Live Well, Live United

County Supervisors Dianne Jacob, representing La Mesa, and Bill Horn present a proclamation to United Way President and CEO Kevin Crawford and Board Chair Jon Vance, naming United Way an official “Live Well San Diego” partner. (L-to-R: Horn, Vance, Jacob, Crawford)

To live well in San Diego means creating a community built on opportunity for everyone – a vision shared by United Way of San Diego County and the County of San Diego.

On Oct. 21, the County Board of Supervisors named United Way a “Live Well San Diego” partner with a proclamation presented by Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Bill Horn to United Way President and CEO Kevin Crawford and Board Chair Jon Vance.

Live Well San Diego is an initiative of the County of San Diego to improve health, safety and well-being for all residents. United Way was selected as an official partner, in part, because of its commitment to work collectively with partners to improve health, education, financial self-sufficiency and food insecurity through regional volunteerism and community engagement.

“Live Well represents a shared vision that can only be accomplished through collaboration with partners in every sector – businesses, schools, military and veterans organizations, community and faith-based organizations and all levels of government,” said Horn. “We are recognizing United Way because it works together with all of these sectors and is dedicated to the best ideals of public service.”

The criteria for Live Well partners includes that they must be influential; go above and beyond in programs, policies and practices; measure progress; and be forward thinking.

The County and its proclamation also recognized United Way for its Project 25, a public-private partnership to provide permanent supportive housing to some of the most frequent homeless users of public resources; annual summer reading book drive; leadership of the Earned Income Tax Coalition (EITC); large network of volunteer readers, tutors and mentors; and more.

“This is an important recognition for United Way and our region-wide goals to elevate every child and family toward a brighter future,” said Crawford. “We are committed to the Live Well initiative’s goal of achieving safe, healthy and thriving communities countywide and look forward to many future collaborations.”

About United Way of San Diego County

By working with nonprofits, schools, businesses and community leaders, United Way of San Diego County tackles the issues that impact children and families in San Diego. The nonprofit plays a unique role, bringing the right people and resources together to spark breakthrough community action that elevates every child and family toward a brighter future. Through a Collective Impact model, United Way solves complex problems by maximizing existing community partners/resources and establishing common goals to create permanent change in the community. United Way’s efforts include anchoring the City Heights Partnership for Children and being a key partner in the upcoming Vista Partnership for Children. LIVE UNITED is a call to action for everyone to get involved by donating and volunteering. Learn more at www.uwsd.org, the blog, Facebook  and Twitter.