Helping Communities Rise.

Valley Onward seeks to bring equity to all neighborhoods so that all Californians can enjoy the benefits of healthy communities to live long and prosper.

Growing out of a 2009 initiative of The California Endowment involving over 50 local groups, Valley Onward (formerly Building Healthy Communities Merced) has demonstrated a string of successes in creating and encouraging thriving communities where all children and families can live healthy, safe, and productive lives. As the organization evolved over time to address systemic inequity in Merced, it became clear Valley Onward needed to incorporate as an independent nonprofit organization to gain greater agency in pursuing its mission: 

Transforming neighborhoods into healthier communities for all through a renewed commitment to the belief that resident power will lead to the transformation of policies and systems resulting in broad, neighborhood-level, positive health impacts for the entire community.

Valley Onward has focused deeply on lifting up practices that support equity and inclusion, with a particular focus on working with emerging leaders in grassroots, primarily Spanish-speaking communities, as well as women of color.