Tag archives: charity

RiteCare Childhood Language Center of Santa Barbara
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 25, 2023

RiteCare Childhood Language Center of Santa Barbara, founded in 1984, is the only nonprofit in Santa Barbara County offering free language and speech therapy for children. As might be expected, the need is great, and with only two Speech-Language Pathologists on staff, RiteCare has waiting lists much longer than they would like.  That’s because the […]

Endowment for Youth Community
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 18, 2023

The Endowment for Youth Committee (EYC) is one of the oldest nonprofits serving the needs of African American students and the greater Black community on the Central Coast, with a history that dates back 37 years. The heart and soul of the nonprofit has always been the EYC Scholar Program, which is geared toward young […]

Freedom 4 Youth
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 4, 2023

Freedom 4 Youth’s Director of Development & Advocacy Dylan Griffith and Executive Director Dr. Billi Jo Starr knew immediately what they wanted to highlight in this week’s Giving List column focusing on the nonprofit, whose mission it is to uplift and empower youth – those impacted by the criminal justice system – to build safe […]

Explore Ecology
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 28, 2023

Imagine an artistic hub in downtown Santa Barbara brimming with materials, tools, ideas, and creativity, a curated and dynamic gathering space where community members are welcome to imagine, invent, create and collaborate, all in an ecologically friendly way.  That’s the idea behind a new vision for the Art From Scrap (AFS) workshop as a permanent […]

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 21, 2023

Over the last couple of months (and as recent as this week), Montecito residents have been repeatedly reminded of the deadly debris flows of Jan. 9, 2018, as atmospheric rivers have resulted in torrential downpours bringing back memories of massive floods that claimed 23 lives and is still being cleaned up today.  But a couple […]

Dunn School
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 14, 2023

Dunn School’s Kalyan Balaven, head of school for the private co-ed college prep boarding and day school in Los Olivos, had no idea of the floodgates that would open when he decided to find a way to help a student from the Ukraine who early last year was initially only seeking a few extra days […]

Planned Parenthood California Central Coast
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 7, 2023

Planned Parenthood California Central Coast (PPCCC) is one of scores of affiliates across the country that share a vision of a future where everyone has an equitable opportunity to experience health and wellness – including high-quality sexual and reproductive health care provided with respect and without judgment.  Founded in 1964, PPCCC might be best known […]

World Telehealth Initiative
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 28, 2023

It took a little while to reach Sharon Allen of the World Telehealth Initiative (WTI) to arrange an interview last week. That’s because the cofounder and executive director of the barely 5-year-old nonprofit was over in Ukraine, in the midst of a week-long visit to the war-torn country as part of a special expansion of […]

Aligning Hearts and Minds
By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

Hearts Aligned, the two-year-old Santa Barbara charity which supports critically ill children, threw its first Hearts to Hearts Valentine’s lunch with 156 guests at the Cabrillo Pavilion, raising around $100,000 for low-income youngsters. The ubiquitous Janet Garufis, chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, emceed the fun oceanside fête, as well as acting as […]

The Community Hot Rod Project
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 14, 2023

Kevin Haeberle, the Santa Barbara native who heads a nonprofit called The Community Hot Rod Project and the self-described “gearhead,” wants people to know that the organization isn’t only about hanging out with hot rods.  Sure, Haeberle has an impressive resumé that includes being selected fresh out of high school to be one of eight […]

Common Table Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 31, 2023

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 […]

C.A.R.E.4Paws
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 17, 2023

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 […]

Yuletide Angels
By Richard Mineards   |   January 10, 2023

Uber realtor Adam McKaig hosted his 10th annual Adam’s Angels Yuletide Lunch at the Veterans Building for 500 homeless while corralling a host of rockers, including Kenny Loggins, Maitland Ward, Jackson Gillies, The Traveling Hurtados, and Jan and Henry Ingram to entertain. Guests noshed on 400 pounds of ham, and gargantuan amounts of potatoes and […]

A Bountiful Feast at the Rescue Mission
By Richard Mineards   |   January 10, 2023

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 […]

Food from the Heart:  Delivering Warm Meals and Human Connection
By Claudia Schou   |   December 27, 2022

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 […]

Hillside’s 6th Annual Shining Light on Abilities
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 20, 2022

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 […]

11th Annual Richie’s Barber Shop Holiday Donation Drive: This Year for St. Vincent’s and Adam’s Angels
By Joanne A Calitri   |   December 13, 2022

Richie’s Barber Shop on Coast Village Road is having its 11th Annual Holiday Donation Drive, this year for St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara and Adam’s Angels. The Shop’s event chair and lead barber Jessica Jay is coordinating with Regina Ruiz, Chief Development Officer of St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara, and with Adam McKaig, who formed Adam’s Angels […]

Celebratory Farewell to Reed
By Richard Mineards   |   December 13, 2022

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 […]

A Food-filled Mission
By Richard Mineards   |   December 6, 2022

David Fletcher, head food service specialist at the Rescue Mission, certainly had his hands full on Thanksgiving Day, not only preparing for more than 300 homeless guests, but three other local organizations, adding another 100 recipients. David, who started on the job last year, says it has gotten easier as time goes by, with 25 […]

Turkey, Angels, and Pies… Oh My
By Richard Mineards   |   December 6, 2022

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 […]