Genentech Donates $50,000 to North County Cares

from The Best of Oceanside Special Edition Business Journal - Stories of Unity and Resilience

by Oceanside Chamber of Commerce

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Genentech Donates $50,000 to North County Cares in Support of Local Families and Restaurants Impacted by COVID-19

Stratford at the Harbor

Pollos Maria Oceanside

Genentech is helping North County families and restaurants with a generous donation of $50,000 to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Foundation in support of North County Cares. This donation amount will serve an estimated 1,650 local families and will benefit 30 - 35 restaurants in Oceanside and Vista. “I can’t begin to express how grateful we are. This is going to have such a huge impact on our community in terms of feeding our most vulnerable residents while supporting some of our most impacted small businesses,” explains Scott Ashton, CEO of the Oceanside Chamber. “We truly appreciate Genentech’s generosity and commitment to helping our community through these challenging times.” North County Cares is a collaborative effort designed by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, the Vista Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego North Economic Development Council for the purpose of supporting both families in need and North County restaurants facing economic hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Contributors are encouraged to support local families and restaurants by donating to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Foundation. In turn, the money collected is used to purchase gift cards from participating chamber member restaurants in both Oceanside and Vista. The gift cards are then distributed to the Vista Unified School District and the Oceanside Unified School District to provide meals for struggling families.

Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen

Mangia e Bevi

Rachel Beld, CEO of the Vista Chamber, emphasizes her appreciation for Genentech’s contribution and expresses enthusiasm when discussing the positive impact the program will have on the community. “Our school districts are doing an amazing job serving the nutritional needs of students - VUSD is serving 35,000 meals per week! Unfortunately, we’ve heard from our school officials that there is more support needed for families facing food insecurity,” explains Beld. “As Chambers of Commerce we looked for a solution that would assist these families while also supporting the economic stability of our restaurants. We are grateful to our members for providing discounted gift cards and incredibly encouraged by the generosity of Genentech. We hope that others are inspired to give so that we may support additional businesses and families.” With the generous donation from Genentech, the program started purchasing gift cards in May and began the distribution process to local school districts this weekend. Participating restaurants have graciously provided gift cards at a discounted rate, allowing for the maximization of donation dollars. As the goal of the program is to benefit as many families and restaurants as possible, North County Cares has launched a coinciding GoFundMe Campaign which hopes to raise an additional $20,000 in grassroot funding. These community contributions have the ability to benefit an additional 650 families and up to local restaurants.