Tag archives: nonprofit

While the world enters its new “normal,” the need to break bread with one another, both metaphorically and literally, is more welcome than ever. The sharing of conversation over food is a bonding act between people as old as civilization itself and with State Street now a bustling pedestrian thoroughfare, it is the ideal time […]

Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, aka CAMA, is deservedly well-known and cherished for its commitment and ability to bring the finest classical musicians from around the world to Santa Barbara, a cultural coup of musical riches that would normally be beyond the means for such a small community.  It helps that it all […]

Back in 2009 when Isabelle Gullö co-founded C.A.R.E.4Paws, she knew there was a desperate need locally for programs that reduce pet overpopulation and intervene before animals suffer and/or end up homeless among the low-income, senior, disabled, and unhoused pet family population in town. As a volunteer at the Santa Barbara County Animal Services shelter, she’d […]

David Fletcher, the head of food service at the Rescue Mission, certainly had his hands full for the Christmas Feast, which attracted 600 guests. More than 52 turkeys, 29 hams, 120 pounds of potatoes, 20 pounds of broccoli, 40 pounds of collard greens, and 70 pounds of green beans went into the bounteous banquet, not […]

It’s a process that stretches from the kitchen to the bagging stations to the doorstep of a client in need of food and comfort. And each time it happens, it brings Food from the Heart one step closer to completing its mission of serving every needy resident in the Santa Barbara region.  Food from the […]

Just about everything Hillside does is for its residents, the 59 people who live at the facility that have developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy. That includes everything from the intensive medical support and empathetic caregiving to things like its annual Shining Light on Abilities event, a festive display of holiday […]

After more than two decades as the public face of the Unity Shoppe Executive Director Tom Reed, 76, hosted a retirement bash at the Kenny Loggins Pavilion, where much of the 105-year-old charity’s work is based. “It’s time to enjoy some new activities with my wife and grandchildren,” says Tom, who joined the popular organization […]

Just 24 hours later I was at the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building where 500 homeless turned out for a third Thanksgiving dinner organized by Adam’s Angels, a nonprofit founded by local Douglas Elliman realtor Adam McKaig and fellow resident Crystal Iverson. As they tucked into 400 pounds of turkey and 100 pumpkin pies, they […]

A tsunami of supporters turned up at the FisHouse for a Heal the Ocean sunset soirée to thank donors for helping raise a most impressive $227,000 from its third consecutive imaginary gala. “It’s the perfect kind of event,” enthuses Hillary Hauser, president and executive director of the popular charity. “Very little overhead and very generous […]

The holiday season, as the Andy Williams song goes, is the most wonderful time of the year. But for some of the more disadvantaged people in the South County, it can also be the most stressful. And for the Unity Shoppe – the 105-year-old nonprofit that serves as a unique lifeline for thousands of families […]

Across Santa Barbara County, as is true around the country, more children and adolescents are experiencing challenges to emotional well-being, including documented increases in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Not surprisingly, the COVID pandemic increased the urgency to address our youth mental health crisis.  Fortunately, Family Service Agency (FSA) of Santa Barbara County, whose organizational […]

Gourmands and oenophiles were out in force when the Fund for Santa Barbara hosted its 29th annual Bread & Roses event for 500 guests at Elings Park, its second year at the locale after many years at the QAD headquarters in Summerland. The bountiful bash, co-hosted by Chelsea Lancaster and Wendy Sims-Moten, raised around $200,000 […]

To get a clear picture of what the World Business Academy does, it’s a good idea to zoom out far above the Santa Barbara nonprofit’s home base – maybe to around 30,000 feet, suggests founder and president Rinaldo Brutoco.  “With the exception of Direct Relief International, which is a massive charity that’s based here, we […]

As five-year-old Sky finished a run down from the top of Mammoth Mountain on a recent December morning, an adult snowboarder unexpectedly crashed into him leaving the youngster unable to stand. An X-ray at the local Emergency Room indicated that he had a spiral fracture in his tibia and would need a cast to immobilize […]

The Winnie the Pooh characters Tigger and Eeyore normally wouldn’t come up in a conversation about sexual assault and consent. But at Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA), any method that helps the nonprofit reach youth to achieve its goal of eliminating all forms of sexual violence is worth trying, including referencing the beloved […]

It was truly a night on the tiles when the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation hosted its 20th anniversary Golden Gala on the expansive rooftop of MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration, raising around $300,000 from 225 dinner guests, and another 200 guests who came for the after-party with K-LITE DJ Scott Topper providing the throbbing […]

With one of the most world-recognized names in TV, magazine, and print news media, Rona Barrett fashioned her career on well-researched and deep-dive interviews, asking the questions no one would have at the time. Barrett broke many glass ceilings in the media industry for women and as a person with muscular dystrophy. She took on […]

Sansum’s excellence in imaging stands out in October October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual effort to raise awareness about the impact of the disease on women, their families, and their communities. Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in women in the United States, with approximately one in eight women […]

Purple reigned at CADA’s 35th annual Amethyst Ball: Romance in Rio at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum with 230 glamorously garbed, masked, and befeathered guests raising in excess of $300,000 for the 73-year-old nonprofit that fights alcoholism and drug abuse and has served more than 18,000 addicted youth and adults in that time. Emceed by […]

There are a number of reading programs for students in Santa Barbara, including several administered by nonprofits. Tina Hansen McEnroe is absolutely clear about what makes the McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at the Gevirtz School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, stand out from all the rest.  “How are we different? It’s […]