Tag archives: Giving List

ASAP Cats
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 12, 2026

The acronym in ASAP Cats’ name doesn’t mean “As soon as possible” but rather refers to its origin as the Animal Shelter Assistance Program, an all-volunteer organization. ASAP is dedicated to supporting the county animal shelter in reducing the numbers of euthanized cats, both sick and healthy ones, as a response to tremendous overpopulation at […]

Return to Freedom
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 14, 2026

Return to Freedom’s Founder Neda DeMayo has had horse sense since her earliest memories.  “Horse was my first word,” DeMayo says. “I have been passionate about horses since I was born, or at least I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t.” DeMayo first began riding when she was five years old, but it was […]

Kind Mind
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 7, 2026

In a day and age where children not only have an exponentially expanded array of electronic methods of distraction compared to less than a generation ago, but are also confronted by a country and world in conflict and torn by divisiveness, the need for mindfulness and meditative practices has never been greater.  That was the […]

Children’s Creative Project: Student Support Through Chalk & Art
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 31, 2026

The I Madonnari Street Painting Festival, much-beloved mainstay of Memorial Day weekend for many decades, is more than two months away. But for Children’s Creative Project – the longstanding local nonprofit that has produced the festival since its founding – it’s already time to gear up and get ready. I Madonnari, inspired by the romantic […]

Family Service Agency
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 23, 2025

One of the major fallouts from the Covid pandemic was the effects of isolation on every member of society. But without question, the segment of the population hardest hit by the closures and other restrictions that took place in 2020-21 were America’s school children.  Youngsters whose brains are still developing were yanked out of the […]

New Beginnings
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 25, 2025

A month ago, New Beginnings’ innovative annual benefit event filled Center Stage Theater four times with two different theatrical pieces – Every Brilliant Thing and Jonny & The Baptists – each performed twice by creators Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers, the British comedian-musicians with a passion for addressing issues of mental health.  “They have a […]

The United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 5, 2025

The United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County’s mission is to enable all young people – especially those most in need – to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. The clubs, now five strong stretching from Carpinteria to Santa Ynez – including locations on Santa Barbara’s west side and […]

NatureTrack
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 24, 2025

Summer is often a slower season for NatureTrack, the nonprofit organization which was founded with the goal of creating opportunities for people of all ages to foster a lifelong fascination with nature. That’s because the main thrust of NatureTrack’s day-to-day activities is providing K-12 students with outdoor field trips in Santa Barbara County. NatureTrack takes […]

Los Padres Council Scouting America
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 27, 2025

The clichéd image of a random Boy Scout helping grandma across the street to earn points toward a merit badge is a thing of the past with the reinvigorated launch of Scouting America – a new identity that reflects the organization’s commitment to inclusivity and welcoming all youth, including girls, into its programs.  “We’re all […]

Savie Health
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 22, 2025

Fictional detective Harry Bosch, the star of more than a dozen best-selling books by Michael Connelly and two TV series on Amazon Prime, operates with a credo he adopted early in his career: “Everybody counts, or nobody counts.”  That’s basically the same philosophy behind Savie Health, the nonprofit free clinic in downtown Lompoc. It’s the […]

REACH
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 15, 2025

REACH is a small local organization that provides comprehensive transformative support and development opportunities to first-generation college-bound students as they navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary education. The name is an acronym that stands for Resilience, Education, Adventure, Community and Health, but the word itself perfectly describes what the organization does, which is […]

Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 8, 2025

April is always a big time of year for the Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara (PASB). That’s when the very local, very grassroots nonprofit organization puts together its symposium, an annual event that’s at once a community builder, educational offering, and social gathering.  Which makes it not all that different from the ongoing activities of […]

SBC Search and Rescue
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 1, 2025

Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR), established decades ago by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to provide vital emergency search and rescue services for Santa Barbara County and surrounding areas, is an important first responder team for the community. The all-volunteer group of dedicated and highly trained search and rescue professionals is committed […]

Faith of a Child Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 21, 2025

Just over a dozen years ago, the Sonrise Baby Home in Uganda was started by a young woman named Damali Mirembe. She was one of many orphans raised by an American Vietnam War veteran on disability who had, years ago, moved to Uganda to help the orphaned children there. When they grew he put them […]

YouthWell
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 4, 2025

There was no doubt that top staff at the nonprofit YouthWell would show up at the sold-out Arlington Theatre last week to hear social psychologist Jonathan Haidt talk about The Anxious Generation, his new book that examines why, after more than a decade of stability and improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the […]

Freedom to Choose
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 18, 2025

Last Sunday night, actor Clarence Maclin spoke to a sold-out Arlington Theatre audience at SBIFF’s Virtuosos Awards about why he had spent years co-writing and then acting in Sing Sing, the feature film up for Best Picture at next month’s Academy Awards. The movie depicts his earlier life, when he was sentenced to 17 years […]

Future Smiles
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 28, 2025

Health insurance companies and even Medi-Cal still think of orthodontics as a non-essential, even esoteric expense, even for kids – one that they’re not willing to cover. But brace yourself for the truth: getting braces is by no means simply a cosmetic procedure.  For kids who have misaligned teeth – including crooked teeth, gaps between […]

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 24, 2024

Thirty years ago this coming April, FEMA-Certified Canine Search Specialist Wilma Melville and her black lab Murphy spent a week rummaging through the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma. What stood out was just how few other rescue dogs were on site to search for survivors. When Melville realized only […]

Santa Barbara Museum of Art
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 3, 2024

When Amada Cruz took over as Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s new Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO about 13 months ago, she had a clear idea of how she viewed the museum’s evolving role in the community.  “I see a lot of value in the arts beyond the aesthetic,” she said in these […]

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 12, 2024

Last month, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) reached a major milestone with its year-long $20 million capital campaign to facilitate the renovation of the nonprofit’s current building, breaking ground on the 18,000-square-foot building renovation project. The work is to transform the building, located near Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, into a state-of-the-art diabetes research facility that […]