WE ARE a 90 year-old community-based non-profit based in Linda Vista and serving residents throughout San Diego county. Every year we help meet the immediate short-term needs of thousands of families. We also educate and advocate alongside hundreds of residents in accord with our mission to empower our diverse community to improve its quality of life.

In 2022, we celebrated nine decades of empowerment with a variety of events and activities that began in January. Thank you our Title Sponsor, Molina Healthcare, and all of our other sponsors for making this special year of celebrations possible. See below for details about each event. Even though our 90th anniversary celebrations are over, we invite you to stay up-to-date with all of our future events by joining our mailing list or following us on social media. We’ll see you at our next event!

Bayside: 90 Years of Empowerment

Trailer and short-film documentary now available!

Event Recaps

Celebrating One of San Diego’s Oldest Non-Profit Organizations

SAN DIEGO, CA— On Thursday, December 8, 2022, elected officials and San Diego residents will celebrate the 90th anniversary of Bayside Community Center, one of the oldest non-profits in San Diego, at the Love, Linda Vista Farmer’s Market. The event will feature local performances by the Fern Street Circus, Ballet Folklorico El Tapatio, and Genbu Daiko. The documentary film, Bayside: 90 Years of Empowerment, will also be screened for the public.

Founded in 1932, Bayside Community Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to empower its diverse community to improve its quality of life through services, education, and advocacy. Bayside is currently based in Linda Vista, has history in Little Italy and City Heights, and serves people throughout San Diego County. Each year, Bayside helps meet the immediate needs of thousands of San Diego residents. In addition, Bayside provides intergenerational education on important skills that improve the quality of life for its residents, including, topics of health and wellness, literacy, leadership, and food production in urban environments. Bayside also advocates for and alongside residents for policy changes that have improved San Diego and surrounding areas for all those who live and visit the region.

“Bayside Community Center is a fixture in Linda Vista and has served our community for an incredible 90 years,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “I’ve had the pleasure of seeing their life-changing work up close at their community clean-ups, food distribution events, and afterschool programs for kids. Through their programs, education, and advocacy, their work has created ripple effects throughout the San Diego region, improving the lives of so many people. Here’s to another 90 years of success!”

San Diego City Councilman, Raul Campillo, notes, “Bayside Community Center goes above and beyond to meet the needs of the people of Linda Vista and throughout San Diego. Their mission to improve the quality of life for San Diego’s families and communities through education and training continues to endure, and I look forward to supporting them in any way I can for their next 90 great years of service.”

Bayside Executive Director, Kim Heinle, adds, “We are so excited to celebrate this landmark occasion with our diverse San Diego community! If I had to name a reason why our organization continues to thrive after 90 years, it would be because our mission is directly tied to improving the lives of everyone who lives in our region. It has been so rewarding to see the broader community come together and celebrate all year long.”

The celebration will begin at 4pm at the Love, Linda Vista Farmer’s Market located at 6939 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111 and will continue until 7pm. Performances are scheduled on the hour and screening of the short film documentary on the half hour through the event’s duration.  At 4:30, representatives from both Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and Mayor Todd Gloria’s offices will also be presenting proclamations in honor of Bayside Community Center at the event.  

The celebration is sponsored in part by the City of San Diego, Molina Healthcare, US Bank, San Diego Foundation, Investcal Realty Corporation, San Diego Mesa College Foundation, Linda Vista Town Council, Convivio, Southern Sea Dragon and Lion Dance Association, and Walmart.

December 8, 2022 Screening of Short-film Documentary, “Bayside: 90 Years of Empowerment.” Trailer Now Available!

Hosted at the Love, Linda Vista Farmer’s Market, 2:00-7:00pm

Speakers, Musical Performances, and Documentary Screenings begin at 4pm.

6939 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111

Free to the public, all ages welcome!

Community Cleanup Celebration

On July 10, 2022, Bayside hosted its Linda Vista Community Cleanup as part of its 90th Anniversary. There were 36 attendees who participated, ranging from 3 years old to folks in their 70s and 80s; new faces and those who have been participating for more than five years; and people from all walks of life, languages spoken, and socio-economic backgrounds. All in all, they picked up over 92 pounds of trash from the streets of Linda Vista!

The event ended with a fun luncheon celebration at Bayside featuring food and beverage from several local venues, including Filiberto’s Mexican Restaurant that generously donated platters of delicious potato tacos and quesadillas. There were also raffle items given away through the generosity of local small businesses – the store fronts that the Linda Vista Community Cleanup serves each month through its community beautification. Donations included more than a dozen free passes to Skate World, hair cuts from Trini’s Hair Salon, and Mexican attire from Dulceria El Mexicano, among others. Bayside is proud to support and lift up our small businesses in Linda Vista that make up the fabric of our community. And we couldn’t have done it with the support of our sponsors, including Molina Healthcare whose representative is a true member of the community, nor without the financial support from Community Health Improvement Partners and their generous Resident Leadership Academy Project Stipend Grant. It takes a village!

Celebración Mexicana

On June 25, 2022, Bayside was excited to support Ballet Folklorico El Tapatio de San Dieguito (BFETdeSD) as they hosted their inaugural Celebración Mexicana event at Francis Parker High School. Led by BFETdeSD’s founder and director, Nadia Arambula, it was a night of authentic Mexican folklore, professional dancing, vibrant colors, and celebration that did not disappoint. As one of several small businesses that participates in Bayside’s Community-Supported Microenterprise program, BFETdeSD delivered an incredible and vibrant event. Be on the lookout for more information about the 2nd Annual Celebración Mexicana coming soon!

Bayside Co-op Garden Volunteer Workday

On June 10, Bayside hosted its Co-op Garden Volunteer Day in partnership with United Way of San Diego’s 2022 Day of Action! KSON-FM radio, Councilmember Raul Campillo and his office, and our title sponsor, Molina Healthcare, came out in force to volunteer. Everything from building and installing flower beds to harvesting and planting new crops; from staining chairs to beautify the garden to decorating our newest seed packets for the up-and-coming Bayside Seed Library. We are so grateful for the helping hands.

Bayside Through the Eyes of a Child

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, students of Bayside’s Academic Club presented their art exhibition: Bayside Through the Eye’s of a Child. The exhibit featured students’ recreation of iconic photographs and images from Bayside’s 90 year history along with their own imagined captions to accompany photographs. This event was the product of months of discussion and dialogue with students around what it means to be a community center, how the city of San Diego has changed over the past several decades, and how young people can make their neighborhoods better places to live and play.

Earth Day Event

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, Bayside was proud to host its second annual Earth Day Event in partnership with Chair Nathan Fletcher and his office at the County Board of Supervisors.

Through the event, 50 families received the tools and educational information necessary to kick start their own at-home, portable garden through which they can grow their own food at home. The program is part of Bayside’s Tiny Gardens, a holistic and intergenerational approach that engages parents and kids to grow and learn together with hands-on gardening activities and healthy eating. Bayside was excited to give away grow bags, soil, seeds, and other tools necessary to get started were distributed in alignment with it’s weekly food distribution. Families thus not only received their weekly supply of non-perishable items, fruits, and vegetables, but they also received the resources needed to grow their own produce. The event was hosted at Bayside with support from the County of San Diego’s Office of Education, Bayside’s 90th Anniversary sponsors, Co-Harvest Foundation, and Produce Good.

But the celebration didn’t stop there! Another 50 Tiny Gardens grow bags and accompanying supplies were also distributed in City Heights in partnership with the City Heights Community Development Corporation. That event was hosted at the New Roots Community Farm. How encouraging to see Bayside’s impact through Tiny Gardens in City Heights, one of three neighborhoods where Bayside has operated during its 90-year history!?

Bayside Community Center Day

San Diego City Council proclaimed March 11, 2022, as Bayside Community Center Day in recognition of the nonprofit’s 90 years of service to San Diego area’s diverse population.

Founded in 1932 to help immigrant fishermen and their families in Little Italy, Bayside is now based in the Linda Vista community and serves a diverse array of people across the county including immigrants, youth, low-income families, and seniors.

Bayside empowers its diverse community members to improve their quality of life through services and education that include: Walk-up, drive-through and home-delivered food distribution programs, after-school literacy classes, leadership training programs, urban agriculture classes, and case management.

Bayside also advocates for and alongside residents for policy changes that have improved San Diego and surrounding areas for all those who live in and visit the region. Such efforts have included the passage of Assembly Bill 551, which increased urban agriculture incentive zones throughout California. Additionally, Bayside is currently advocating for the development of the Linda Vista Community Garden.

District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, who sought the honor for Bayside and will present the proclamation in person, said, “For 90 years, Bayside Community Center has been a pillar in San Diego, providing residents with the services they need to live and thrive. It is impossible to overstate the contribution this vital organization has made, and the breadth of the services they have provided. We are incredibly thankful to Bayside, and I look forward to continuing to do everything I can to support them so that they can continue to serve San Diegans for another 90 years.”

Bayside Executive Director, Kim Heinle, added, “For 90 years, it has been our privilege and passion to empower our diverse community to get back on their feet, learn new skills, and get involved in making their neighborhoods better places to live, work and play. Partners like our elected officials, stakeholders, and community members have helped us make this possible for generations of San Diegans. We’re honored by this recognition and hope it will help make even more people aware of what Bayside offers.”

Campillo presented representatives of Bayside Community Center with the official proclamation during a reception that was open to the public on Friday, March 11, 2022, 10:30 a.m. at John P. Baca Park between Linda Vista Road and Morley Street, on the corner of Comstock Street.

8th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration

FEBRUARY 2— This year, in addition to addressing food insecurity, our 8th annual Lunar New Year Celebration also brought the issue of rising hate crimes against Asian and Pacific Islander communities to the forefront. We were proud to be joined by both a representative of Congresswoman Sara Jacob's as well as Southern Sea Kun Seng Keng Dragon and Lion Dance Association.

Investcal Realty Corporation

Southern Sea Dragon and Lion Dance Association

Walmart

San Diego Mesa College Foundation

San Diego Foundation

Linda Vista Town Council

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