LOCAL LINK BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES IN San Diego, CA

~by Lara Vukelich, San Diego resident and writer

There's more to San Diego than sand and sun.

This is also the place where tacos and Tuesdays join forces each week and avocado marries toast at breakfast time. It's the kind of city where native sons and daughters seem hard to come by because so many residents hail from other places around the world. It's the melting pot you might expect from a sun-bathed border city with killer margaritas and a healthy events calendar.

The world of charity in San Diego requires the type of collaboration you'll find in a busy Pacific Beach food truck -- it's all hands on deck. Christine Tomasello, a business consultant who works with an anti-bullying and Holocaust education charity, explains it this way:

"Putting on an event in Balboa Park, like a movie screening, can make you thoroughly overwhelmed. But the spirit of community in San Diego means I'm always able to organize a team of volunteers to create an events committee and get the work done. It's inspiring!"

The myriad of nonprofits in San Diego are as multi-faceted as its population, and the city offers no shortage of places to host elegant galas and 5K runs.

Both types of events are common among favorite local charities like the Ronald McDonald House Charities organization. Raising money for families of children being treated for serious conditions at San Diego hospitals, RMHC puts on everything from a cake show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds to the Hot Chocolate 15K & 5K at Petco Park, ultimately serving 7.1 million families annually.

Check the weekend calendar year round, and there will almost always be a charity marathon at Liberty Station on the books. And then, of course, there is the piece de resistance: The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, which sees runners closing down the 163 freeway and more.

With cloudless skies and 70 miles of coastline, San Diego knows a little something about entertaining under the sun. Downtown, breathtaking views of the signature Coronado Bridge flirt in the background and rays bounce off the bay, and the bevy of beautiful breweries in North Park often have indoor-outdoor space.

But it's not just the swaying palms and waft of homemade salsa that makes San Diego the best place to host a non-profit event. It's also the spirit of charity, which is alive and well and founded on a reverence for diversity.

Between the salty breezes and ever-expanding list of city parks, the hipster brunch spots on Park Blvd. and the world-class convention center that hosts a certain comic convention, it's easy to see why anyone would flock to San Diego given the chance.