 |
OCEANSIDE – Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath honors the Boys and Girls Club of Oceanside as the 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year for Assembly District 76.
Each year, California Assemblymembers and State Senators select a nonprofit from their district to be recognized for their work to provide services to those in need, promote social change, and improve the quality of life in their communities.
The club was selected because of its tireless dedication to support the underserved youth of the Oceanside community as working families navigate the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The staff quickly identified food insecurity and distance learning inequities as some of the areas of greatest needs for the low income and minority families and created programs tailored to address them.
“This pandemic and the economic downturn it caused has really hit working families the hardest,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “The Boys and Girls Club of Oceanside has been listening to the needs of families and has truly gone above and beyond to meet them where they’re at during this difficult time. The club’s efforts over the past six months have helped keep Oceanside students on track while lessening some of the burdens their parents are facing.”
Ever since it first arrived in Oceanside more than 67 years ago, the Boys and Girls Club has worked to provide a safe, fun, and enriching environment for the youth of the community to spend their after-school hours. The circumstances of the pandemic meant that youth weren’t able to gather at the facilities for hands-on enrichment programs. The club quickly pivoted to, among other things, transition the use of its kitchen facilities for daily meal pickups and launch its Back2School program to provide virtual instructional support and close the connectivity divide.
“During these unprecedented times, BGCO staff have worked around the clock to ensure that at-risk youth have the support they need while school closures continue,” said Jodi Diamond, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Oceanside. “We are incredibly grateful and deeply humbled to be recognized by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath as a Nonprofit of the Year.”
This is the fifth year of the California Nonprofit of the Year initiative, and with nonprofits doing more than ever to help their communities weather this COVID-19 crisis, their work should rightfully be celebrated.
“Nonprofits are often hidden in plain sight,” said Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits). “With one in every 14 California jobs being at a nonprofit, honoring a California Nonprofit of the Year shows that elected officials recognize and celebrate the good work they see nonprofits doing in their districts. We urge everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.”
#