This month, we asked our grantees to share what they were thankful for, and we posted their stories on our social media. These stories were touching and moving. They reminded us of one of our greatest blessings: the leaders in our communities.

In San Diego and Imperial County, we have a growing number of leaders and organizations that are passionate about helping the underserved and are excited and willing to collaborate with others to maximize the reach and impact of their efforts. For this, we are thankful.

This is a recap of the places we went and the people we met in November. We hope that sharing our travels with you will build awareness for programs and organizations in our community and inspire others to get involved, to collaborate, and to spread the word.

A recap of our November:

Nov. 2: Sylvia attended the Imperial County 5th Annual Environmental Leadership Summitorganized by Comite Civico del Valle. The summit aimed to learn about the environmental health issues in their community and to organize efforts to address them.

Nov. 4: I met Erica Bouris for lunch at the International Rescue Committee and also talked with Community Information Exchange, alongside Executive Director Scott Bechtler-Levin, about future cohorts to connect for enhanced care coordination.

Sylvia met with Kiley West from Angel’s Depot to discuss new directions in the senior’s meals delivery program.

Nov. 6: Sylvia connected with Nancy Weintraub, Easter Seals Chief Development Officer, to learn more about their work in Imperial Country and to talk about their Veteran’s Program.

Nov. 7: For National Philanthropy, I served on the awards committee and Sylvia and I, along with the whole of AHF, invited our grantees and their nominees to join us at our table.

Nov. 9: Sylvia took Outdoor Outreach’s challenge to “Reach the Peak” at their fundraiser, which highlighted the benefits of actively enjoying the outdoors in San Diego County while building awareness for their community programs.

Nov. 12: I participated in a discussion about the Regional Continuum of Care Governance Structure, had lunch with Sara Vaz, and visited Any Body Can (ABC)  where Sara is a member of the Board of Directors. ABC provides a place for kids to get tutoring, to read, to do homework, to access a computer as well as to learn discipline and self-esteem building through the sport of boxing.

Sylvia attended a meeting at Environmental Health Coalition to meet new Development and Planning Director Karim Bouris.

Nov. 13: I took part in a team-building lunch with the staff at AHF, held at Kitchen 4140 for healthy lunch options. Later, I joined San Diego Health Connect in celebrating their launch. This program will provide alerts, data connectivity between hospitals and clinics at point of service, and many other much needed data options. Executive Director Dan Chavezannounced the launch and applauded the work of the original team that including Dr. Ted Chan and Dr. Jim Killeen from UCSD.

Nov. 14: I attended a seminar on Next Generation Evaluation: Embracing Complexity, Connectivity and Change at Stanford University.

Sylvia attended a meeting with Jorge Riquelme, Bayside Community Center Executive Director, to learn about the development of a new community plan.

Nov. 19: I attended a talk on Social Innovation & Sustainability at the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center.

Nov. 20: Sylvia and I traveled to Imperial County to celebrate their first ever National Philanthropy Day.

Nov. 21: I met with the Leadership Team of the Campaign to End Homelessness Downtown, led by Jennifer LeSar and Robin Madafer to learn more about their efforts and ongoing initiatives. Later, I had lunch with Bunmi Esho to talk about the work at Just in Time for foster youth.

Nov. 22: I hosted a leadership meeting of several foundations where we wished Mark Smith, the President and CEO of California Healthcare Foundation, a happy retirement. Thank you for your service to the community, Mark.

Nov. 24: I attended Brandon Tate’s birthday party to support the work of the San Diego LGBT Community Center and the #GivingTogether campaign, which celebrated the center’s 40thanniversary.

Nov. 25: I met with Ahmed Sahid, Executive Director, Somali Family Service to get an update on the work they are doing to address the rising teen suicide rate in their community as well as to discuss their workforce development efforts.

Thank you to everyone that invited us to be a part of their work, and thank you to everyone who is working to make our communities healthier and happier. Even with a busy holiday season ahead of us, we anticipate an active December and look forward to meeting more people passionate about making a difference.

If you would like to be involved in these meetings, events, and discussions,please email me. The more we can share our support and encourage collaboration, the more good that we can do.