While the holidays is an especially cozy time to be thankful and gather your close ones, it’s also a more difficult time for those already struggling to put food on the table. However, hundreds of San Diegan families will have greater access to meals and emergency food assistance thanks to the new $425,000 donation from Airbnb to five San Diego nonprofits, including City Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC).
City Heights is home to diverse families, including immigrant refugee families, who are a crucial part of the San Diego community. For City Heights CDC, which has been part of the neighborhood for more than four decades, the funding couldn’t have come at a better moment.
For City Heights CDC, which has been part of the neighborhood for more than four decades, the funding couldn’t have come at a better moment.
“The timing was opportune, and the initial discussion was a small but significant start,” said Alexis Villanueva, President and CEO of City Heights CDC. “We’ve been in the community of City Heights for over 44 years now.”
This donation will help the CDC to expand its food distribution programs and launch a new Emergency Food Pantry hotline, which will help families with immediate need to get basic necessities. CDC also plans to distribute hot meal vouchers and grocery gift cards, a deeply personal effort for Villanueva.
“Our goal is to not just feed families, but also inject healthy capital into our local economic landscape, which has been affected by the curtailing of SNAP as well,” Villanueva said. “We want to make sure that we’re providing for basic needs, but we also want our families to have fun and feel like they’re not in a state of distress all the time.”
Airbnb’s contributions come through their Community Fund, a $100 million global initiative launched in 2020 to support local organizations.
“The Airbnb Community Fund is a $100 million initiative launched in 2020 to really support local communities worldwide,” said Janaye Ingram, Airbnb’s Director of Community Partner Programs & Engagement. “Each year, Airbnb donates to organizations that strengthen and uplift communities with input from our hosts and from local stakeholders.”
This is the largest donation Airbnb has contributed to San Diego. Their 2025 round of funding will go toward five nonprofits: City Heights CDC, Jewish Family Service, the San Diego Parks Foundation, the San Diego River Park Foundation, and Sharia’s Closet.
Ingram highlighted that Sharia’s Closet stood out to her this year.
“One moment that really stayed with us, and in particular with our host community, was visiting Sharia’s Closet and seeing firsthand that Bag of Hope Program and the way in which it touched people’s lives,” Ingram said.
Sharia’s Closet’s Bag of Hope program provides a customized bag of quality clothing, with seven to ten outfits and basic hygiene products, to extremely vulnerable individuals and families throughout the community for free.
Growing up as part of a an immigrant refugee family, Villanueva resonates deeply with the initiative to help struggling families. She strives to continue to see a community that uplifts each other.
“When you come into this community, you’re welcomed — your challenges, your struggles, your stories are welcomed,” she said. “What makes us unique is that instead of necessarily feeling victimized by the challenges and struggles, people have turned that into resiliency and collaboration and community — and so everywhere you turn, it’s a smile, it’s a ‘How can I help?’”
That sense of shared purpose, she believes, is part of what sustains City Heights through difficult times.
“We deserve to feel safe. We deserve to feel gratitude and appreciation. We deserve to be happy,” Villanueva said. “And so I feel like that starts with our smile and our kindness towards each other.”
Even amid rising food costs and tightening assistance programs, Villanueva remains optimistic.
“I do believe, you know, the rising tide lifts all,” she said. “I do believe that we can serve both business and residents and community members and clergy and everybody — all the different entities within our communities together.”
When asked to look ahead at 2026, and think about what gives her hope for the future, Villanueva lit up.
“What gives me hope?” she added with a smile. “I can walk down the street, and even with the challenges and the struggles that are happening, we still see smiles.”
As families prepare for the holidays, City Heights CDC’s expanded food program aims to deliver more than just nourishment, it seeks to give to a lasting impact on the city.
“It’s us showing our support for incredible organizations that are really working to strengthen communities all across San Diego,” Ingram said.
Want more insights? Join Grow With Caliber - our career elevating newsletter and get our take on the future of work delivered weekly.
