County of San Diego employees and retirees have been lending a hand to the community through the San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) since 1956. CECO is a grassroots organization built by County employees who very simply wanted to help make the community better for all its residents. This simple act has become a County tradition with now 59 years of collective giving and millions of dollars benefiting local non-profit agencies in the region.

CECO recognizes the diverse needs in the region and that there are many local non-profit agencies working toward addressing these needs. CECO also recognizes that the main challenge is that the need in the community outweighs the available resources. Through grants, CECO provides local non-profit agencies with funding for equipment and other tangible items that they need to enhance and/or provide new services to the population they service.

Examples of funded items include:

• A beach wheelchair for the Adaptive Sports & Recreation Association
• Three exam tables and medications for Mountain Health & Community Services
• A vision screener for Neighborhood Healthcare
• Beds and mattresses for San Diego Second Chance
• A Smart Board for the Urban Corps of San Diego County
• A freezer for Hope Through Housing Foundation

Money and time isn’t always easy to spare. CECO relies on County employees and retirees to keep the tradition of giving alive and well. Fortunately, CECO continues to be supported by hardworking volunteers who manage the operations of the organization and coordinate fundraisers throughout the year. CECO also benefits from the generosity of County employees with over 1,600 who support CECO through a payroll deduction biweekly and thousands more who support one-time fundraising events.

In 2014, CECO raised over $200,000, which will be distributed to the community by way of grants to local non-profit agencies and County employees and retirees facing a crisis. CECO continues to fund tangible items that help non-profit programs enhance and/or provide new services which look to impact community health, knowledge and standard of living.

On Wednesday, March 25, 2015, CECO will award approximately $200,000 to 108 local non-profit programs including Neighborhood Healthcare, Somali Family Service of San Diego, Fallbrook Food Pantry, San Ysidro Health Center, Words Alive and many more.

Join in lending a hand! Whether you give to CECO, another local non-profit and/or volunteer your time at a non-profit. This is time and money that benefits our community.