Randy Walton

Professional friends, can you spare a few hours on March 10 or 12 (or both) to help a local high school student?

Project Next is looking for volunteers to support students as they build essential interview skills. You do not need to work in HR or recruiting. If you have been through interviews in your own career, you already have valuable insight to share.

Interview Skills Day is not a mock interview. It is a chance to offer real world advice, practical tips, and honest stories that help students feel confident and prepared for their first opportunity. For many students, this is their very first professional conversation. A little guidance can completely shift their confidence.

If you can give a few hours, your experience could make a lasting impact. Please consider joining us.

Escondido High School – 3/10/26
Escondido Charter High School – 3/12/26
Mission Hills High School – 3/12/26
Twin Oaks High School – 3/12/26

DM me for more details.

Thanks

For years, I have watched Project Next change the trajectory of young lives in North County San Diego. Our "Future Centers" on high school campuses give students something too many never receive — real guidance, real confidence, and real options for life after high school. We help them discover their "Next."

As a founder of Project Next, this mission means everything to me, and today I am launching my Champions for Youth fundraising page to support it. Project Next is one of for San Diego non-profits selected to participate in the Champions for Youth, in association with the Century Club and the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament. Any contribution of TEN DOLLARS OR MORE is matched, so your gift has twice the impact.

If you believe every student deserves a path forward, I would love for you to join me. Here is the link to my personal fundraising page:
https://charity.centuryclubsd.org/fundraiser/6855142

THANK YOU.

For several weeks now, I have been working with a group of residents and several San Marcos firefighters to prepare for the launch of Measure Q. I invite you to our Measure Q launch event on Saturday, September 7th, at 9:00 a.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos.

What is Measure Q? It is a ballot measure you will have a chance to vote on in November, and it is vitally important for the future of San Marcos.

San Marcos has a reputation as one of the most well-managed cities in the county. It maintains a healthy financial reserve, and budgets carefully year after year. But the cost of providing state-of-the-art services, robust public safety (Fire and Sheriff), and hiring qualified employees is now outpacing revenues, and we need to address it.

In June, the San Marcos City Council, by unanimous vote, agreed to place Measure Q on the November ballot. This measure would implement a 1-cent sales tax for purchases within the city of San Marcos (groceries, medicine, and feminine hygiene products are exempt). If passed, the revenue generated from Measure Q will ensure our city can continue to:

• Make improvements to roads, intersections, bike lanes, and signals to improve traffic and safety and reduce congestion.
• Provide quick responses to 9-1-1 emergencies.
• Clean and maintain local parks, trails, sports fields, playgrounds, and community facilities.
• Fix potholes and maintain city streets.
• Provide fire protection and paramedic services.
• Keep trash and pollution out of our local lakes, creeks, and waterways.

The measure will expire in 10 years.

Measure Q has already received incredible support. Over 300 residents (across the political spectrum) have endorsed its passage, as have the following local organizations:

• San Marcos Professional Firefighters' Association
• San Diego County Taxpayers Association
• Deputy Sheriffs of San Diego County
• San Marcos Chamber of Commerce
• Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos
• Friends of San Marcos (supporting Parks and Recreation)

We would also love your support. Go to (www.safeandstrongsanmarcos.org), where you can learn more, endorse the measure, and see how you can help.

Thank you.

Go check it out before it's gone.

Got kids? Want to expose them to the outdoors? Our neighbor the The Escondido Creek Conservancy is hosting Outdoor Education Elevated on Sat. April 6th, a family-friendly day at the Mountain Meadow Preserve which will include outdoor educational activities, interpretive hikes, live animals and more. Spread the word. The day is to support the Conservancy's education fund.

Outdoor Education Elevated - The Escondido Creek Conservancy The Escondido Creek Conservancy Invites You To A Family-Friendly Outdoor Festival At The Mountain Meadow Preserve. Join Us For An Active Day Filled With Outdoor Educational Activities, Interpretive Hikes, Live Animals, Silent Auction, And So Much More!

Friends, the San Marcos High School PTO is holding a fundraising event to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the San Marcos High School rebuild. There will be dinner, dancing, and a silent auction.

The event will be on Saturday, January 13th, at Williams Barn. Tickets are $40 for faculty, staff, and SMHS alumni, and $50 for everyone else. Business sponsorships are available. Tickets can be purchased here (https://www.smhspto.com/shop/).

It is hard to believe it has been more than 10 years since the passage of Proposition K, and the entire high school rebuild. Looking back, it is great to see how all that hard work, and all of the volunteers, made that great project happen from beginning to end.

We are doing a lot of important work at Project Next to help high school students think more clearly about what they want to do when they graduate, and showing them real and viable pathways on how they can get there. And, we're growing.

If you were ever curious about who we are and what we do, here is our annual report.

Updated link: Celebrating success: Project Next's '22-23 Impact Report Let's keep making a difference together!     WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO GET INVOLVED       2022-2023 Impact Report   Dear Project Next Community, On behalf of our staff and Board of Directors, I am thrille

Project Next (formerly The San Marcos Promise) is excited to be part of San Diego Gives day, a day of unprecedented collective philanthropy celebrating the crucial work of local nonprofits who are responding to our area’s greatest needs. Help support our mission of helping students plan and prepare for their future - a future that's best for them.

Every dollar raised today up to $10,000 will be generously matched by Parker Foundation! Help us continue to provide students with tools and resources to successfully launch their futures.
Donate today!

Support Project Next on San Diego Gives Mission: Project Next (formerly The San Marcos Promise) is on a mission to help high schoolers plan and prepare for their own best direction after graduation. Every student should own their next.Too many students walk into a future they’re not ready for—or didn’t even...

I have been part of The San Marcos Promise since its inception in 2007, and have watched it evolve and discover where, as a privately funded non-profit, it can have the most impact helping students walk off the high school graduation stage and into life with a plan and a purpose.

In the last decade we have developed several programs to help students discover career paths that might interest them, and then design an individualized map how to get there. Sometimes that map requires a college degree or a certificated program, other times it is an apprenticeship, and sometimes it's simply building a resume to help a student get an actual job! We do all of this from our on-campus "Future Centers."

We like to say our goal is to give students "the Clarity, Confidence, and Connections to build their best tomorrow"

Today we announce that we will expanding our reach beyond the borders of San Marcos Unified School District, and will do so with a new name: Project Next.

We are not leaving San Marcos, we're growing, and would love to have you grow with us. You can learn more at www.projectnext.org

Exciting news... we're increasing our impact!   Introducing Project Next! Exciting News: The San Marcos Promise is now Project Next! As part of our ongoing commitment to providing programs, resources, and opportunitie

Do you have some gently used professional clothing you might be willing to donate to students stepping out into the "real world"? If so, please bring it to Ryan Bros. Coffee on Twin Oaks Valley Rd. on September 8th between 7 and 11 am and we at Project Next will be grateful. Thanks!

We will be accepting donations on Friday September 8th at Ryan Bros Coffee located at 133 N. Twin Oaks Valley Rd. San Marcos from 7am-11am.

We are asking for clean, in good condition, and recent style clothes to stock our career closet. This gently used professional business attire will help our students on their path to success.

Items needed are:
Two Piece Suits
Jackets and Blazers
Blouses and Dress Shirts
Dress Pants
Ties
Skirts
Dresses.

Clothes should be cleaned prior to donation and ready for use by our students. Clothes Should be in excellent quality and purchased within the last five years.

Everyone who donates will receive 20% off their purchases at Ryan Bros Coffee.