Diego that have been brought to the brink of despair by COVID-19. It provides food & nutrition services to those suffering from disability or enduring the effects of domestic violence. (https://crcncc.org/)
Solutions for Change works to provide a permanent solution for homeless individuals and families. It has had to close its intake center due to social distancing requirements and has moved all participants into its residential facility during the COVID-19 crisis. (https://solutionsforchange.org/)
Feeding San Diego works to locate, gather & distribute foodstuffs which might otherwise be lost and directs it to the individuals & families impacted by COVID-19 in our community. It continues to organize and operate drive-through food distribution centers during the stay at home order as hunger relief is an exempt activity. (https://feedingsandiego.org/)
The San Diego Foundation’s San Diego COVID-19 Community Response Fund receives donations and makes emergency grants and interest-free loans to nonprofits that are working on the frontlines to provide our region’s most vulnerable communities with assistance, such as food security, other essential living expenses, emergent needs, and rent and utility payment support. One hundred percent of donations go to organizations helping San Diegans impacted by the public health crisis. (Search San Diego COVID-19 Community Response Fund)
Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary helps make our communities better for all, both near and far. While doing so, its members develop new business relationships, leadership skills and friendships that can last a lifetime. DMSB Rotary currently meets virtually at 7:15am on every other Friday. One can learn more by visiting www.DMSBRotary.com or contacting Vicky Mallett via vicky.mallett2@ gmail.com or (858) 245-7968.
Contributed by: Susheela Narayanan and Bill Sutton
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