Tag archives: community

Big plans are in store for Hillside, the residential facility for 59 people with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy. Hillside’s Community Project will transform its model of care by creating a new, integrated, mixed-abilities neighborhood on its 24-acre property in Hidden Valley featuring homes, townhomes, and apartments for seniors and […]

From DakhaBrakha and The Linda Lindas to Lang Lang and Ballet Preljocaj, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2022-2023 season included a luminous lineup of both world-renowned and up-and-coming musicians in a variety of genres, dance companies of far-reaching dimensions, and a full slate of forward-thinking and timely speakers and spoken word artists.  The season was a […]

Yes. Our warm, wet, and lovely home planet is tilted weirdly on its axis – like a white-wine lightweight after an author’s luncheon, more or less. As it races around the local ball of fire at around 67,000 mph, Earth’s angular disposition in relation to the sun makes the days here longer, there shorter. Over […]

Santa Barbara’s New Beginnings Counseling Center (SBNBCC) held its grand opening with a ribbon cutting reception on Friday, June 9, at its new location, 530 East Montecito Street, Suite 101. The event was well attended, with noted state and local politicians – Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA24), Senator Monique Limón, First District Supervisor Das Williams, District […]

When New Beginnings began serving Santa Barbara as a nonprofit half a century ago, providing confidential, therapeutic psychological testing, assessment, and counseling to low-income individuals and families in the greater Santa Barbara area was its core mission. Experienced masters-and-doctoral-level counselors support clients exploring life transitions, relationship issues, and any number of other concerns – including […]

Santa Barbara nonprofit Community Environmental Council has long been on the forefront of the environmental movement ever since its founding more than 50 years ago. Among its groundbreaking accomplishments in those early decades, CEC founded one of the nation’s first ecology centers, as well as the first learning and research community gardens. CEC was instrumental […]

Rona Barrett is most famous for her long career as a pioneering journalist, columnist, broadcaster, and producer who covered the entertainment industry for decades. The trailblazer interviewed a huge swath of superstars, including Raquel Welch and Tom Cruise, broke countless stories from the world of Hollywood, and became the public’s trusted insider – documenting the […]

Kimberly Ray, the founder and CEO of Marine Conservation Network, remembers what it was like to grow up in and on the water. As the daughter of a fisherman, she spent countless hours swimming, diving, snorkeling – “Whatever I could do to get in the water,” she recalled.  Wanting to continue that path, Ray earned […]

As might be expected with an organization that has been around for 100 years, there have been a lot of changes at United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) over the course of a century of service that began in 1923. Originally known as the Santa Barbara Community Chest, the nonprofit’s model focused almost exclusively […]

Homelessness has been growing in Santa Barbara, where last year nearly 2,000 people were living without shelter, a situation that has been very visible as evidenced by the number of encampments encroaching along railroad paths, roadsides, and waterfronts throughout the county. The same story exists in virtually every corner of California in what increasingly seems […]

The programming for the Santa Barbara Symphony’s milestone 70th anniversary has resulted in a sensational and supremely successful season, a nine-month musical journey that has weaved together a variety of collaborative explored genres and cultural traditions. Concerts have cut a wide swath across and beyond what is traditionally considered classical music, including such uniquely Santa […]

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 […]

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 […]

Two weeks ago, the Hands team was on a countywide conference call regarding the upcoming camp clearing by Union Pacific. Outreach teams should attempt to get everyone camping along the railroad tracks into shelter before the clearing. Shelter beds, of course, are scarce. PATH, the Rescue Mission, and the Salvation Army are the only providers, […]

A society news reporter goes where the news is, and this week the spotlight is on fitness. Get those sneakers on kids! April 5th marked the annual American Heart Association’s (AHA) National Walking Day—and the start of your new exercise goals during April walking month. To celebrate it in true California-Girl style is fitness icon […]

Santa Barbara’s Rescue Mission hosted its annual Easter Feast and for the 16th year, where I offered my volunteer services as more than 300 needy homeless tucked into a chicken, ham, and macaroni and cheese dinner. David Fletcher, head of food service, cooked 160 pounds of ham, 160 pounds of chicken, 100 pounds of potatoes, […]

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 […]

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’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 […]