By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–San Diego’s community-connecting organization Walkabout will host its inaugural Community Impact Awards on November 5, and nominations are open for all San Diegans in five categories.
All local residents and businesses are eligible to win, and anyone can nominate regardless of being a Walkabout member. Nominations can be submitted here.
The process involves only one question: “How has this person, group, or business contributed to community connection, belonging, participation, or neighborhood impact?”
The five awards are Community Builder of the Year, Community Champion Award, Community Hub Award, Meet-Up Host of the Year, and Social Club of the Year. Nominations are open through October 4, and the winners will be honored in a ceremony at the VASA San Diego event space on Adams Avenue in the greater North Park area.
Description of the awards:
The Community Builder of the Year – For the all-star who makes belonging personal. The highest honor for someone who notices people, brings them in, makes introductions, connects neighbors to opportunities, and helps others feel seen.
The Community Champion Award – For the person who takes initiative for the neighborhood. The civic leader, organizer, advocate, or deeply involved local who shows up for cleanups, meetings, causes, and the unglamorous work that makes a community stronger.
Community Hub Award – For the local place that makes people feel at home. The café, bar, shop, studio, or gathering space where neighbors linger, become regulars, recognize each other, and feel like they belong.
Meet-Up Host of the Year – For the person who makes it easier to show up. They start the plan, invite neighbors in, welcome the new person, and turn “I might go” into “I’m so glad I came.”
Social Club of the Year – For the group that keeps connection going. They create the recurring rhythm: the walk, club, class, volunteer crew, or meet-up that helps strangers become familiar faces.
“We want to know who you think deserves to be recognized – and why – within our thriving city of America’s Finest City,” Walkabout President Jessica Young said. “We are looking for the people, places, and groups that build belonging through everyday action, from hosting meet-ups to welcoming newcomers to showing up for the neighborhood.”
Finalists will be shared with the Walkabout community for a vote, so the people closest to the impact can help recognize it. Walkabout officials will then review the results and confirm the final honorees.
The Walkabout community consists of users of the Walkabout app, which is free to download and use.
Walkabout seeks to help San Diego residents feel deeply connected to where they live, to their neighbors, to local businesses, and to their own sense of belonging. Their mission is to make those connections easier, warmer, and more frequent.
“We help neighbors meet, talk, discover, and actually get connected,” Young said. “When residents feel connected to their neighborhood, the whole ecosystem becomes healthier – businesses thrive, people feel safer and more supported, and meaningful relationships form naturally. Walkabout is built to spark these connections at scale, one neighborhood at a time”
Walkabout has more than 350 local business partners from more than 25 industries. Some businesses include SeaWorld, Wave FC, Belmont Park, Stone Brewing, San Diego Seals, The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, Breakfast Republic, The Music Box, Forever Balboa Park, BellyUp Tavern, Margaritaville Gaslamp, Hilton Gaslamp, Mission Brewing, and The Observatory North Park.
“The Community Awards celebrate the people who build great neighborhoods every day,” said North Park Main Street Executive Director Chad Matkowski. “As an organization dedicated to strengthening North Park, that’s exactly the work we care about, too.”
“What excites me about Walkabout is that they’ve built a model that can scale this impact far beyond what any one neighborhood organization could accomplish on its own,” Matkowski continued. “By using technology to bring people back into their communities, not away from them, it has the opportunity to help neighborhoods thrive across San Diego and, ultimately, far beyond. I can’t think of a better organization to recognize the people who make that possible.”
