GGUSD Honors United Way as Community Hero

OC United Way Community Hero Award

At its meeting on December 12, the Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) Board of Education recognized the Orange County United Way as its 2023 Community Hero. Assistant Superintendent of K-12 Educational Services Dr. Lorena Sanchez presented the award to Orange County United Way President Sue Parks and Executive Director Sergio Contreras.  The Community Hero award recognizes important partnerships and people who go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of our students. 

Orange County United Way has been a valuable partner to GGUSD, supporting numerous programs and initiatives over the years. 

For several years, Orange County United Way has helped fund GGUSD's Latinos Unidos Club, which equips and empowers Latino students with valuable leadership skills that they put to use at their school campuses.  Each year, the district hosts a districtwide Latinos Unidos Leadership Conference which is attended by hundreds of elementary, intermediate and high school students for a full day of workshops and networking that is life-changing for many students.

United Way is also a pivotal partner with the district's Career and Technical Education Program providing meaningful internship experiences for GGUSD high school students over the summer! These workplace learning opportunities give students a competitive advantage when pursuing their college and career goals.

United Way also previously supported GGUSD's Destination Graduation program which allowed the expansion of AVID at the district's intermediate and high schools, providing GGUSD schools with additional AVID tutors. AVID tutors support students with their academic classes, help them learn scholarly habits, and provide important college and career guidance and mentoring.

The Orange County United Way has also helped GGUSD families gain financial security, provided books to schools, provided college scholarships to high school students, and the list goes on.

GGUSD's Board of Education is extremely grateful for the Orange Coutny United Way's commitment to working alongside the district to equip students with the academic and personal skills for lifelong success!