Tag archives: charity
Popular Santa Barbara charity, the Unity Shoppe, hosted an appreciation lunch for more than 100 senior volunteers at La Casa Nichita, the historic Mission Canyon home of veteran supporter Barbara Tellefson. “Last year was a very trying time for us,” Barbara tells me. “Disaster relief cost us more than $300,000, which severely depleted our funds, […]
A mélange of magnificent millinery swept over the impeccably manicured lawn of the Biltmore when Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara held its 8th annual lemon and blue-themed Al Fresco Afternoon on the Riviera. The 13-year-old charity, which has placed 252 babies and had 119 adoptions, had a record 250 guests helping raise around $100,000 […]
Teresa McWilliams was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1937, and lived there with her family on their farm in the countryside. Her father, Mr. Glinski, was a concert pianist and composer in Poland, and they lived the gentry life, until the Germans came and occupied the country. When Teresa was just two years old, the […]
This is the Santa Barbara Boys & Girls Club’s sixth Rally4Kids – a one-and-a-half day celebration of all things vehicular – and it’s the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. It has also been a roaring success and lots of fun. This event begins the night before (Friday evening, April 26) at a private “drivers” […]
Q. I have my own money and I inherited some more from my parents. I find I am very confused about what to do with it. I buy things I don’t really need, and I give to charity but mostly only at the end of the year. I want to do something bigger and give […]
And, we did it! CEO Rolf Geyling and Rebecca Weber were at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission hosting a walkthrough of the newly finished women’s part of the $11 million renovation of the whole facility. It’s incredible. Last time I was there, the walls were gone and only studs left. The chapel, a new bathroom, […]
William Gallivan and staffers at the Orthopedic Institute of Santa Barbara welcomed some new bones to the roster at the annual holiday celebration at their downtown offices. The boffo bash, held in an enormous tent connected to the Junipero Street office, became the vortex for the festive fest that included music by guitarist Bruce Goldish, […]
The festive spirit was palpable when the Rescue Mission hosted its annual Christmas Feast, an event I have volunteered at for a decade. The 300 guests were welcomed in the chapel, which is serving as a temporary dining room during multi-million dollar renovations, with plates heaped high by kitchen manager Wesley Jones and his colleagues […]
Gourmands were out en-masse when Italian culinary wizard Massimo Falsini cooked a host of delights at the home of software entrepreneur Frank and Allison Paolini for Epicurean Santa Barbara to raise funds for his charity, the Refettorio Program, which helps the homeless. Massimo, who hails from Rome and was executive chef at Solage, a five-star […]
Q. I read the previous column about Jonathan Gartner and his excitement about impact investing. Isn’t philanthropy the best way to help people? I have heard that impact investing yields a low financial return. Why should I be interested in it? – Sam in Montecito Certainly, philanthropy is vitally important to our welfare at the […]
Montecito resident Christie Jenkins has produced 200 boxes of special holiday cards, the sale of which will go to support the Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation. Jenkins, like many Montecito residents, was evacuated from her home during the Thomas Fire, just months after moving to the area after closing her fine photography gallery in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Jenkins […]
Montecito Bank & Trust celebrated the 16th anniversary of its Community Dividends Awards, with 188 non-profits sharing $1 million, at the Coral Casino. The program, started by the bank’s founder and philanthropist Michael Towbes, has donated $16 million since its inception. Mike, who died two years ago, used to describe it as “my favorite day […]
The Coral Casino suffered major social gridlock when the Montecito Firefighter’s Charitable Foundation threw its 101st anniversary Thanksgiving celebration with the 250 guests raising more than $150,000. Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner, who owns the oceanside venue, was honored with a community hero award, as were Abe Powell of the Bucket Brigade, Taiana Giefer of […]
The 21st annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at the Ben Page Youth Center was so oversubscribed, there had to be three seatings for the simple soup and bread meals, which allowed the 1,000 participants paying just $30 to choose a hand-crafted bowl and, after dining, take the colorful ceramic home. The bustling event, founded by the […]
It couldn’t have been a more perfect day when the popular charity, CALM – Child Abuse Listening Mediation – hosted its 7th annual CALM at Heart lunch “Building Community” at the Coral Casino. More than 210 guests helped raise around $100,000 for the nonprofit, founded in 1969, with the ubiquitous Geoff Green emceeing the fun […]
Liquid assets were in abundance when the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County staged its 9th annual Chowder Fest Charity Cookout at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. Featuring 34 vendors, more than 500 turned out for the harborside foodie fest, raising around $65,000 for the 59-year-old nonprofit that provides legal representation and advice to […]
Major supporters of the 119-year-old Family Service Agency came together for a President’s Circle reception at the rustic Birnam Wood home of Carole Macelhenny. UCSB professor Mario Garfield spoke about the pressures facing young people in this age of new technology to the 30 guests, including Jim and Shirley Ann Hurley, Kevin and Marianne McCarthy, […]
The Unity Shoppe, which recently celebrated its centennial, isn’t resting on its laurels. The popular charity, which eight months ago opened a 4,000-sq.-ft. gift shop at 1209 State Street, opposite the Granada, which also includes a senior resource center, has now opened a 3,000-sq.-ft. furniture and clothing store just a coat hanger’s hurl away at […]
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County hosted its Habitat Heroes celebration at Deckers rotunda when awards were handed out for sterling work involving Montecito’s catastrophic mudslides in January. The 2,454 volunteers spent 10,700 hours helping remove 42,000 tons of mud, recounted president Paul Wilson. The affiliate award went to Terra Taylor, while construction […]
ShelterBox, the Santa Barbara-based charity, has had its hand full of late with a whole slew of global disasters, most recently in the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. More than 250 guests turned out at the Summerland estate of John McGovern for its second annual fundraiser, which raised more than $250,000 for the 18-year-old nonprofit, […]
