Equity
Equity programs deliver specialized support to traditionally underrepresented groups, including immigrants, foster youth, and veterans, to ensure all students are able to meet their basic needs and achieve educational goals.
Raised more than $550,000 to address food insecurity and fight student hunger through the Foundation’s year-end fundraising campaign
Launched a pilot Immigration Legal Services Project at 65 host colleges which connects students, faculty, and their families to virtual appointments with immigration attorneys, webinars, and educational materials, in partnership with the Chancellor's Office and the California Department of Social Services
Increased awareness of CalFresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by distributing toolkits and more than 450,000 program materials to 114 colleges, and through the launch of the CalFresh Outreach Student Ambassadors pilot in Sacramento Valley which reached more than 7,500 students across six campuses with resources to help mitigate food insecurity
Distributed prepaid WiFi hotspots to more than 1,000 former foster youth students and leveraged resources to extend service to an additional 500 students to ensure connectivity through the COVID-19 pandemic
Launched the Census Outreach Project and engaged 46 student ambassadors who conducted outreach to more than 150,000 students in “hard to count” communities
Coordinated advocacy and activities for the third annual Undocumented Student Action Week, which resulted in participation from 114 colleges
Engaged 20 Student Wellness Ambassadors across 14 colleges to serve as mental health and wellness advocates through peer outreach, and connected more than 25,000 students with Each Mind Matters resources through in-person and digital outreach efforts
Served over 12,000 faculty, staff, and students at 114 colleges with access to online suicide prevention trainings from Kognito, bringing the total of faculty, staff, and students trained to 95,000 since 2011
Onboarded the Rising Scholars Network, formerly part of the Opportunity Institute as the Corrections to College California program, a statewide initiative which helps incorporate the unique needs of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students into the California Community College system and its equity initiatives
Enhanced CalFresh digital outreach efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to connect Californians with urgently-needed relief, and hosted an online training for 125 college foster youth liaisons to raise awareness of the program’s benefits among identified vulnerable populations
Expanded California LAW’s list of Pathway Partners to include 22 high school law academies, 29 community colleges, and nine undergraduate and law schools, supporting the program’s ability to diversify our state’s pipeline into the legal profession
Increased awareness of the Crisis Text Line, a free, 24/7, text-based confidential crisis assistance service, and integrated the platform into Student Wellness Ambassador efforts, resulting in over 4,000 conversations between students and crisis counselors
Distributed over 200 laptops to former foster youth students through a partnership with the Ticket to Dream Foundation
Through California Medicine convenings, brought together leaders and professionals in higher education, medical education, health, philanthropy, and policy to advance critical conversations around diversifying the medical workforce to increase health equity and decrease health disparities statewide
Awarded $22,500 to 18 community colleges through the Youth Empowerment Strategies for Success—Independent Living Program (YESS–ILP), helping 1,450 current and former foster youth transition into independent living
Recruited 42 student delegates from 22 community colleges to attend the first-ever “California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance 2020 Summit – Advancing Student Success” to represent the California Community Colleges student voice in the inaugural intersegmental conversation
Through DeepTok, connected underrepresented college students with online workshops and professional coaching to support their ability to enter fields in STEM and successfully achieve careers in engineering and the health sciences, including nursing, pharmacy, medicine, physical and occupational therapy, and more