September 26, 2025 – Escondido, CA – 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 Sept. 25 at Orfila Vinyard and Winery. Photos and captions are available here with permission to publish by San Diego Foundation.
“Our focus this cycle was to identify local programs that enhance the social and economic well-being of Escondido’s rapidly growing senior population,” stated 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.”
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, so that residents are proud to call Escondido home.
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 designed to meet their needs. 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 corp, Assisteens®. Teens will participate in programs, assist with decorations, food service and help seniors engage with their neighbors and community.
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. Sessions include storytelling, movement, creative collaboration, and informal social time. This is such a unique way to reach seniors, work intergenerationally, and create shared memories between the community’s youth and adults.
Hope Through Housing Foundation – Connections to Care Escondido
Connections to Care serves 193 seniors at three Escondido communities. In addition to the 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. All activities are designed to help keep seniors active, engaged, and healthy, both physically and mentally, as well as feeling valued. This grant will increase access to basic needs while improving physical and mental well-being and decreasing social isolation and depression.
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 to them. 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 approximately 1,000 rides for Escondido residents as well as a significant increase in utilizing other services such as nutrition and home repairs.
Mama’s Kitchen – Senior Nutrition Program in Escondido
The goal of our 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. This comprehensive care also includes distributing blankets, fans, emergency food bags, and care packages for birthdays and holidays. This approach addresses food insecurity and social isolation and fosters community and well-being among seniors. Funding for the Escondido Senior Meal Delivery and Supportive Services will ensure the continuation and expansion of these services to seniors throughout Escondido. The funds would support the overall goal to serve 270 seniors in Escondido.
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 and is conducted 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 in their communities and, as a result, feel lonely, depressed, and hopeless – often contributing to a decline in their physical and mental health. 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. Classes are offered in English and in Spanish, ensuring that they meet the needs of the multi-lingual population in Escondido.
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 approximately 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 approximately 354 low-income seniors in Escondido each month. The Senior Food Program has 14 nonprofit partners in Escondido as well as the Client Choice Pantry available to seniors in Escondido.
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 ecf@sdfoundation.org.
About the Escondido Community Foundation & the Regional Affiliate Program
The Regional Affiliate program, including Escondido Community Foundation, was established by San Diego Foundation to create a regional network of affiliate foundations by leveraging local leadership, building endowments, increasing impactful philanthropy, and promoting civic engagement. Affiliates reside in Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and Rancho Bernardo. The Regional Affiliate program has exceeded 1,000 members, established endowments of more than $5 million overall, and granted more than $6 million in total to nonprofit organizations throughout the region.
About San Diego Foundation
San Diego Foundation believes in just, equitable and resilient communities where every San Diegan can prosper, thrive and feel like they belong. We partner with donors, nonprofits and regional leaders to co-create solutions that respond to community needs and strengthen San Diego. Since our founding in 1975, our community foundation has granted $1.8 billion to nonprofits to improve quality of life in San Diego County and beyond. Join us in commemorating 50 years of impact — and looking toward the next 50 — by learning more at SDFoundation.org.
Contact: Hiram Soto, hsoto@sdfoundation.org or (858) 349‑7940
