Our Story
Who we are and what we do.
Valley Onward is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, dedicated to harnessing and cultivating new leaders in California's Central Valley, in an effort to organize around issues that impact women, people of color, and disinvested communities across rural areas in Merced County.
VIDEO: Learn more about Valley Onward’s initiatives.
Where we began.
Valley Onward was born out of the highly successful Building Healthy Communities Initiative (BHC). BHC was a 10-year, $1 billion comprehensive community initiative launched by The California Endowment in 2010 to advance statewide policy, change the narrative, and transform 14 of California’s communities most devastated by health inequities into places where all people have an opportunity to thrive. As the BHC Hub, our organization was responsible for ensuring that 30 Merced non-profits were convened and engaged with a unified vision of health equity work in the county. At the conclusion of the initiative, foundations invested in and supported our efforts to continue the racial and health equity work that is now Valley Onward, in order to continue working towards the momentum gained in the Central Valley.
What we bring to the Table!
What Valley Onward brings to the table is over a decade of experience in community organizing and empowering traditionally marginalized communities, thereby creating civically engaged grassroots community leaders. We have a passion for building up healthy, vibrant, and engaged citizenry from among the most marginalized communities, in order to create more equitable local environments and lasting positive change.
Overarching Values
In addition to our priority outcomes and The California Endowment's 10 outcomes, Valley Onward has overarching value propositions:
Youth have a role as leaders
Cultural Diversity and histories are valued
Civic engagement is strengthened
Access to quality healthcare for all of Merced County
