CCAE Theatricals, Inc. – Uniendo: Intergenerational Storytelling for Joyful Connections are awarded a grant from the Escondido Foundation: (From left) Mariana Perezchica, Pamila Whitney, Julianna Crespo, Tom Abrazzo, Elisabeth Lentulo, Amy Conncannon, Dara Czerwonka.
The Escondido Community Foundation (ECF), a regional affiliate of San Diego Foundation, awarded $203,000 to nine local nonprofits at its annual Grants Award Celebration on September 25 at Orfila Vinyard and Winery.
“Our focus this cycle was to identify local programs that enhance the social and economic well-being of Escondido’s rapidly growing senior population,” said Rosemary Burson, chair of the ECF board. “With an emphasis on combating elder fraud, reducing social isolation, and improving access to basic necessities, we have selected nine outstanding nonprofits, each providing unique services that will undoubtedly enrich the lives of those seniors in Escondido who urgently need additional support.”
The 2025-26 ECF grant recipients include:
Assistance League of Inland North County- Project Seniors
Project Seniors will enrich the lives of low-income seniors at residential facilities in Escondido by providing a meal and a multi-generational interactive bilingual program. They will offer holiday parties, games, craft classes, seminars, light exercise, music or instructional classes which will encourage one-on-one interaction. Additionally, Assistance League volunteers will serve up to 600 low-income senior citizens with the invaluable support from their teenage volunteer corps, Assisteens®.
CCAE Theatricals – Uniendo: Intergenerational Storytelling
Uniendo will provide an outlet for seniors to share personal stories and experiences with young people, either elementary school children or college students depending on the content. These stories would be performed as dance interpretation, readings, acting, or singing and the seniors can perform right alongside the students if they wish. All performances will be at CCAE and transportation to all classes will be provided. Uniendo will deliver 10 weekly 90-minute workshops facilitated by professional Teaching Artists trained in Creative Youth Development and intergenerational facilitation.
Hope Through Housing Foundation – Connections To Care Escondido
Connections to Care serves 193 seniors at three Escondido communities. Besides programs and services currently offered, this project will provide activities such as senior fitness; nutrition and cooking; self-defense; computer education and literacy; and mental health and addiction workshops. They will also offer arts and crafts; family Bingo night(s); intergenerational gardening and intergenerational reading. To address food insecurity, they will provide food boxes twice a month per property to the most vulnerable seniors.
Jewish Family Service of San Diego – Transportation On The Go
On The Go (OTG) prioritizes medical transportation, a round-trip point-to-point service coordinated and supervised by staff and provided primarily through Lyft. For clients with wheelchairs or oxygen equipment that exceeds the typical capacity for a Lyft ride, transportation is provided through a team of pre-screened volunteers with vans. Each month, enrolled riders receive eight roundtrip rides that are completely free. A few days before the scheduled ride, OTG provides an outgoing reminder call to the rider along with identifying information such as the color of the vehicle, name of driver, and license plate. The estimated impact is about 1,000 rides for Escondido residents and a significant increase in utilizing other services such as nutrition and home repairs.
Mama’s Kitchen – Senior Nutrition Program In Escondido
The goal of this Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) is to remove barriers critically ill seniors face in accessing medically appropriate nutrition to enhance their ability to manage their diagnosis and improve their short-term and long-term health outcomes. They accomplish this by home delivering medically tailored nutrition and education that helps increase disease self-management, improve medication adherence, and improve health outcomes. Upon referral, a registered dietitian conducts a comprehensive assessment, and new clients typically start receiving meals within days of enrollment, ensuring rapid intervention. Meals are delivered directly to clients’ homes twice a week, providing three meals per day and healthy snacks to cover the days between deliveries.
Meals on Wheels San Diego County (MOWSDC) – Senior Meal Delivery & Support Services
Meals on Wheels’ vision is to drive out senior hunger and isolation across our region. This project will provide older adults over 60 in Escondido with nutritious home-delivered meals, daily safety checks, and in-home social visits, including care navigator support and follow-up care. As part of the “more than just a meal” service model, volunteers establish trusting relationships with seniors to monitor their well-being. When volunteers discover a change in a client’s condition or health, a wellness alert is placed via their phone and is received by a Care Navigator. MOWSDC’s Care Navigators connect clients with resources and address various needs, including elder abuse, food assistance, healthcare services, home repair, and transportation. The funds would support the overall goal to serve 270 seniors.
Truecare – TTTC (Transportation And Telehealth With Truecare)
TrueCare will provide medical transportation and remote blood pressure monitoring for Escondido seniors. They run a Health Center in San Marcos, which includes primary health care, chiropractic, podiatry, management of medications with a pharmacist and mental health providers. Transportation to this center is coordinated through TrueCare Call Center dispatchers via Uber Health. TrueCare also provides patient access and training on Remote Patient Monitors (RPMs) through which patients can measure their blood pressure at home where it is automatically loaded into their health record through MyChart. The additional funding will allow its expansion to an additional 600 rides and 42 additional RPMs.
Silver Age Yoga Community Outreach – Free Silver Age Yoga For Seniors
The Silver Age Yoga program (SAYCO) addresses the wellbeing of seniors by focusing on social isolation and physical activity. Many Escondido seniors lack the means to take part in physical activity classes. SAYCO offers a unique opportunity for seniors of all backgrounds – regardless of financial means – to participate in free yoga classes in their own communities, discover new friendships and feel connected to others. Classes are taught by vetted professional instructors, and participants will be recruited from neighboring areas.
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank – Senior Food Program in Escondido
The Senior Food Program currently provides monthly food boxes to qualified seniors at Windsor Gardens Apartments and Park Avenue Community Center in Escondido. Each box contains about 40 pounds of nutritious food, helping seniors maintain their health and independence. The proposed project expands the Senior Food Program by enhancing food boxes with fresh produce, benefiting about 354 low-income seniors in Escondido each month. The Senior Food Program has 14 nonprofit partners in Escondido and the Client Choice Pantry available to seniors in Escondido.
Since 2007, ECF has granted more than $4 million to more than 155 programs dedicated to creating a vibrant community in Escondido. It also donated the community arch, valued at $1 million.
The mission of Escondido Community Foundation is to meet emerging needs in Escondido by increasing responsible philanthropy to benefit all who live, work and play in the community. To become an ECF member, visit the website or contact Eve Childs at [email protected].
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank – San Diego Food Bank’s Senior Food Program in Escondido being awarded a grant by the Escondido Foundation: (From left) Dara Czerwonka, Tim Pfeiler, Michael Minjares David Perez, Amy Eilts.