In our 2021 Economic Inclusion Grant Round, SV2 selected Puente de la Costa Sur as one of our Grantee Partners. We’re thrilled and honored to be in partnership with Puente. 

Puente fosters wellness and prosperity in the San Mateo County, South Coast communities of Pescadero, La Honda, Loma Mar, and San Gregorio by promoting and advocating for equitable access to education, health, and economic security. Puente believes that self-sufficiency of individuals, families, and communities is essential for turning future dreams into reality. 

Puente has consistently listened, deeply engaged with the community, and strengthened trust and relationships. During the pandemic, Puente significantly contributed to a 90% COVID vaccination rate among agriculture workers in the South Coast of San Mateo County. Harsh climate disasters and the traumatic shooting in Half Moon Bay last year led to immediate community needs. Puente successfully responded by creating multiple emotional and financial resources. For example, Puente launched a fundraiser, and over $300,000 was distributed to the community for flood assistance, household assistance, and loss of wages. In addition, around $50,000 was passed on to the shooting victims.

Puente’s ongoing work includes:

• a trauma-informed approach to reduce health disparities in coastal, rural towns
• provide accessible, high quality and culturally relevant free mental health services
• advance early childhood education, family engagement and youth programming
• provide support with navigating public benefits, case management, free tax preparation assistance, free health coverage enrollment assistance, and other critical services
• engage community in advocacy and public policy

Some key highlights of Puente’s recent outstanding work, impact, and strong leadership include:

• Serving 1,900+ households, provided $500,000+ in financial assistance
• Launching 60+ Connection and Wellbeing Program for Older Adults
• Farmworkers joined advocacy group in Washington DC to fight for legalization of Farmwork Force Modernization Act
• Farmworkers are being involved in local community leadership development and attending local government meetings

You can learn about ways to partner with Puente and get involved here.

Soon after SV2 made the grant, Puente selected Cynthia Lang and Kwok Lau (SV2 Partners) to be their Partner Champions during the three-year grant period. Partner Champions advance SV2’s Beyond-the-Dollars approach to listening and supporting our Grantee Partners to achieve their social impact and organizational health goals (beyond our unrestricted funding).

Kwok shared: “Puente as an organization has a true understanding of the cultural and political context of its community. Their continued advocacy on behalf of the farm workers and extended community workers is compelling. Rita [Executive Director] took a vocal leadership position in supporting  San Mateo County’s sanctuary ordinance  and brought strong opposition to a proposed amendment.”

Kwok connected Puente with a nonprofit recruiting professional to expand Puente’s Human Resources capacity and hire strong match candidates. Kwok donated these professional services to Puente. When the community needed financial assistance, Cindy outreached to donors and advised Puente on how to steward individual donors. Cindy also volunteered at Puente’s painting, organizing, and cleaning community event. Cindy and Kwok have participated in Puente’s ongoing events such as Fall Harvest and Gathering for Giving. Cindy and Kwok have been such thoughtful and caring Partner Champions and demonstrate the kind of collaborative and impactful relationship SV2 strives to have with our wonderful Grantee Partners!

“Last April we decided to start not just a partnership but a relationship with SV2 and it has been truly profound. The amount of listening, learning and care that has been poured from the SV2 community has elevated the work of RWC Together to better support our Redwood City and North Fair Oaks ecosystem for our most vulnerable community members. Our organization’s pulse is strong with the support from our partners like SV2. We know that there will be challenges along the way as we try to address health, wellness and education gaps in our community, challenges that have truly long existed. With the peer coaching sessions that we have been receiving from the SV2 network, we will find a way to be strategic, and tenacious to learn how to move forward. As a team, we extend our deepest thanks to partner community organizations, our community members and the SV2 network for our collaborative work and dedication to advance the success of youth and families in our Redwood City and North Fair Oaks Community.” – Rafael Avendaño, Executive Director, Redwood City Together

To date our partnership with Redwood City Together has included:

• • Volunteering at monthly food distributions – serving 250-300 families each time
  • Participating in inspiring Redwood City Together events such as the Orgullo y Educación (OYE) Latinx Youth Conference, World Café, and Welcoming Week
  • Co-designing a Community Impact and Celebration Night:
    • We gathered diverse community stakeholders to discuss priorities in the Community Collaborative for Children’s Success. Community members discussed adopting universal preschool and subsidizing preschool spots for low income families, engaging youth in leadership roles, and expanding mentorship, living-wage job opportunities, and skills development. Community members would like to see more youth career and job fairs, opportunities for low-income youth, mentorship programs, and increased resources for childcare providers. 
    • Redwood City Together will work closely with our partners to ensure we continue moving the work forward in the community to improve education, wellness, and equity.

• We celebrated the outstanding changemaking of Redwood City Together’s core team of community-based organization in advancing the success of youth and families in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks:

• • • El Concilio
    • Family Connections 
    • Friends for Youth
    • Pal Center (also SV2 Grantee Partner)
    • Upward Scholars (also SV2 Grantee Partner)
    • The YMCA
    • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership (IDEAL) Redwood City
    • San Mateo County Health
  • Each of these organizations and Redwood City Together received Commendations from Josh Becker, CA State Senator. After our event, Senator Becker put RWC Together in the CA state budget (granted $200K to Purposeful, Action, Creation and Engagement – PACE Program).
• Doing peer coaching sessions with RWC Together Teammates (Benjamin, Elisa, Ella, Kelly, and Rafa)
  • June 2023: Guided strategic discussion at community retreat and shared thoughts and resources for staff professional development 
  • August 2023: Updated All Together Data Dashboard and advised on how to align with core partners on priorities and next steps 

The above initiatives and events engaged 49 SV2 Donor Partners and family members, a great turnout. And yes, shoutout to Brew Coffee and Bakery and Venga Empanadas, local Redwood City businesses for some yummy treats along the way!

“I was fortunate to attend one of the Peer Coaching sessions with Rafa and the impressive RWC Together team, helping to update the All Together Data Dashboard. We spent considerable time developing the story of the major challenges facing Redwood City, and it was so gratifying to watch my focus on presenting data clearly and succinctly become integrated with others’ skills in storytelling. The RWC Together team convinced the SV2 participants that our input had truly strengthened the presentation. I felt I had been of service to a thriving community-based organization, a wonderful feeling.” – Nancy Grove, SV2 Partner

More SV2 Donor Partners are warmly encouraged to get involved in our partnership! We have different kinds of opportunities – e.g. volunteering, peer coaching, and co-designing future events. If you’d like to join, please contact Amy Badiani, Director of Community Engagement, SV2 abadiani@sv2.org.

We’re thrilled to welcome Maria Arms to the SV2 staff team as the new Development Coordinator. Maria’s role focuses on supporting SV2’s donor recruitment and stewardship.

Prior to SV2, Maria served as the Special Assistant to the President and The Children’s Movement at Children Now, a research and advocacy organization focused on improving children’s well-being. In this role, Maria provided administrative support to the President and supported The Children’s Movement by engaging members in advocacy campaigns and recruiting new members. Maria earlier interned at the Outdoor Foundation, where she conducted research and strategized with the development team and board on prospective partners for programs that increase access to the outdoors for low-income children and children of color.

Maria has considerable work and volunteer experience in K-12 and early childhood education settings, including at Prospect Sierra School, North Davis Elementary, and the Peregrine School. Maria earned a B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in Education, from UC Davis.

We’re delighted to welcome Maria to SV2. She can be reached at marms@sv2.org.

We are grateful and honored to announce generous foundation support for SV2’s mission. Four local foundations have made unrestricted grants to SV2, expressing that our commitment to equity is the key motivator for their support.

SV2 has received generous grants from the following foundations in the past few months:

David and Lucile Packard Foundation: $150,000 (over two years)
Sand Hill Foundation: $90,000 (over three years)
Sobrato Family Foundation: $25,000
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: $25,000

All these foundations have expressed that SV2’s focus on equity is a key driver of their choice to support SV2’s mission and impact. We are grateful for their support, and honored to be partnering with them in advancing equity in the Bay Area.

Mental Health & Wellbeing continuously emerges as a top priority in our community, weaves the fabric of human experience, shapes our emotions, relationships and overall resilience. Mental Health & Wellbeing ultimately influences our collective strength and vitality of our communities.

We’re starting our Grant Round by understanding what Mental Health & Wellbeing means to our Bay Area community, day to day and in practice. 

1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness each year and 1 in 6 youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year – yet <50% receive treatment. Mental illness has an impact on the individual, family, community, and world. The Bay Area, known for its vibrant culture, technological advancements, and thriving economy, struggles with its unique challenges to mental health and wellbeing. These challenges are a fast-paced lifestyle, intense work environment, and high cost of living. All these stressors can increase the risk of both substance use and mental illness.

In December 2023, SV2 will allocate $150,000 of unrestricted, three-year funding across two organizations ($75,000 each). SV2 will also offer the selected organizations beyond-the-dollars support as helpful and friendship! SV2 Donor Partners, Grantee Partners, and Prospective Donor Partners  are warmly invited to participate in our Grant Round! This Grant Round is led by SV2 Partners Tara Maddala and Tanja Powers, and Amy Badiani, SV2 Director of Community Engagement.

We’ve launched an “Open Call” community nomination process. Do you want to nominate your organization? Do you know an inspiring Mental Health & Wellbeing nonprofit or fiscally sponsored organization in the Bay Area? By Friday September 1st, 2023: please nominate here for our funding and support: bit.ly/communitynominations.

While our scope is currently broad, we’re actively gathering insights about what mental health & wellbeing means in our Bay Area communities to advance a community-centric and grounded approach. We invite you to participate in our learning process. In addition to nominating organizations through the link above, here are some ways to get involved:

• Help us spread the word about our Grant Round | We’re trying out an “open call” community nomination process. This means we’re sharing this nomination form broadly and hope to reach changemakers outside of our direct (sometimes biased) networks. Feel free to share our nomination form with others who would like to nominate. Here are some posts you can edit and share along with the nomination form link. Please direct any questions to Amy Badiani, SV2 Director of Community Engagement, abadiani@sv2.org
• Join our Grant Round Informational Open House on Tuesday, August 15th 12:30-1:30PM on Zoom: RSVP here.
• Share names and contact info. for community changemakers you think we should chat with as part of our learning process | Share with abadiani@sv2.org. These would be individuals not affiliated with nominated organizations, just so we can keep things fair! You can just share names and email addresses with us, we can cross check whether or not we’re actively considering them for our grant. We’d love to learn more about their experience and insights as it relates to mental health & wellbeing in the Bay Area, and also ask for their org nominations. 
• Share any resources you resonate with – e.g. articles, publications, etc. | Share with abadiani@sv2.org. We’ll upload these to our intranet so they are accessible to all who participate in our Grant Round.
• SV2 Partners, Teens, and current Grantee Partners:
  • Participate in our Community Engagement and Research Team | This includes chatting with 1-2 community stakeholders, researching ~5-7 organizations that are nominated in more detail, participating in our shortlisting process in which we’ll select five finalize organizations to invite to our Grant Round, and participating in our grant decision making process. This will all happen between August – December 2023. Contact abadiani@sv2.org by Tuesday August 15th if you’re interested!

We’re looking forward to an insightful and impactful experience together!

Each year, we gather to learn updates about our social impact with our Grantee Partners, celebrate progress, openly discuss challenges, and understand ways to support. We had a great Grantee Partner Updates and Celebration on May 31st. Our event was a strong reminder of all the goodness happening in our communities, the inspiring and highly successful leadership of those with lived experiences and expertise, and the importance of collaboration and solidarity in our changemaking. 

Here are some examples of what our outstanding community changemakers and leaders are proud about:

• Growing impact, bridging the higher ed and business sectors to expand economic opportunity and build a force of leaders as diverse as our future demands – Braven Bay Area
• Set up our own payroll system and are able to do HR things on our own – Code Tenderloin
• High success rate: 90-100% receive at least one 4 year college acceptance – College is Real
• Advancing key advocacy and legislation – e.g. Our Worker’s Rights Campaign, SB686, Domestic Worker Occupational Safety Act, SB227 Safety Net for All Workers (unemployment insurance for undocumented workers), campaign to defend the right to asylum – Mujeres Unidas y Activas
• Una Vida, a division within One Life,  was created in June, 2022 to focus specifically on the underserved and underrepresented Latinx community of the greater San Mateo County area. Una Vida is being led by three outstanding women to help bring more Spanish speaking services at free and affordable rates to support the Lanix community. – One Life Counseling
• Our culture is known in the community to be really supportive and inclusive. We retained 100% of our key personnel – PAL Center
• We launched a  fundraiser to respond to community needs during crisis: $200,000-300,000 was distributed to the community for flood assistance in January for; household assistance, loss of wages – Puente de la Costa Sur
• A very close relationship with the community with active listening to evolve our programs.  We expanded relationships with both the Ravenswood School District, The Primary School, and the City of East Palo Alto (workforce dev). – StreetCode Academy
• City of San Jose adopted Affordable Housing Siting Policy – uses equity framework to incentivize affordable housing to be built throughout the city, correlates with areas that are low-income and don’t have as many resources – SV@Home
• Launching TeacherUp in January 2024 – project from Community Equity Collaborative as a way to bridge the gap in the early childhood educator workforce so that more families have quality options for their children, parents can get into the workforce, and childcare – Upward Scholars

These examples and the work and progress of our outstanding Grantee Partners make us very hopeful about our present and our future. 

SV2’s Committee unanimously and enthusiastically confirmed the next round of unrestricted funding for all Grantee Partners entering Year 2 or Year 3 of their grant period with SV2: Braven Bay Area, Code Tenderloin, College is Real, Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), PAL Center (formerly known as Redwood City PAL),  Puente de la Costa Sur, and StreetCode Academy. It was also very meaningful to hear updates from our Grantee Partners who are terming out of their grant period with SV2: One Life Counseling, SV@Home, and Upward Scholars. We wish them the best and know we’ll still be great friends!

SV2 highly recommends these organizations for further funding and support. Many of the leaders shared calls to action / ways we can support their organizations beyond-the-dollars. You can see these calls to action in this document. The document includes EIN numbers and links to donate if you’d like to do so! 

Here are some quotes from our celebration that highlight the trust, partnership and friendship we strive to have with our Grantee Partners.

“My whole team comes from lived experience [can do the mission-driven work with our community very well, but very busy and  newer to how to increase our organizational health].  I was blind and now I can see because of SV2. I can read and understand the organization’s finances, I can make the right strategic decisions…” – Donna Hilliard, Executive Director, Code Tenderloin

“One of the goals we’ve always had is to get our students onto a level playing field. To help us get there we asked our Partner Champions to connect us to other organizations whose experience would be helpful. Already, 30 of our students are participating in one such organization’s college readiness program. And our Partners also connected us with a number of resources to help us learn how AI will affect our students.  They have been so quick to reply and make connections!” – Angelica Arriaga, Executive Director, College is Real

“I feel like I’m a kid leaving college, it’s a really emotional period for me. SV2 is an accelerator program for nonprofits. SV2 really provides the emotional support, the strategic support, and the brain power to move from real small to sky rocketing…” – Suzie Hughes, Executive Director, One Life Counseling

Each of our Grantee Partners is paired with 1-2 Partner Champions whom they select. These SV2 Partner Champions and our staff cultivate  strong relationships, support our Grantee Partners, and connect them to our broader community as helpful. As we advance Trust-Based Philanthropy, we have a more relational check-in call with the Executive Directors and leaders, leading up to our Updates and Celebration meeting. This tends to be very insightful, meaningful, and actionable. We do not require a written grant report in order to release the next round of unrestricted funding, which can often be very burdensome for busy nonprofit leaders trying to focus on their actual mission-driven work.

Huge kudos to all of our Grantee Partners for their work (and teamwork!) and extraordinary impact. It has also been so nice to experience the growth of your relationships with your dedicated Partner Champions. Much gratitude for all you do, Partner Champions!

Much appreciation too for the continued skillful and smooth interpretation from our wonderful Interpreters via Upward Scholars: Brenda Graciano, Luis Romero, and Miguel Araque Contreras! SV2 strongly recommends working with Upward Scholars for interpretation, Spanish coaching, etc.! Learn more here.

Contact Amy Badiani, SV2 Director of Community Engagement,  abadiani@sv2.org if you have any questions or want to learn more about how we advance equity and Trust-Based Philanthropy.

We are thrilled to welcome four new members to SV2’s Board of Directors: Rolland Janairo, Kera Jewett, Cindy Lang, and Jennifer Min. We are so excited to bring Rolland, Kera, Cindy and Jennifer’s talents and experience to the SV2 Board! As part of our Strategic Plan’s emphasis on equity and power sharing, last year we added three new Board members who are current or former SV2 Grantee Partners – Rolland’s addition this year brings that number to four.

We are also very happy to announce that Kwok Lau has been elected the new SV2 Board Chair. Kwok previously served as Vice Chair of the Board and as Secretary. She joined SV2 as a Donor Partner in 2012, and has had many leadership roles at SV2, including Grant Round Leader, Partner Champion for SV2 Grantees SOMOS Mayfair and Puente de la Costa Sur, and member of the SV2 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Working Group. She brings deep wisdom, experience, and humility to her engagement and leadership at SV2.

We are deeply appreciative of outgoing Board Chair Jim Basile’s expert guidance of SV2 over the past two years. As a long-time, engaged Partner, Grant Round Leader, and Board member, Jim brought wisdom and insight that served SV2 well in this past season. We’re grateful for his Board service and also delighted that he’ll remain an active SV2 Donor Partner, including serving as Partner Champion for Redwood City PAL. Join us in welcoming Kwok to her new leadership position and thanking Jim for his Board leadership and service. And welcome to our newest Board members – please read more about them below!

Rolland Janairo
Rolland has served as Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) since 2018. Born and raised in New York City to parents who immigrated from the Philippines, Rolland has developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of education as a product of the NYC public school system. While attending and after graduating from Brown University, Rolland volunteered and taught at a preschool in Providence, Rhode Island. He later earned his Masters Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During his time in Boston, Rolland was the Associate Director of Teacher Development at Jumpstart for Young Children, as well as the Director of Playmaker Operations at Life is Good Playmakers. Prior to joining SVUDL, Rolland served as the Chief Operating Officer at World Savvy. Across all of these roles, Rolland’s focus has been on supporting students to reach their full potential by empowering the caring adults around them to do the same. Rolland also serves as Treasurer of the Board of the Directors of the Thrive Alliance of Nonprofits of San Mateo County, as well as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the California Association of Urban Debate Leagues. He is also a Senior Fellow faculty member with the Institute of Nonprofit Practice. In his spare time, Rolland enjoys running, cooking, and exploring the Bay Area with his wife and two young boys.

Kera Jewett
Kera brings over 15 years in the nonprofit sector serving in key fundraising staff roles, board positions, and working alongside others to launch three nonprofit organizations. She has participated in or led three capital campaigns and most recently built the first Principal Gifts program at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Her expertise lies in building sustainable philanthropic models for organizations through authentic relationships and demonstrated outcomes. Her passion project is building donor communities that lift community voices and solutions.

Cindy Lang
Cindy is a seasoned fundraiser and connector who coordinates engagement activities and strategic conversations with colleagues in the Bay Area and all over the world. She has deep familiarity with Brazil, its business culture and language and a keen interest in promoting social enterprise work globally. Cindy serves on the Board of Action for India, Sustainable Conservation’s Advisory Board, and has been an Advisor to Embrace, a global enterprise that delivers low-cost solutions to improve health outcomes in developing countries. She is a Mentor at the Miller Center Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) and serves as a member of its Unconscious Bias Working Group. Cindy also has strong philanthropic ties to Stanford University and is currently on the Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRiSS’s) Advisory Board and its Center on Poverty and Inequality. She has been part of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars selection team since its inauguration in 2017. Cindy received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in French and English Literatures and her MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School, where she is now a Mentor in Residence. She uses her skills to create socially and environmentally responsible infrastructures and is a Certified Professional Diversity and Life Coach. Cindy is passionate about travel, romance languages and playing friendly tennis.

Jennifer Min
Jennifer Min has served as a mathematics and economics teacher and a school administrator for over 20 years, most recently at The Nueva School where she helped to found Nueva’s Upper School. She led the development and implementation of academic programs and policies, and led the efforts to recruit, hire, and mentor teaching faculty. She also developed and taught math and economics courses. Prior to Nueva, Jennifer worked at San Francisco University High School, where she served as academic dean and chair of the mathematics department. Before beginning her career in education, Jennifer worked in finance at Morgan Stanley and strategy consulting at Bain & Company. She earned a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Jennifer volunteers as a tutor for students in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park and serves as a mentor to new and beginning teachers. She enjoys playing board games with her husband and two sons, spending time outdoors, and experimenting with new recipes.

Join us in welcoming these terrific new Board members!

The 2023 Partner Survey Results are in! This survey is one way of understanding SV2’s impact on Partners and how we can continue to achieve our mission, learn, make positive social impact and cultivate community. Everyone can read more highlights. SV2 Partners can also read the full report. Thanks to all Partners who completed this survey!

Some highlights:

• Our Partners are deepening their understanding of community priorities and aspirations and practicing giving with trust and equity. They are also serving more effectively as volunteers, nonprofit board members, and leaders.
  • 98% of Partners indicated that involvement with SV2 increased their level of knowledge about local community needs and solutions and built their confidence in practicing effective giving.
  • 85% of Partners indicated increased ability to advance equitable practices in social impact.
• Partners self-reported ~$1.3M in follow-on funding to organizations they learned about through SV2.
• Positive Partner experience, Net Promoter Score of 57.9 (over 0 is positive, over 50 is excellent)
• We engage with our SV2 and our broader community to inform Grant Round and Learning Session topics listed in the survey.
  • The top rated grant round topics are: Education Equity, Economic Inclusion, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Environment and Tech Nonprofits
  • The top learning session topics are: Impact Investing, Stories of Impact and Re-Connecting with Alumni Grantees, and Learning about the Strengths and Challenges of Different Communities in the Bay Area (e.g. Asian-American Pacific Islanders, Black, LatinX, Indigenous communities), and Nonprofit Strategy Development
• We noted improvement opportunities including offering advanced learning sessions and offering more in-person events and meetings – e.g. new Partners hearing experience and tips from more seasoned Partners and SV2 Board, and social events.

 

On April 6th, we gathered in Redwood City to further “move the needle on goodness.” 150+ community-based organizations, youth, families, elected officials (including Mayor Jeff Gee and Senator Josh Becker), funders and other changemakers recognized and celebrated our accomplishments in education, wellness, and equity in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks. Our event sparked deeper dialogue and collaboration on key priorities moving forward. This event was co-hosted by Redwood City Together and SV2. 

In social impact, we often mention the value of “going farther together.” During our Community Impact and Celebration Night event, we experienced that in action.

Outstanding community-based organizations tabled at our event to share more about their work, leadership, and resources:

• El Concilio – increasing education, employment, and access to quality of life services in San Mateo County.
• Family Connections – providing free high-quality, whole-family education, paired with in-depth whole family support in the Peninsula.
• Friends for Youth – safely and expertly matching adult volunteers with youth who need support through our two mentoring programs: 1-to-1 Mentoring and School-Based, Group Mentoring in San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara Counties.
• Redwood City PAL – joining police professionals and community members in Redwood City. Providing school-age children and their families with access to academic support, life skills and personal development activities.
• Upward Scholars – providing adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and career development support.
• The YMCA – building healthy, confident, connected children, adults, and families in North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, and beyond.

Leaders with IDEAL Redwood City (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Leadership), a program of the City Manager’s Office and San Mateo County Health were also present to share more about their initiatives. Together, all of these organizations and 40+ more cross-sector partners collaborate towards advancing the success of youth and families in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.

We delighted in vibrant and energizing performances by Redwood City’s own Ballet Folklorico Mexico Vivo and Afro-Brazilian Youth Drumming group SECOYAXE! Both groups represent some of the beautiful cultural diversity we have in our local communities, and the power of nurturing youth talent.

We then heard inspiring and thoughtful opening remarks from Rafael Avendaño, Executive Director of Redwood City Together. Rafa graciously shared his story and progression as a trusted and deeply respected leader in the community, as well as the highly impressive, community-centric work and data-driven progress of Redwood City Together.

It was really special to catch a glimpse of Rafa’s proud mom as he was sharing what an inspiration she has been to him and his changemaking!

Josh Becker, CA State Senator, then shared commendations and presented awards to Redwood City Together as well as the six community-based organizations for their outstanding community impact. The leaders have shared how meaningful and affirming it has been to have this important recognition.

We also heard from David Onek, SV2 CEO, about our Community Initiative partnership with Redwood City Together and opportunities to get involved, as well as Alisa MacAvoy, Board Trustee, Redwood City School District, about the city’s priorities and Redwood City Together’s important leadership.

The evening did not end with just listening to our speakers. We had time to engage in smaller group dialogues about community priorities and initiatives, and provide input into Redwood City Together’s strategy in:

• Ensuring that all children, youth, and families live in safe, healthy, and supportive environments
• Building resilient children + youth by expanding developmental assets
• Providing targeted support to address unmet needs at key ages

Each of the small groups was a great mix of community members with lived experiences, SV2 Partners, city and county officials, funders and other supporters. 

Throughout the evening, we enjoyed some delicious fajitas, fruits and veggies, churros, and bubble tea from local vendors Brew Coffee and Redwood City Catering!

Here are testimonials from some of our event participants. These really bring the experience to life:

“The SV2 and RWC Together event was a celebration for new opportunities and beginnings. I felt a sensation of belonging and trust from everyone. Getting to see Rafael and the community come together to cherish each other’s accomplishments felt magical. Watching others who come from the same origins as me receiving awards was incredible. The event was able to represent the culture of many North Fair Oaks Families. The folklorico dancing reminded me how grateful I am to be part Mexican and part Salvadoran. I also loved the group dialogue session where we were able to give our own thoughts and opinions about how SV2 and RWC Together should begin their journey.” – Ariana Flores, 8th Grade Student

“We were so proud of the sense of community and belonging that filled the room. This event helped bring stronger relationships and networks within our community, leading to greater trust, cooperation, and ultimately promoting transformative impact on the community that lasts far beyond the duration of the event itself.” – Ivan Martinez, ED, Redwood City PAL

“El Concilio is grateful to be in partnership with wonderful sister organizations serving our community of Redwood City and North Fair Oaks. The celebration event was a great opportunity for our promotora staff to be included. Not only did they share resources by tabling, but they took part in the learning and engaged in dialogue to help make decisions around the issues our CCCS network will tackle for the next year. This is so important! It’s part of the equity work, we want our staff who are key community leaders to know their voice and input is valuable and that we are in this work together!”  – Dr. Ana Angel Avendaño, ED, El Concilio of San Mateo County

“I want to thank all the organizers and participants who made the Spring Connections event with Redwood City Together such an engaging evening. As an SV2 partner I felt warmly welcomed; the celebratory performances and the delicious food spread created a festive backdrop for introductions and discovery. I have a much better sense of the extensive network of people and organizations all working together to serve the community in tandem with and under the guidance of RWC Together.  It was impressive to witness some of the collaboration that night, and I especially enjoyed the discussion at our table around prioritizing initiatives for the first year of the Redwood City Together and SV2 partnership. It was invaluable to hear first hand from residents about the issues that need addressing, and to learn more about each person’s important role and viewpoint. I feel even more energized for the partnership after this kick off, thank you all!” – Meg Bannick, SV2 Partner 

“What an amazing event where more than 150 people came together to celebrate and share the gifts of our vibrant Redwood City Community! The energy and inspiration were awe inspiring!” – Cynthia Lang, SV2 Partner Champion

Special thanks to Upward Scholars for invaluable interpretation and childcare support, and to our event sponsor, Legacy Venture. 

We’re so appreciative of everyone who helped make this event a big success!