August 19, 2020 - Rancho Cucamonga, California was recognized today as one of 10 All-America City award winners. The National Civic League presented this honor to recognize Rancho Cucamonga's work in inclusive civic engagement to address health and well-being and create stronger connections among residents, businesses and nonprofit and government leaders.
"We are happy to designate Rancho Cucamonga as an All-America City. They showed us through their application and presentation that they do a great job of engaging the whole city in enhancing health and well-being." -Doug Linkhart President, National Civic League
All applicants submitted their community-wide work on enhancing health and well-being through inclusive civic engagement and three projects for consideration, and the field was narrowed to 22. This week, finalist communities made presentations virtually to a jury of eleven national thought-leaders, showing how their community leverages civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness and innovation to successfully address local issues.
The Rancho Cucamonga City Council established Healthy RC as a comprehensive system of interconnected planning, program, policy, and partnership efforts that work across sectors to promote community health and equity. The initiative was established as a genuine partnership of government, community agencies, and grass-roots residents who collectively identify their community’s health challenges and work collaboratively to address them.
Healthy RC led to several programs, uplifting its community by breaking stigmas around mental health, taking control of local land and converting unused spaces into parks designed by residents.