Serving San Diego County
Restoring dignity, expanding opportunity, building power.
Coalition for Community Elevation (CCE) is a community-driven initiative focused on restoring dignity, expanding opportunity, and empowering individuals and families across San Diego County through housing support, employment pathways, legal advocacy, health access, education, and veteran services.
- 501(c)(3) public charity
- EIN 41-3721586
- Established 2025 · San Diego
Read the transcript
You bring the logo. We do the printing. Custom shirts, caps and drinkware, made in our own shop. Coalition for Community Elevation runs its own production shop. We draw the mark, we print the run, and we finish the goods ourselves. Six pieces in the line. T-shirts and polos. A cap. An insulated tumbler, a vacuum thermos, and a water bottle. Your mark on every one of them. One piece for a volunteer, or a full run for a team, a school, a congregation, or a company. We quote the job before anything is printed. And it stays local. Every order is printed by a nonprofit shop, and what the gear earns goes back into the work. Tell us what you need. Send the form on our gear page, and we'll send back a price.
Need support right now?
Start with one call.
These three numbers cover emergencies, housing, food, healthcare, legal aid, employment, and veterans services across San Diego County, California — free and confidential.
- Emergency 911 Immediate danger, medical emergency, or a crime in progress.
- 2-1-1 San Diego 2-1-1 Free, confidential navigation for housing, food, healthcare, legal aid, employment, and veteran services.
- 988 Lifeline 988 24/7 mental health and suicide crisis support. Veterans: dial 988, then press 1.
What we connect you to
Seven service areas, real phone numbers.
CCE does not replace the county's service providers. We connect neighbors to them, keep the numbers current, and stay involved through our own programs.
What we run ourselves
Programs built with this community.
A garden, a chess night, a backpack, and a curriculum that teaches children to respect each other. Each one started with neighbors in the room.
Community garden
ActiveSweetwater Community Garden
Growing Food. Growing Leaders. Growing Community. CCE volunteers run the compost and the Kids Garden at Sweetwater, where children and their families plant, water and learn together.
Youth learning
Active · WeeklyChess at The Creek
Children and parents learn chess side by side at Paradise Creek. No experience needed — patience, focus, and good sportsmanship are the point.
Schools
In developmentCultural Unity & Respect
A four-week curriculum on respect, shared history, cultural awareness, and student leadership, launching with partner schools.
In the community
We show up, then we listen.
Elevation is a collective act. From feeding about 150 neighbors on Juneteenth to handing 30 students a backpack, here is what CCE has actually done.
Chess at The Creek
A ten-class chess program for young people at Paradise Creek, every Friday evening from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
A Backpack Is the Beginning: Student Success Day
30 young people received backpacks filled with notebooks and school supplies, plus Rubik's Cubes and chess sets.
CCE Connects at Paradise Creek's Summer Extravaganza
CCE hosted a community outreach table, sharing information about local support and future programs.
The shape of the work
Connection is the service.
Most people who need help do not need another organization — they need the right one, today, with a phone number that answers. That is what CCE does first: navigate, translate, and follow up.
Then we build the things we could not find — a garden where children learn where food comes from, a chess table where patience is practiced, a room where neighbors speak and are not talked over.
What we do not do
- We do not publish participation numbers or outcomes we have not confirmed.
- We do not collect children's information through this website.
- We do not charge for referrals or directory listings.
Support the work
Give an hour. Give a hand. Give what you can.
Donations fund program materials, garden supplies, and the meals that bring families together. Volunteers make the days themselves possible. Members keep the coalition growing. Learn. Connect. Elevate.
CCE gear — shirts, caps, drinkware and the CCE water bottle — carries the badge and funds education initiatives, housing access, workforce development, and outreach across San Diego County, California. See the gear.
Who leads
Leadership rooted in this community
CCE is led by four board members — three officers and one member at large — who live and work in San Diego. Full biographies are being finalized with the board.
Verified
A registered California nonprofit
- Legal nameCoalition for Community Elevation
- Status501(c)(3) public charity, 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
- EIN41-3721586
- State entity no.B20250407645
- Service areaSan Diego County, California
Coalition for Community Elevation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 41-3721586. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Details are taken directly from CCE's filed documents and IRS determination letter.
Still not sure where to start?
Call 2-1-1 San Diego. It is free and confidential.
Navigators there work through housing, food, healthcare, legal aid, employment, and veteran services with you. If you are in crisis, dial 988 for immediate mental health support, 24/7.