A generous San Diegan who prefers to remain anonymous has donated $60,000 worth of toys to make Christmas special for kids in need. The donor handpicked items from Geppetto’s in Del Mar Highlands Town Center last week, which were then collected by marines for their annual Toys for Tots drive. Geppetto’s also donated hundreds of toys.
San Diego Oasis plans to use a $300,000 grant from Cox Communications to create a tech education hub for older adults and help combat social isolation, which was already an epidemic before the coronavirus. Once it’s up and running in the Grossmont Center in La Mesa, the Oasis Innovation Center will host in-person and virtual workshops, provide virtual technical support, and feature a tech help bar, Cox Smart Home hub, and tele–health care center. The Oasis Innovation Center will be among the first of its kind in the US and the only one in the state of California.
Simona Valanciute, president and CEO of San Diego Oasis; Sam Attisha, senior vice president and region manager for Cox; and Oasis instructor Gladis Jiménez
Simona Valanciute, president and CEO of San Diego Oasis, says: “Our popular Senior Tech Fair held every fall has proven to be a tremendous value to older adults in the region. The Oasis Innovation Center will allow us to expand these programs and workshops on a more consistent basis, reach more seniors, and boost confidence in technology use among older adults.”
The David C. Copley Foundation pledged up to $1.2 million to Tri-City Hospital Foundation in the form of a two-to-one matching gift. The funds will go toward a redesign of Tri-City Medical Center’s emergency department. The overhaul will include renovating the nearly 60-year-old hospital’s emergency room entrance, patient and family waiting area, triage area, and one of its three major treatment areas. The goal is to streamline the triage process to decrease wait times and improve the patient experience. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.
“The emergency room is very much the front door to our hospital,” says Steve Dietlin, the hospital’s president and CEO. “This thoughtful and generous gift and this emergency department redesign project reflect our ongoing commitment to providing the highest quality of care and improving the experience for our patients and their families.”
Marines collect hundreds of Toys for Tots gifts purchased by an anonymous donor.
