Tag archives: charity
Having volunteered at the Rescue Mission for the past 13 years, I had to miss acting as a waiter at the Rescue Mission’s annual Thanksgiving Feast this year because of the pandemic restrictions. However, as the 55-year-old shelter is designated as “an essential service,” 40 homeless at a time were allowed in to nosh on […]
Math-whiz turned massively successful investor Pete Muller is passionate about all of his pursuits. Besides his family, surfing, poker, and solving and creating crossword puzzles, there’s his day job as the creator and manager of one of the most sought after quant-driven hedge funds on the planet, the aptly-named Process Driven Trading, which has never […]
It was announced earlier this week that after a second round of disbursements to hourly workers in Montecito, the 93108Fund will go back into hibernation, now that businesses have been permitted by the State and County to reopen their doors. The 93108Fund, a non-profit started after the 2018 debris flow, distributed a first round of […]
How does a grassroots initiative go from start-up to raising more than $5 million in just two years? This is the heartening local story of the 805 Undocufund. It’s worth knowing about, because it is inspiring to anyone who cares about a cause and who wonders what’s possible. The 805 Undocufund began in the shadow […]
The Cecilia Fund is Santa Barbara’s oldest philanthropic charity founded in 1892. It was due to host “Earl Gray & Chardonnay” at the Santa Barbara Club for its annual tea and membership drive until the pandemic. It’s named after St. Cecilia but was never affiliated with any church. Its founding members all played musical instruments […]
It was the little idea that could: born out of a mid-April brainstorming session – via Zoom – with Montecito business owners, stakeholders, and MJ CEO Gwyn Lurie and COO Tim Buckley.The overarching question from all: “What can we do?” Do to survive, do to help, do to show some love to the local businesses […]
Montecito community members are joining with Westmont to serve the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, which has distributed 2.25 million pounds of food during the COVID-19 response. Residents can drop off food at the rear parking lot of Montecito Bank & Trust on Coast Village Road on Saturday, May 9, between 9 am and noon […]
Sarah Boggs likes to reminisce about living out her formative years in New Orleans. “People were constantly outside, constantly enjoying neighbors and friends, constantly going to festivals,” she recalls. “And they were always drinking!” Her move to Santa Barbara provided much of the same: an outdoor-driven lifestyle and plenty of good wine to drink. “We’re […]
Just in time for the coronavirus lockdown, Belgian-born Pierre Nizet, the first medical director of Casa Dorinda, has come up with a series of fiendishly difficult cryptic clues to while away the stultifying boredom. Each clue has two parts, one a normal definition of the answer, the other an additional hint using wordplay. “During my […]
The coronavirus pandemic has stretched many local charitable organizations to the limit, particularly the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. “The need we are seeing now is unlike anything we’ve witnessed before,” says CEO Erik Talkin.”This disaster affecting everyone in the county, and the world, at exactly the same time is unprecedented. And the precipitous job […]
It was an early start when the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation hosted its 6th annual Little Heroes breakfast for 400 guests at the Hilton, which raised more than $60,000 for the popular charity. The boffo bash, co-chaired by Heather Ayer, Matt Fish, and Brittany Dobson, featured the eccentric Patch Adams, better known as a medical […]
The late Montecito actor Kirk Douglas, who died earlier this month aged 103, has left his entire $60 million fortune to charity. Kirk, who was known for his charitable contributions throughout his life, has reportedly left the money to several major beneficiaries, including $50 million distributed by the Douglas Foundation, founded by the actor and […]
CADA – The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse – hosted a kickoff party for its 34th annual Amethyst Ball Motown at the Miramar on March 27. The bash in the ritzy Rosewood hostelry’s library was to find underwriters for the various components of the popular ball, including invitations, car parking, the band, and decor, so […]
As 2019 comes to an end, I’m choosing to focus on what’s right in front of my nose and how grateful I am that Montecito is my home. Today, seated at Merci near Vons in my favorite corner booth (for which I really should be paying rent – thank you Elizabeth and Stephane), before I […]
Join Richie Ramirez and his team in donating a toy of your choice for a child from toddler to teen. Just drop off the unwrapped toy at his barber shop on Coast Village Road during regular business hours starting now through Tuesday, December 17. Richie shared a few details about the toy drive in an […]
The Santa Barbara Basketball Court of Champions, begun in 2014 to recognize people in the community who have made significant contributions to the sport, hosts charity basketball games to honor our local First Responders Saturday, December 7, at 2 pm in Westmont’s Murchison Gym. The event features teams of police and sheriffs against firefighters and […]
The 22nd 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 […]
There’s always something new to write about. I got a call from Holly Murphy. She and her husband, Bob, were co-hosting a cocktail party at the Biltmore with John Paul and Lina Belltran to start a new chapter of World of Children in Santa Barbara. The Murphys had been supporters in Los Angeles for five […]
The elegantly dressed amazons were out in force at the Hidden Oaks Ranch when the charity Gwendolyn’s Playground, which is raising $4 million to build an all-inclusive play area, including disabled children, in partnership with the City of Santa Barbara and Parks and Recreation, at the Dwight Murphy Field, a tiara’s toss from the Santa […]
Heal the Ocean (HTO) goes annually to the El Paseo Restaurant for fun and to raise money to “Heal the Ocean.” It never looked better. The decorations were smashing, all done up in blue and white light reminding one of the ocean. At each guest’s place was a travel bag by Aloha that was also […]
