Holiday Shopping for a Cause

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Get into the holiday spirit and share a smile. Shop on AmazonSmile and a portion of the sale can be donated to the County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO).

AmazonSmile functions the same as Amazon, but the online retailer donates 0.5 percent of the product price of eligible purchases to a charity of your choice.

Using AmazonSmile is easy and automatic once you set it up.

1.       Go to smile.amazon.com (different from the regular Amazon link).

2.       Sign into your Amazon account.

3.       If it is your first visit, select a charitable organization. Type “San Diego County Employees' Charitable Organization” or “CECO” as your charity. You can also visit this link and CECO will already be chosen for you as your charity.

4.       Shop as you normally would. (You will see eligible products marked as “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the product detail pages.)

5.       Save AmazonSmile to your web browser favorites. Shop from this link during the holidays and beyond.

There are several other ways to support CECO throughout the year. Make a biweekly donation via payroll deductions for as little as $2 per pay period. See CECO pledge instructions. Or you could make a one-time donation by contacting your CECO Department Representative.

Donating to CECO has a huge impact on the communities that we work and live in. As the charitable arm of the County that is employee-managed and volunteer-based, CECO has distributed more than $7 million to local nonprofit programs and County employees experiencing a financial crisis since forming in 1956.

Just this year, $128,271 in grants were awarded to 86 nonprofit programs included Alzheimer’s San Diego, Blind Community Center of San Diego, Coastal Roots Farm, Crisis House, Developmental Services Continuum, MANA de San Diego, NAMI San Diego, Solutions for Change and Union of Pan Asian Communities.

See your donations at work.

PerkSpot: Get a Jump Start on Holiday Shopping

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The holidays are right around the corner. Shop for loved ones on PerkSpot and save big! You can find discounts on gifts for the whole family. Get deals on everything from apparel to zoo tickets.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Recognizing Transgender Awareness Month

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By LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group

November is Transgender Awareness Month, a time for education, advocacy and celebration of the community.  

On Nov. 2 the Board of Supervisors honored local advocate Connor Maddocks with a Board Proclamation for his work in the community. Connor retired from the LGBT Center as their Project Trans coordinator, where he organized resources for and educational programming about the transgender community.  He has also volunteered with San Diego Pride and supported work by a number of other local and national organizations.  

While we celebrate the efforts made to support our community, we know there is much more to be done. Tragically, 2021 has already seen at least 46 transgender or gender non-conforming people killed by violent means* across the United States, the majority of them BIPOC transgender women. 

Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an occasion to honor those who have lost their lives to violent hate crimes. Locally, there will be a candlelight vigil at the County Administration Center’s Waterfront Park at sundown. The LGBTQ&Allies ERG arranged for the CAC to be lit in the colors of the Transgender Pride Flag to mark the occasion. The visibility this lighting provides is a small step to bring awareness to a grim reality for one of the most vulnerable populations in our society.  

It is incumbent upon all of us with privilege to use our power to do more.

To learn more about intersectionality and the realities of transgender people, read the words of some of the County’s own employees in this article.  

If you want to get involved, please visit these organizations:  

Rewind: D&I Executive Council Town Hall

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The D&I Executive Council hosted a Town Hall on Monday, Nov. 15 on condemning hate-filled speech and creating a place of belonging.

Speakers included members of the D&I Executive Council and CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer. Plus, many County employees spoke up and out. Watch the Town Hall “on rewind” now.

Resource included in this Town Hall:

Kaiser Permanente Services May Be Impacted by Strike

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If you are covered by Kaiser Permanente, you received an email from the healthcare provider this week with notification of a possible strike. A strike of nurses, administrative personnel, pharmacy staff and other medical professionals could begin as early as Monday, Nov. 15.

As of Friday morning, Kaiser has changed, canceled or rescheduled many upcoming non-urgent appointments. There’s no need to call or email your doctor’s office at this time. Kaiser Permanente will contact you in advance if there are changes to your appointments.

Find information and answers to frequently asked questions online, including where to get prescriptions.

For updates, monitor KP.org.

If you have questions, please call the Member Services Contact Center. The call center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (closed holidays). Please note that hold times could be longer than usual during a strike.

English: 1-800-464-4000
Spanish: 1-800-788-0616
Chinese dialects: 1-800-757-7585
TTY: 711