City Council Proclaim March 11, Bayside Community Center Day

Contributed by the Linda Vista Update.

Bayside Community Center, currently celebrating its 90th year of operating as a non-profit, neighborhood-based organization, was recently recognized by the city of San Diego with a proclamation declaring March 11, 2022, as Bayside Community Center Day.  The proclamation was presented last Friday by District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo at an event that took place at John Baca Park.  Many Linda Vista residents were in attendance to observe the presentation of the proclamation to this long-time Linda Vista institution.  

Bayside Community Center was recognized in the proclamation for addressing the “immediate challenges of San Diegans by providing essential social services to thousands of residents annually,” and advocating “for long-term, systematic changes to improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, or visits the region.”

The proclamation also acknowledged Bayside for going “above and beyond to meet the needs of our people, and to improve the quality of life for San Diegans, their families, and their communities, by providing education and training to community members.”  

Bayside Community Center first opened in 1932 as Bayside Settlement House, and was originally located in Little Italy.  It was founded by the Sisters of Social Service “to empower and meet the needs of lower income immigrants and native-born residents in urban settings.”  The Settlement House provided services to Italian and Portuguese fisherman and their families.

Bayside eventually changed its name and moved to Linda Vista in the 1970’s. It began to operate as a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization while providing support to the influx of immigrants that arrived from Southeast Asia. It is now located at 2202 Comstock Street.   

The current mission of the Bayside Community Center is to “empower our diverse community to improve its quality of life through services, education, and advocacy.”

Bayside provides a number of services for the community to include a senior lunch program, emergency food distribution, an academic club, language assistance, the resident leadership academy, and an environmental center that teaches skills related to urban agriculture and sustainability.

You can catch up on or refresh your understanding of the Bayside Community Center by reading four previous Linda Vista Update articles that featured the Center’s Executive Director Kim Heinle, the Urban Farming Program, the Tiny Gardens Recipe Book, and its Resident Leadership Academy.

Bayside will continue to hold events celebrating its 90th anniversary during the year.