The Office of Community Engagement has announced support for 19 projects in the Bay Area, all collaborations that were developed between community organizations and Stanford entities.

The projects range widely: From access to health care to water affordability to career exposure to deepening understanding of local history. One effort undertakes an intergenerational arts, technology and leadership co-learning effort in both East Palo Alto and Cleveland, Ohio, providing access to Stanford courses.

In San Mateo County, a collaboration will develop an educational training curriculum for school personnel to recognize and respond to teen substance abuse; another will work with small farmers and institutional buyers to make it easier to do business with each other and bring locally grown produce into institutions.

“Projects like these deepen collaboration between Stanford and local organizations in support of Stanford’s mission,” said Megan Swezey Fogarty, Stanford senior associate vice president for community engagement. “When people work together over time, it builds trust and improves the communities where we work and live.”

Other projects will focus on introducing young people to careers in STEM, health care, environmental field work, and science research. In Noches Astronómicas, Spanish-speaking scientists from Stanford’s Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology will share career paths in an area that local students – and their parents – may not have considered. Another project works on ways to reduce pill theft from unhoused people and improve adherence to their medication regimen.

For a full list and descriptions of the 19 projects receiving OCE Community Engagement Impact Program funds, see the 2025 Community Engagement Impact Projects page.