North Valley Thrive

10/13/2026

The future of agtech is coming to a school near you! 🌱🚜

UC Merced has launched two new mobile trailers bringing hands-on agricultural technology to students, communities, and workplaces across the North Valley:

🌿 Mobile Greenhouse: Vertical growing systems (soil and hydroponic) where visitors can identify seeds, plant, and learn how modern growing works.

🤖 Mobile Agtech Hub: Live drone mapping, robotics, environmental sensing, and offline AI tools that answer questions about agricultural practices.

These trailers were designed, assembled, and outfitted as part of California Jobs First and North Valley THRIVE, and will operate through the Valley Institute for Sustainability, Technology & Agriculture (VISTA), including Merced College.

Outreach starts with K-12 students, but the trailers will also serve adult learners, career changers, and agricultural workers through demos and workshops.

The big takeaway? There’s a place in agtech for people of every background. 💚

Congratulations to our partners at and ! 🎉
🔗 Full story at the link in comments

09/30/2026

Congratulations to the Manufacturers Council of the Central Valley and SPIE: Stanislaus Partners In Education on a remarkable inaugural North Valley Manufacturing Summit! 🎉

Yesterday at California State University, Stanislaus, 500 students, employers, and workforce development leaders from San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties came together in one room to connect, learn, and build the future of manufacturing in our region.

Gatherings like this matter. When students meet the employers who will hire them, and when educators and workforce partners hear directly from industry about the skills they need, we strengthen the pathways that lead to good-paying careers right here in the North Valley. This summit showed what's possible when our three counties show up together.

North Valley THRIVE is proud to cheer on partners who are investing in our people and our shared economic future. Thank you to the Manufacturing Council of the Central Valley, Stanislaus State, and everyone who made this first summit such a success. We can't wait to see what comes next!

09/23/2026

Our partners at Youth Leadership Institute Merced are hosting their second Concrete Rose CBO Community Forum on Merced County's juvenile rehabilitation system, and community-based organizations across the region are invited to join.

📅 October 8, | 10:00 to 11:45 AM | Virtual (Zoom)

What's on the agenda:
🔹 Dr. Cauffman of the University of California, Irvine on adolescent development and youth recidivism
🔹 yli's Concrete Rose group on transferable programs CBOs can use to serve system-impacted youth
🔹 Open Q&A

Building a stronger North Valley means making sure every young person has a path forward. If your organization works with youth, this is a conversation worth being part of.

Register at: bit.ly/4rv8tfV

09/23/2026

Small businesses across the North Valley have long struggled to be discovered online, while the organizations meant to support them operated across separate systems and networks.

North Valley Biz Connect is a free regional platform unifying businesses and support organizations across Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Merced Counties. Businesses can build a profile, promote products and events, connect with customers, and access regional resources, all in one shared ecosystem rather than competing directories.

Over 2,000 small businesses are now represented on the platform, translated into 12 languages to reach non-English-speaking business owners.

Funded through California Jobs First Catalyst Grant Program

North Valley Biz Connect is connecting businesses, customers, organ...

09/16/2026

The North San Joaquin Valley is a child care desert, with only one licensed space for every five children. Nurture is closing that gap by helping residents start and grow their own home-based child care businesses, and their work doesn't stop at opening the door.

Through Nurture's Business Start-Up, Operations, and Growth programs, 87 new home child care businesses have launched, 25 have been strengthened, and 10 have grown to the point of hiring their own assistants. Together, that means 756 children across the region now have access to higher-quality licensed care.
Nurture didn't stop there. They also completed a feasibility study exploring a worker-owned staffing cooperative, a model where child care assistants would co-own the business that places them, boosting job quality for the assistant while making it easier for entrepreneurs to legally expand their businesses. That work is already opening doors to new funding, and Nurture is preparing to launch a pilot this fall.

Funded through North Valley THRIVE's Catalyst Grant Program. 👶✨ See less

09/11/2026

Picture this: a tuition-free program where you walk away with a UC Merced credential, an industry-recognized certification, AND real hands-on project experience with a regional employer. That's SkillRISE!

Through UC Merced PACE, 331 people across Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin Counties have leveled up their careers in project management, additive manufacturing, and solar analysis, with 199 of them sponsored directly by their own employers.

And the excitement isn't just among adults. A high school Additive Manufacturing bootcamp drew a whopping 177 student applications for just 33 spots! The Central Valley's next generation is hungry for hands-on STEM careers, and SkillRISE is meeting that demand head-on.

Funded through North Valley THRIVE's Catalyst Grant Program. 🛠️✨

09/10/2026

We're celebrating a milestone for our sector partner, , and the Merced County community!

BEAM Circular has partnered with Valley Onward to expand its Community Ambassador program into Merced County, and we're happy to share that this new cohort came together at the Prospero Job Center in Atwater.

These new Merced County Ambassadors are Promotoras: trusted community leaders who build the bridge between families and vital resources through culturally relevant outreach, home visits, and workshops. Their work, earned through years of showing up for their neighbors, is exactly the kind of grassroots leadership that makes a regional economy stronger for everyone.
As Ambassadors, they'll now bring the circular bioeconomy home to their own neighborhoods, helping residents see what growing this sector can mean for good local jobs and healthier, more sustainable communities across the North San Joaquin Valley.

Congratulations to the newest Merced County Community Ambassadors. We're excited to see this partnership grow!

09/04/2026

193 students. 13 employers. 16 paid summer internships.

San Joaquin A+ is connecting Stanislaus County youth to careers in manufacturing, and every partner from this year's pilot is coming back for more. 🔧🌱

Proud to support this work through our Catalyst Grant Program.

09/02/2026

Six miles. 15 organizations. One vision for Mormon Slough.

Restore the Delta and the Mormon Slough Restoration Association are turning a flood-vulnerable channel in Stockton into a restored greenway, built with input from over 3,000 households.

Proud to support this work through our Catalyst Grant Program. 🌿💧

06/22/2026

What makes a downtown magnetic? It's not just foot traffic — it's identity. 🏙️
Join us for our next Placemaker Lab Free Community Seminar: Retail Beyond the Store: Brand, Place & Memory featuring Scott King of J. Scott King Consulting & S37.AI.

This session digs into how downtowns attract the right businesses and visitors by building a strong identity, improving the visitor experience, and curating businesses that truly fit their community.

If you work in economic development, downtown revitalization, retail, or just care deeply about the future of your community — this one is for you.
📅 Wednesday, June 25, 2026

⏰ 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

💻 Zoom — attend from anywhere in the North Valley

🎟️ Free & open to the public
👉 Register: bit.ly/PlacemakerLab