San Diego Foundation grants $90,000 to local street vet

By SDCN Editor

San Diego, CA–The San Diego Foundation has awarded a $90,000 grant to the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year, Dr. Kwane Stewart. 

Dr. Stewart, who split his award money with the other Top 10 Heroes, received the recognition for founding Project Street Vet, an Encinitas-based nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness care for their pets by providing free veterinary care, treatment, and support.

“The work of Dr. Kwane Stewart is commendable, touching countless lives of the most vulnerable among us and their beloved pets,” said Mark Stuart, President and CEO of the San Diego Foundation. “We hope this grant will help him continue to make a difference in the community and inspire others through his commitment and acts of selflessness.”

After receiving the CNN Hero of the Year award, Dr. Stewart announced he would share the grant among the Top 10 Heroes equally. San Diego Foundation’s leaders committed the grant for Project Street Vet to recognize the valuable contributions of Dr. Stewart to the North San Diego County communities he proudly serves. 

The grant is from The Linda C. Scott Fund for Animal Welfare at San Diego Foundation. Scott was a North County philanthropist who dedicated the fund “to support and care for dogs and cats in San Diego, North County.” While Ms. Scott passed away in 2016, her memory and her impact lives on through this fund, along with her San Diego Foundation scholarship fund, and another fund dedicated to animals.

San Diego Foundation partners with donors to set up legacy funds for their planned gifts to ensure their fund continues to support causes, initiatives and nonprofits that are most meaningful to them. Planned gifts are established during the donor’s lifetime but are not realized until they pass away. 

Dr. Kwane Stewart founded Project Street Vet, a nonprofit that provides free veterinary care, treatment, and support to the pets of individuals experiencing homelessness or housing vulnerability. Stewart walks areas of high homelessness to seek pets and pet parents in need. 

Project Street Vet is committed to protecting the human-animal bond that is so vital to the livelihood of pets, and the people who love them. Leading with compassion, kindness, and no judgments, its volunteers and staff seek out and assist the pets and people who need it most. 

To learn more about the organization, visit ProjectStreetVet.org.