Our Work

Critical Issues in our Community

What We Do

Our success is measured by the lives we transform: the children who succeed, the families that thrive, the partners that align with us, leveraging their resources and expertise to transform the lives of children, young adults, and families in  our community and move them forward into a brighter future.

These stories are our commitment to the San Diego County and the challenges we face together: an intern watches a second-grader transform from missing school to setting an attendance record. A volunteer tax-preparer sees a struggling family transform from fearing tax day to looking forward to their EITC refund. A high school student transforms from a teenager with no aspirations into a young person with a future pipelined to a prospering local tech industry.

Change starts small, but UWSD’s goals are big and hopeful: from transforming hundreds of lives to hundreds of thousands of lives in our region.

man reads with child

Education

Early milestones that impact a child’s ultimate success in life are reading proficiency in 3rd grade and math proficiency in 8th grade. Data shows that a quarter of students who fall behind will not graduate on time.

The Community Impact team at United Way of San Diego County (UWSD) partners with local schools and community-based organizations to resolve inequities in the education system and ensure that children and young adults have the tools they need to be successful, from cradle to career.

Family Playing on the Beach

Family Stability

Family stability plays a critical role in early childhood development. There are many families across the San Diego region who cannot afford to meet their basic needs. This scarcity cripples a child’s ability to learn.

As a leader in our community, UWSD brings together partners to align goals and leverage resources to reconstruct systems and resolve inequities in order to transform lives.

Support Our Work

Our challenge is making the systemic changes that will reach hundreds of thousands of children and families.