Celebrating Recovery

SAN DIEGO – ECS' clients are the heart of everything ECS does. Every staff member’s focus, each service offered, and every penny raised goes back to breaking barriers and uplifting neighbors in need. Last Thursday, ECS celebrated its clients with its annual Thanksgiving Recovery Lunch. 

Volunteers serve a Thanksgiving meal. November 2025.

The lunch was hosted at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Volunteers from St. Mark’s, Enterprise Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, Ciprus Consulting, Christ Church Day School, and individual sign-ups made the day possible, helping to prepare the church, providing appetizers and desserts, and greeting and serving the guests. The students from Christ Church Day School even created a gratitude art project for guests to participate. 

The Recovery Lunch celebrates community. November 2025.

Guests included clients from Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), C-HRT Safe Haven, and Uptown Safe Haven. Some clients also brought family members to join in the celebration.

Renee, a CERRC client, attended the recovery lunch for the first time. “I’m just excited to be here and have new beginnings and second chances to be able to start a new future,” she said. “They [ECS staff] really genuinely care about us and want us to succeed.” Renee is 82 days clean as of the time of the recovery lunch. 

Guests add what they are thankful for to the gratitude art project. November 2025.

Everyone in attendance – from the guests and volunteers to ECS staff and leadership – enjoyed a full Thanksgiving meal together and commemorated the recovery journeys of so many in the room with a chip ceremony. 

Recovery chips were given anyone in the room who had achieved any amount of recovery. Whether someone was celebrating years of sobriety or weeks, the room cheered on their admirable accomplishment. 

Clients, volunteers, staff, and leadership enjoy a Thanksgiving-style feast together. November 2025.

The community aspect of the lunch is what makes the event so special. Sarah, a C-HRT resident shared her view on creating community. “It’s important to show up and contribute and be there to support the community,” she said. Sarah is passionate about helping others and is excited to be an ECS volunteer in the future as a way to give back.   

A huge thank you to St. Mark’s and Fr. Richard for hosting the lunch once again. ECS Recovery Lunch is always a day of celebration, community, and gratitude. It serves as a reminder of the impact ECS’ programs make in the lives of so many and the strength of its clients.   

ECS cannot make this change without support. To help ECS continue to impact the San Diego region and bring real transformation to thousands of individuals and families visit our donate page here: www.ecscalifornia.org/donate.  

Growing Up Great with PNC Bank

Students give PNC Bank volunteer a group hug after reading activity. April 2025.

Community partners of ECS provide invaluable support to clients. One of these partners is PNC Bank, offering volunteers, classroom supplies, activities, and engagement to ECS Head Start students.

Last month, PNC Bank sent four volunteers to a Head Start center to celebrate spring. Students planted seeds and did some arts and crafts with the help of the volunteers. Afterward, students took their pots home and watched their plants flourish as they cared for them.

Students plant seeds to take home and care for. March 2025.

The springtime fun continued with PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great Month, where they focus on giving back to their community partners, and in their 21st year of building brighter futures, PNC donated new books for Head Start classrooms and a bilingual activity book for each child. Two volunteers from PNC Bank, Eva Bryant and Valerie Attisha, visited ECS San Ysidro Head Start to read with the children.

ECS is grateful for the support from PNC Bank. The volunteers and resources shared benefit ECS Head Start children, educators, and families, expanding education to a new level and creating lasting memories.

To learn more about ECS’ community partners, visit Partners — Episcopal Community Services.

Volunteers help students with a craft activity. March 2025.

Students’ plants bloom after a few weeks of care. April 2025.

UTSH Taps into Creativity

UTSH residents work on a various art projects. March 2025.

Residents at ECS Uptown Safe Haven (UTSH) tapped into their creativity during another art class, this time painting door signs. The art class projects vary — residents try their hands at everything from creating abstract watercolor pieces and still life drawings to decorating wood cutouts and ornaments. The classes begin with an education session on different art techniques such as mixing prime colors, studying light, and learning about still life.

Residents express their creativity by painting door signs. March 2025.

These classes would not be possible without the dedication of two volunteers: Paula McColl and Gerri Smith. Paula and Gerri are parishioners at St. James-by-the-Sea, and they are also both artists with experience in art instruction. The women plan the projects for each month’s class and provide all of the supplies.

Art classes provide a relaxing positive enrichment activity for residents and allows them to express themselves through a creative outlet.

Residents will have the chance to showcase their finished products at the Art Speaks art show on October 24 at St. James-by-the-Sea. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of each piece at the exhibit go directly to the resident who created the piece.

To learn more about the work UTSH does, visit Uptown Safe Haven — Episcopal Community Services.

Art classes allow residents to learn more about art and relax as they craft. March 2025.

Volunteers from St. James-by-the-Sea give their time and talent to UTSH art classes. March 2025.

CEO Swears into City Human Relations Commission

ECS CEO Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg signs paperwork as she swears into the Human Relations Commission as a 2025 Mayoral appointee.
January 2025.

ECS’ declared purpose is to cultivate a strong, vibrant, and just San Diego region. This purpose is demonstrated through ECS’ work, but also through the individual advocacy efforts of the ECS community, including our CEO Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg. This week, Elizabeth demonstrated this effort through her appointment to the City of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission.

The Human Relations Commission’s mission is to “conduct and promote activities that foster mutual respect and understanding, protect basic human and civil rights, and create an atmosphere that promotes amicable relations among all members of the San Diego community.” By working with various groups throughout the city, sharing educational resources, mediating discrimination disputes, and advising the Mayor and Council, the Human Relations Commission is able to achieve their mission.

Elizabeth smiles with Chida Warren-Darby, Director of Appointments/Boards and Commissions for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. January 2025.

ECS’ values go hand-in-hand with the work of the Human Relations Commission, particularly the values of Belonging, Respect, and Empowerment. ECS’ vision to have an abundant and equitable society where all have unlimited potential requires the efforts of groups like this commission.

Appointing nonprofit leaders to civic positions invites fresh, humanitarian focused perspectives which is crucial when it comes to advocating for human relation issues involving understanding and inclusion. Chida Warren-Darby, the Director of Appointments/Boards and Commissions for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, commented on the significance of Elizabeth’s appointment. “Nonprofit leaders like Elizabeth bring a wealth of experience and compassion that is vital to the mission of the Human Relations Commission,” she said. “Their commitment to fostering dialogue and understanding among diverse communities not only enhances the Commission’s work but also enriches our collective pursuit of equity and justice.”

Congratulations to Elizabeth on her appointment to the City of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission! We’re proud to have a leader committed to advancing equity and inclusion in our community.