Yolo County Community Service & Support Digest

The Mikuni Charitable Organization donation of $5,000 to Make It Happen for Yolo County is in support of local, under-resourced youth making the transition to independent living.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors is seeking to fill openings on its Community Services Action Board, with the stated mission "to combat poverty by promoting the health, safety, stability, and self-sufficiency of low-income persons residing in Yolo County. "

The eight-week Citizens Academy is designed to involve diverse communities in learning about the criminal justice system with the goal to improve relationships between Yolo residents and the criminal justice system.

In the contest, open to all high schoolers in and around the Woodland area, students can win up to $22,000 in cash and scholarships.

Spending an early morning picking up parking lot trash only to return in a few days to it being just as litter-filled is a defeating feeling, according to 19-year-old clean-up participant Darius Jacobs.

Parker Christensen, a local Eagle Scout candidate, has selected his Eagle service project aimed at aiding the repopulation of the threatened burrowing owl, which once flourished in Yolo County.

VOTE411, a leading digital platform dedicated to election information, offers voters in California a streamlined and intuitive way to research candidates, understand ballot measures, and prepare to vote confidently.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of 15 teenagers to serve as the members of the 2024 Yolo Youth Commission.

The Woodland Police Department’s 2024-26 strategic plan included participation from all city department staff with the goal of addressing public safety and quality of life issues.

Khydeeja Alam was sworn in by Speaker Robert Rivas as the new executive director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.

“Progress remains slow,” according to a recent report on faculty diversity at California’s community colleges. For Nikia Chaney, the sole full-time Black faculty member at Cabrillo College, the experience is personal.

Emery Unified took a targeted approach, including paying teachers extra to stay after school and tutor students.

The official selections are in for the Toast to Winters honorees, chosen by the Winters District Chamber of Commerce.

Davis resident Shelly Bailes has made an impact on the LGBTQ+ community in Yolo County and beyond. Her work in obtaining respect and acceptance for the community earned her the honor of being the 2024 recipient of the Brinley Award.

State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.

The financial aid application for undocumented students is cumbersome and confusing, and many students aren’t completing the forms. A new law streamlines the process.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved a total of $75,000 in projects using the American Rescue Plan Community Benefit Fund.

Deborah Bautista Zavala, trustee of the Woodland Joint Unified School District, was honored with the Champion Estrella Award by the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Davis' Progress Ranch Treatment Services for Children received this year’s Yolo County Nonprofit of the Year Award for its excellence in mental health care and commitment to serving some of California’s most vulnerable children and youth. The organization provides mental health services to boys ages 6 through 13.

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

Organizers of Sacramento County’s next Point-In-Time Count say they need at least 500 volunteers to help survey the region’s homeless population in January. Survey results are used to determine state and federal funding for homeless services.

The program provides free loans of hiking boots to youths, allowing them to trade up as they grow. Donation bins will be at REI stores through Jan. 5.

Yolo County has made a strategic move within its leadership team as Dr. Tico Zendejas transitions from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to take on the pivotal role of branch director for the Service Centers Branch of the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency.

The California Faculty Association is seeking a 12 percent pay increase, while university officials counter with 5 percent in each of the next three years.

In 2020, the state agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed too many students were not learning to read. As part of that agreement, the state spent over $50 million on 75 schools with the lowest reading scores.

San Diego-area nonprofits and faith organizations struggle to provide for tens of thousands of migrants border agents have released on San Diego streets.

Volunteers continue operations of historic Food Not Bombs chapter in Davis.

The 40 Acre Conservation League has recently acquired hundreds of acres of land in Placer County, 70 miles northeast of Sacramento—a significant step toward making outdoor experiences more inclusive.

One thousand more Yolo County children will receive a free book every month from birth through age five from United Way California Capital Region, which manages the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Yolo County.

After hearing their school compared negatively to other area schools, Woodland High School students Ava Pedroia and Karen Canchola decided to take the initiative to do something about it.

The 5,300-square-foot facility provides the organization with cooking space, cool storage and a warehouse that will double its production capacity from 800 to 1,700 meals daily in combination with its existing Woodland-based kitchen.