Shaping tomorrows leaders today






In 2024 the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s Foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary. The Foundation has had different names and emphasis over the last three decades, but its core of supporting the next generation of leaders has remained constant. The Chamber created this foundation in 1994 as the Carlsbad Companies on Campus Foundation. That name stood until it was renamed the Partners in Education Foundation, and then two years ago we rebranded it to the Carlsbad Chamber Community Foundation. If you are not aware of programs, this column is for you!



RISING STAR OF THE MONTH
Our Rising Star program is entering its 6th year this month. It is more than your runof-the-mill student recognition program. It recognizes, celebrates and gives scholarships to kids who have overcome significant life challenges and have still kept their education on track (or got it back on track). In our 5 years so far, we have given out over $60,000 in scholarships.

SOCAL
Student Opportunities for Career Awareness and Learning (SOCAL) is a web portal targeted to high school and middle school students who want to engage in career exploration. Socalworkforce.org has over 100 3-minute videos about jobs and career opportunities right here in North County. The portal is being in classrooms all over our region and brings the real world of work into the classroom.

FUTURE CEO
FUTURE CEO is a brand new program for 2025 that will bring the entrepreneurial spirit to middle school students in our region. This is a five-week program to teach the business basics to young entrepreneurs and will culminate in week six with an expo of their business ventures. Keep watch for more details as this program comes to life.

BEYOND THE UNIFORM
Beyond the Uniform is a collaboration between our foundation VANC (Veteran’s Association of North County). This program aims to launch military personnel who are exiting active duty and want to start their own business here locally. While there are lots of programs to help Vets move into the workforce, there is not much support for those who want to start their own business. We are excited to bring this to life in 2025.

Corporate Kindness
In 2021 we launched a Corporate Kindness initiative with our friends at Kids for Peace. The idea was to bring Kids for Peace’s success of bringing kindness into schools and spread that to corporate America. We currently have over 100 Corporate Kindness certified companies in Carlsbad and over 20 chambers of commerce promoting the program. Our Foundation has a dynamic new leader in Chris Cochran. He is passionate about all our programs and is always looking for ways to grow our impact in the community.

To learn more about the Carlsbad Chamber Community Foundation, visit ImpactCarlsbad.org