Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Spring 2019

6 DignityHealth.org/Bakersfield | Summer 2019 That’s the mission of a local faith-based nonprofit organization that’s bringing healing and hope to people in need in our community. CityServe began in 2017 as a project of Canyon Hills Assembly of God Church. Its goal is to empower local churches to connect with people who are hurting in their neighborhoods and help see some of their physical needs met. “We really believe that the local church is God’s greatest resource, but so many churches in our community are under-resourced,” says CityServe Community Development and Church Engagement Director Robin Robinson. “That’s why we made it our goal to enable churches to meet the needs of the people in their communities.” Serving God by SERVING OTHERS Strength in numbers In Bakersfield, more than 50 churches and 30 organizations have partnered with CityServe. The groups submit orders to the nonprofit, then pick up food and other supplies to be distributed to the neighborhoods they serve. Dignity Health recently provided $25,000 to CityServe to help with the transportation costs of getting donated goods to Bakersfield. In addition to funding, Dignity Health’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Robin Mangarin-Scott, serves on the organization’s executive board. Most of the nonprofit’s donations come from big-box retailers like Costco. The items are sorted and stored at the charity’s 165,000-square-foot “City Center” warehouse on F Street. “There is strength in numbers,” Robinson says. “When the local business community comes alongside nonprofit organizations like this, that’s when we see transformation happen. Together, we can truly change the lives of families in need.”