Tag archives: Unity Shoppe
While finishing landscaping touches take place on the Olive Mill Roundabout, crews have been busy beautifying Coast Village Road for the holidays. Last week a tree lighting took place, featuring performances and appearances by Santa Barbara High School Madrigals, Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Festival Ballet (Nutcracker characters). Santa Barbara Mayor Randy […]
Even more locals know about Unity Shoppe’s annual holiday telethon, which was co-founded by Montecito’s own Kenny Loggins during the heyday of his career back in the mid-1980s. That was also when the nonprofit opened its first store after six decades of moving around, engendering the idea of maintaining dignity and autonomy for low-income residents […]
You may not have noticed, but Unity Shoppe, one of Santa Barbara’s oldest nonprofits, had a significant change in its leadership just last summer. That’s when Executive Director Tom Reed, who had led the organization best known for its storefront shop providing locals in need with groceries, clothing, and other essentials, as well as toys […]
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 […]
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 […]
It might seem like bad timing to be writing about Unity Shoppe in the last week of the year, considering the nonprofit just held its 35th annual holiday telethon — the latest edition of the annual marathon fundraiser that airs on KEYT-TV — on December 12. After all, the event brings together all sorts of […]
‘Tis the season for our little slice of heaven to showcase its robust heart, with nonprofits across the South Coast hosting a plethora of events and fundraisers to aid those in need. Throughout the season, we’ll highlight companies that need help in order to hit their goals. This week, we take a look at the […]
1936-2020 Immigrant daughter from humble beginnings internalized her family’s “Lessons to Live By” and became a community hero by dedicating her life to serving people in crisis Unity Shoppe lost our matriarch and founder, Barbara Tellefson, after a brief bout with an aggressive illness. She was 84. Barbara’s singular focus and half-century of devotion to […]
Last Sunday, community godfather and Christmas Elf Dana Newquist organized the second Montecito-To-Unity toy and fundraising drive and caravan for delivery. A great group met up at the Upper Village in classic cars, ready to donate toys and funds for the second week in a row. Dana asked me to get up on the 1937 […]
You might recognize Dana Newquist and his 1937 Ford Fire Engine from Montecito’s annual Fourth of July parade, which he cofounded in 1996. Newquist bought the engine about 20 years ago from a Hollywood producer who used the vehicle for only a day – the lovingly restored, bright-red truck still bears the previous owner’s initials […]
Pound for pound, or rather inch for inch, it’s doubtful that Santa Barbara has ever had a more hardworking, tireless, dedicated, and effective advocate for the underprivileged than Barbara Tellefson. The founder and president of Santa Barbara’s Unity Shoppe, who passed away at 84 on November 22, was an undeniable dynamo whose stature and influence […]
Hospice Santa Barbara has installed our Christmas tree in the Upper Village for the third year in a row, and Light Up A Life takes place December 16 at 6 pm. We will be well into Hanukkah, and closing in on the Winter Solstice on December 21, the longest night of the year. Light Up […]
On a personal note I remember Barbara Tellefson, founder and president of the Unity Shoppe, who lost her valiant battle with a terminal illness aged 84. A woman of extraordinary fortitude and passion, Barbara was without doubt a force of nature who devoted her life to the century-old nonprofit, working innumerable hours directing operations for […]
Although based in New York, the distinctive three-dimensional work of Charles Fazzino is recognized by many locals who have visited or simply just walked by his prominent State Street gallery. The 3D Studio Gallery is located under Hotel Santa Barbara and displays a range of his unique structural artworks of cityscapes, celebrities, and other pop […]
Santa Barbara charity The Unity Shoppe is undergoing one of the most devastating chapters in its 100-year history. The number of people requiring help during the coronavirus pandemic has tripled to more than 3,500 families of four who need food services twice a month, compared to 1,000 families normally. “It used to be people living […]
Unity Shoppe has come a long way back since a huge gap in its funding forced the nonprofit agency – the largest, single direct distributor of food, clothing, and necessities in the county – into briefly closing its distribution doors for two months in the fall of 2019. The nonprofit shut its doors for the […]
Unity Shoppe (Unity) is offering free food and other essentials to Santa Barbarans who are now unemployed or unable to work due to the spread and impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. To meet the overwhelming need, Unity has consolidated its offerings to food distribution alone and now estimates it is serving more than three times […]
In Defense of New Sanitary District Building The need for staff showers at the Montecito Sanitary District wastewater treatment plant should be obvious. Staff are working with pathogen-loaded water that also contains antibiotic resistant microbes and their genes. This is biologically loaded pathogenic material (liquid and solids) capable of transferring pathogens to staff, their homes, […]
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, […]
The 7th annual Season of Hope food and toy drive is underway; Montecito Fire Protection District is now accepting donations of non-perishable foods and new, unwrapped toys at both fire stations. The community-wide event is sponsored by KSBY and includes local non-profit organizations, fire departments, and several businesses. The donations go to the Unity Shoppe’s “Central Distribution Facility,” […]
