Nonprofit Receives $100,000 Cox Grant for New Community Engagement Center in Chula Vista

At the start of this month, SBCS (formerly South Bay Community Services) announced a $100,000 grant from the James M. Cox Foundation to help fund a community engagement center in their new building.

The center, which is located on the corner of F Street and Fourth Avenue in Chula Vista, adjacent to Chula Vista City Hall, the Chula Vista Police Department and the Chula Vista Public Library, received the grant from the James M. Cox Foundation, the charitable arm of Cox Enterprises, during a recent topping off ceremony for the new community engagement center attended by local community leaders and neighborhood residents to commemorate the final beam placed atop the building. This is the second James M. Cox Foundation grant awarded to a San Diego County nonprofit this year, alongside a $100,000 emergency grant to the Chicano Federation to provide flood relief.

“We’re grateful to the James M. Cox Foundation and Cox Communications for this donation for our new community engagement center,” said Kathie Lembo, CEO of SBCS. “Our community depends on us and the need is greater than ever. It’s vital that we raise these funds for the new building, which will increase our capacity to serve 10,000 additional children, youth, and families each year.”

SBCS’s new community engagement center will house various critical services for families and individuals in crisis – including those experiencing domestic violence and trauma, food insecurity and lack of housing, employment or educational opportunities.

As the agency’s central hub for serving 60,000 children, teens and adults in San Diego County each year, all offerings and childcare will be provided free of cost, including emergency services for families in crisis, gathering spaces for civic engagement, mental health services, a neighborhood computer lab, a teen center and tutoring room providing young people with support to do well in school and a welcoming place for residents to receive support and connect meaningfully with SBCS and one another.

Founded in 1971, SBCS is one of the largest community-serving nonprofits, with nearly 500 employees that work to support over 50,000 children, teens and families throughout San Diego County through a variety of financial, emotional, and crisis situations. With the addition of the community engagement center, SBCS will continue to provide services and care to children, youth, and families in need.

The community center is set to open in Spring 2025.