COVID Memorial Garden

Summary of Monterey County's COVID-19 Response

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Monterey County took urgent action to protect public health and support vulnerable residents. Local hospitals, clinics, and the County Health Department rapidly expanded testing, treatment, and bilingual public information services while coordinating vaccination efforts throughout urban and rural communities. Recognizing the disproportionate impact on essential agricultural workers, community partners created the Monterey County COVID-19 Collaborative to deliver outreach, protective equipment, mobile clinics, food aid, and emergency relief to farmworker families and underserved neighborhoods.

Nonprofit organizations, schools, faith communities, and local governments worked together to provide mental health support, rental and small business assistance, childcare resources, and emergency services. Although the pandemic exposed challenges in communication and preparedness, it also revealed the resilience, compassion, and collaboration that define Monterey County. This spirit of unity continues today as the community honors lives lost and supports long-term recovery.

Artist Description by Shelby & Taylor Hawthorne

The County of Monterey COVID-19 Memorial sculpture rises like a symbol of resilience—five luminous panels standing in quiet harmony, each representing a district of our county, each honoring a life, a story, a shared journey through loss and hope. Etched with light and shadow, the structure appears to shift throughout the day, reminding us that grief and healing move with time.

Surrounding the sculpture, the memorial garden offers a sanctuary of reflection. Rose bushes, stone pathways, and park seating invite visitors to pause, breathe, and remember. The space is alive with gentle movement—sunlight glancing off glass, wind weaving through branches—echoing the enduring spirit of the community. Here, memory is not static; it is living, growing, and held in collective care.

This sacred space is dedicated to those we lost and those who carried us forward. It is a testament to love, compassion, and the enduring strength of Monterey County.

Virtual Donor Wall

Make a Gift

Donate Now  

or

• Send a check made payable to “Community Foundation for Monterey County" with “COVID-19 Memorial Fund” in the memo line
  Mail to:
  Community Foundation for Monterey County
  2354 Garden Road, Monterey, CA 93940
• To make a gift of stock or other assets, please contact Cecilia Romero, Vice President of Philanthropic Services, at 831.375.9712 x124.

Donations to the County of Monterey Covid-10 Memorial Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) are tax deductible. The CFMC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Tax ID #94-1615897. * Please consult your tax advisor.

Virtual Memorial Wall

This Virtual Memorial Wall is dedicated to remembering those who died during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Please submit the name of a friend, family member, or loved one who died in Monterey County due to COVID-19.

Submit Someone to be Remembered  

Virtual Honor Wall

This Virtual Honor Wall is dedicated to first responders, medical personnel, caregivers, or community leaders.
Please submit the name of someone you would like to honor and acknowledge for courageously serving those in need in Monterey County during the pandemic.

Submit Someone to be Honored   

Public Appeal for Ongoing Support

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the County of Monterey committed to creating a permanent place of remembrance and healing: the County of Monterey COVID-19 Memorial, situated at the Government Center Plaza in Salinas. This sacred space with its five illuminated panels representing the county’s districts, contemplative seating, landscaping, and durable design features is intended to be a lasting tribute to lives lost, a place for community reflection, and a beacon of hope. [Community Foundation for Monterey County]

Yet building the memorial is only the beginning. To preserve its dignity, maintain the landscaping, repair and replace elements as needed, and ensure perpetual care, ongoing funding is essential. Through the COVID-19 Community Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, contributions are held in stewardship for long-term maintenance, alongside covering design, community engagement, and construction costs. [Community Foundation for Monterey County]

We invite individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to join in sustaining this memorial. Just as we collectively bore the burden of loss during the pandemic, let us carry forward the responsibility of care for this site. Your gift, whether modest and monthly or larger as circumstances allow will help ensure that future generations can find solace, remembrance, and meaning in this space.

“Monterey County’s COVID-19 Memorial is more than a monument it is a living space of remembrance, healing, and community strength. To honor those, we have lost and to preserve this sacred place, we invite you to invest in its future. Your ongoing contribution ensures that landscaping thrives, lighting endures, panels endure, and generations to come can reflect, heal, and remember. Join us in caring for this memorial your gift is a lasting tribute of compassion.”

You can contribute online via the Community Foundation for Monterey County (designating the “COVID-19 Memorial Fund”) or send a check with that notation. [Community Foundation for Monterey County]