Tag archives: AHA!

Roxana Petty is understandably proud that AHA! is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, marking a quarter-century since the nonprofit’s founding as a small summer program just a few months after the infamous Columbine High School massacre. In an effort to reduce the possibility of such a tragedy happening in Santa Barbara, AHA! (which stands […]

AHA!’s (Attitude. Harmony. Achievement.) multi-faceted programs have been rapidly expanding nearly a quarter-century after the organization’s founding in response to the shooting at Columbine High School back in 1999. The proof is in the post-pandemic pudding, which emerged late last month when some of AHA!’s after-school programs got underway.  “The demand for what we’re doing […]

As MUS superintendent Anthony Ranii mentioned to the Montecito Association earlier this month, AHA!, a local nonprofit serving teens, families, and educators in Santa Barbara County, is now utilizing MUS’s Nature Lab for its Littlest Little Farm.  The Littlest Little Farm, launched in fall 2019, is one of the nonprofit’s afterschool programs, teaching participants about […]

Prince Harry and his actress wife Meghan Markle are marking Mental Health Awareness month.  The Riven Rock twosome visited with a local youth group for an hour in ‘candid conversion’ with teenagers aged 14 to 18 from AHA! Santa Barbara about how mental well-being is affected by societal pressures and social media in the digital […]

If you have the inclination and the stamina, you can catch live performances from some of the oldest members of the musical community and several of its youngest on a single Saturday this weekend. The Prime Time Band, a group of amateur musicians whose ages span from 40 to 90-plus but definitely skews toward the […]

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that to many folks in our community, everyone who works at AHA! could be called a hero. After all, the Santa Barbara nonprofit equips teenagers – and often their teachers and parents – with social and emotional intelligence, using the five pillars of mindfulness, awareness, connection, empathy, and […]

Ever since the COVID-19 era unceremoniously ended the 2020 academic year in March, local educators and non-profit groups have been redoubling their efforts to help young people deal with the added stress they’ve been experiencing. AHA!, whose mission is to reduce emotional and physical abuse on campus and has provided counseling to more than 20,000 […]

AHA! has long received kudos in town for its success in equipping teenagers, parents, and educators with social and emotional intelligence and strategies to serve as an antidote to everything from apathy to despair. In addition, AHA! has had great success interrupting hate-based behaviors such as bullying. The organization’s programs have become touchpoints for transforming […]

AHA! equips teenagers, educators, and parents with social and emotional intelligence to dismantle apathy, prevent despair, and interrupt hate-based behavior. The organization prides itself on a program based on mindfulness, awareness, connection, empathy, and resilience. Resilience certainly is something we all need and can use in this time of crisis. The teenage years for many […]

Within the social distancing guidelines, as inconsistent as they are across the country, it’s already become odd to see people in Netflix movies holding hands, walking together, gathering at concerts, hugging and being close. Press conferences where the experts stand shoulder to shoulder seem unnerving. If you’re not one of the oblivious, Covidiot Spring Breakers, […]

South African jungle tracker Boyd Varty was the mane attraction when Bobby and Susan Shand opened the doors of their Montecito aerie for a sunset soiree for AHA!, the Santa Barbara non-profit that inspires youth to be safe, seen and celebrated. The bash, described as “a friend raiser,” also focused attention on the 21st anniversary […]

It was the perfect time to meet new executive director Pilar Montoya when 20-year-old AHA!, a successful teen program which serves 5,000 families annually in California, hosted a beach bash at the Padaro Lane home of Frank and Tiffany Foster. Pilar brings 25 years of business and financial management to the table working with companies […]

It was music to everyone’s ears when AHA!, which has brought social-emotional learning to more than 25,000 teachers, parents, and young people over the past 20 years, hosted its 16th annual Sing It Out at the Lobero. The sold-out event, which raised around $200,000 for the organization, was the culmination celebration of a 12-week spring […]

AHA!, a Santa Barbara-based non-profit that is celebrating its 20th year in operation, has announced a February 21 benefit event that will bring together three special speakers for an evening of connection and resilience. “It is incredible that this caliber of people are coming here, to help support AHA!” said AHA! co-founder and director Jennifer […]

It’s time to put on your running shoes for the annual AHA! fundraiser, Rock the Walk, on Saturday November 4, at 9 am with the starting line at Stella Mare restaurant across from the Andree Clark Bird Refuge. I met with event founder Kyle Brace and development director Molly Green at the Starbucks on Coast […]

AHA! Co-founders and directors Jennifer Freed and Rendy Freedman are pleased to announce “Rising Together”, a free community event for the South Coast area to find support and resources post the Thomas Fire and Montecito mudslide. The event is set for SB City College West Campus on Saturday, April 21, at 9 am. It was […]