Tag archives: community
Attending this weekend’s Nonviolent Communication Conference at SBCC School of Extended Learning’s Wake Center won’t make you an expert in personal development nor a perfect practitioner of the method of relating designed to create connection instead of conflict. But the immersive three-day conference is chock full of lectures and workshops where participants will have plenty […]
The Montecito Family YMCA is gearing up for another summer filled with adventure, laughter, and enriching the lives of the Y campers, parents, and staff. Y Camp is accredited by the American Camp Association, which recognizes that the YMCA facilitates summer camp programs that are committed to building a safe, nurturing environment for their children. […]
Montecito Bank & Trust President and COO George Leis will join the YMCA of the USA board; Leis is a past chair and current board member for the Channel Islands YMCA, serving seven branches from Lompoc to Camarillo, and now he will join Y-USA as a board member. “It is an honor to be nominated […]
CBB (Congregation B’Nai B’rith) brought the Hilton Santa Barbara to life with over 300 celebrants for their biennial gala. They are a congregation of 800 households founded in 1927. This year’s theme was Roots2Wings, inspired by a poem written by Rabbi Stephen Cohen. This is an excerpt from two pages. It’s entitled “Who Are We?” […]
“It takes more than a village… it takes a community.” The theme of the Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) luncheon was Community and purple is their color. We were in the Loggia Room at the Santa Barbara Biltmore to celebrate what has been accomplished so that victims are visible – not invisible – and to raise […]
Stylists at Richie’s Barber Shop on Coast Village Road proved they were a cut above the rest 24 hours before Valentine’s Day. Staffers Jessica Jay and Mary Tsushima visited the Friendship Center, a licensed adult day program for seniors, a tiara’s toss from All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church and set up a popup shop to enable […]
Community awards were the highlight of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation’s 56th annual meeting in the Presidio Chapel. The Sue Higman Volunteer of the Year award went to Kyle Slattery, with the Life Honorary Director Award to John Poucher, the Pearl Chase Historic Preservation and Conservation Award received by Judith Dodge Orias, and […]
Last Wednesday, January 9, on the one-year anniversary of the 1/9 debris flow that devastated our community in 2018, nearly 1,500 residents turned out to mark the occasion with a gathering in Lower Manning Park followed by a candlelit walk down San Ysidro Road, culminating at All Saints-by-the-Sea Church. As community members began gathering in […]
The Day The Hill Came Down First, of course, there was the fire. The Thomas Fire, so named because it began on the campus of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula before devouring nearly 300,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara County along with nearly one thousand homes and/or structures. Following California’s cycle of cataclysms, […]
Q. I read the previous column about Jonathan Gartner and his excitement about impact investing. Isn’t philanthropy the best way to help people? I have heard that impact investing yields a low financial return. Why should I be interested in it? – Sam in Montecito Certainly, philanthropy is vitally important to our welfare at the […]
This Saturday, November 3, marks Montecito Association’s 33rd annual Beautification Day! “This year is obviously different than years past,” said co-chair of the event Houghton Hyatt. “It will be a day of coming together and celebrating our community, as the theme is ‘Better Together,’” she said. The family-friendly event will begin as usual, with a […]
Youth Interactive has a new home at 1219 State Street – a shiny, contemporary, welcoming place. Mayor Cathy Murrillo was there to cut the ribbon along with a couple hundred spectators who wined and snacked (courtesy of the El Encanto). The Hutton Parker Foundation acquired the building (formerly the Unity Shoppe) in partnership with Youth […]
Throughout my life, I have worked with people and organizations, studying and trying to help them produce change and then measure its impact validly. After 75 years of life, I feel like I have put my time to good use and learned a lot, not only about systems – how they work at the cellular, […]
Since the debris flow of January 9, 21 of the 23 victims have been found but, sadly, two have not. Lydia Sutthithepa and John “Jack” Cantin are still missing. The search for Jack and Lydia lies at the heart of our community’s quest for closure after this horrible tragedy. Looking for Montecito’s lost children is […]
At this month’s Montecito Association (MA) Board meeting, three new faces joined the organization, including new executive director Sharon Byrne. Outgoing executive director Allison Marcillac, hired in November, lost her home in the mudslide in January, and has decided to resign in order to focus her time and effort on rebuilding her home. “I have […]
Montecito is blessed with an extraordinary collection of doers, believers, thinkers, and dreamers. While it takes contributions from all four types to craft a community recovery program, it is the local “doers” who earn my admiration because they seize the day to take ownership of problems rather than wait for others to act. Here is […]
Last week, United Way of Santa Barbara County announced the distribution of the last of the funds donated to the organization following the Thomas Fire and debris flow. The second and last phase of funds are assisting households representing more than 1,200 Santa Barbara County individuals and families and 20 community organizations. The total amount […]
The County of Santa Barbara announced earlier this week that it will transition County services out of the Montecito Center on Coast Village Circle by Friday, August 31. The Center was opened in March as a central location for residents impacted by the Thomas Fire and debris flow to access support and services. “The County […]
Let’s call it “extraordinary,” as it certainly was out of the ordinary. I am referring to, of course, the recent Our Common Table event that occurred on the grounds of Montecito Union School on July 26. “We were worried we wouldn’t have enough food, and then the firefighters brought in thirty pounds of pulled pork […]
Well, now, here’s a good idea, and it’s one we believe will receive a hugely positive response from Montecito residents. The recent Village Fourth Parade and Celebration – sponsored by the Montecito Association and financed by the Montecito Community Foundation – was an expression made up of equal parts of patriotism, community, joy, and relief, […]
