Below are ways parents and kids can give back to our community. Click the Non-Profit Spotlight to read about our featured non-profit and see their wish list.
SBParent.com believes strongly in families giving back to their community by volunteering their time and making donations. Families can make a difference in their community without it necessarily being a big time commitment or expense.
Set an example for your children by demonstrating different ways to give, through donating toys and clothes or by helping serve meals during the holidays. You will be teaching your children empathy and compassion.
Individuals, community groups, businesses and employees welcome. Call 805-681-0531 (or e-mail tkeramaris@rfbd.org) to schedule a time.
RECORDING FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC
We have a year-round need for recording volunteers, outreach volunteers, & administrative volunteers. Monetary donations are always welcome.
• About Us:
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) exists to provide audio textbooks and other educational materials that will help print disabled students fulfill their educational dreams. Our commitment is to create opportunities for individual success and change lives for the better at all grade levels in schools, locally and nationally. Our vision is to give everyone equal access to the printed word.
The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation and The City of Hope have partnered together to provide free Bone Marrow Testing for our community for a number of local community events now through June 7th. Please join us with the Montes De Oca Family to help find a Bone Marrow match and help save Aaron's life. In the last 3 years alone there have been 14 children under the age of 17 in the Tri-Counties alone who have found a bone marrow match. These are just Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation families. Imagine how many more have found a match because of efforts from people such as yourselves. Your positive match could not only make a difference for this family but could save the life of an infant, a child, someone's parent, or grandparent. A positive match is not age specific and all it takes is 3 minutes- a Q-tip swab to the inside of your cheek. Remember there is NO CHARGE!
Please take a moment to meet Aaron Montes De Oca. You could be his and his family's hero. SO PLEASE get tested at these locations and dates:
Santa Barbara Fair & Expo, April 23rd-27th
Mother's Day 5K, May 3rd
Spring Fling, May 18th
Big Dog Parade, June 7th
This is a letter from Aaron's mom Lynne:
My son, Aaron Montes De Oca, is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant. His ethnicity puts him at a statistical disadvantage as he is halfHispanic and half Caucasian. He has been accepted by The City of Hope for a bone marrow transplant is a matched donor can be located. We have set up a website on his behalf to encourage people to join the Bone Marrow Registry:
http://www.SaveMyDaddy.com
Do you know what happens to many Hispanics who are sick and in need of a bone marrow transplant? Many of them die needlessly waiting for a transplant simply because Hispanics as a group are under represented in the Bone Marrow registry.
You see, genetics is what determines the match from a donor to a patient, and thus Hispanic donors are most likely to be a match for Hispanic patients. But we do not have enough Hispanic donors to meet the needs of the Hispanic patients now waiting for a bone marrow transplant. This inequity is a sad and needless fact.
The reason I know about this dire circumstance, is that our son Aaron Montes De Oca, is in immediate need of a bone marrow transplant. He will die without one. Aaron has been accepted by The City of Hope for a transplant as soon as a donor can be found.
How can you help? Spread the word among your family, friends, business and social organizations, how easy it is for all of us to register with the Bone Marrow Registry. You can be tested for free if you are at least 25% minority, with a simple oral cheek swab at a local donor drive near you. You may also set up a donor drive free of charge at your work, school, church or civic location. We can end this alarming situation once and for all.
Give the gift of life. You may even be the one to make our miracle happen. Please take a look at our website, it should answer any questions.
We sincerely thank you for your time and considerations, and hope you will please help us change this situation for all Hispanics who need a transplant. Let us protect our children from needless death in the event they ever need a bone marrow transplant.
• About Us: City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases, guided by a compassionate patient-centered philosophy, and supported by a national foundation of humanitarian philanthropy.
• Phone: (805) 962-7466 • Contact: Nikki & Laura • Address: 133 East De La Guerra Street, No 163 • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary, Special Event Volunteer Opportunities
Alpha Thrift Stores
Help support programs for people with developmental disabilities! The greatest demand is for clothing, bric-a-brac, household items, furniture and jewelry; automobiles, trailers, campers and boats are also accepted. They can even pick up your donations. Alpha Thrift Stores now has two Goleta locations... 5624 Hollister Ave (at Kellogg) or 5949 Hollister Ave (at Fairview). • About Us: Alpha Resource Center is a nonprofit organization, established in 1953, that provides services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families in the Santa Barbara County. • Phone: (805) 964-1123 • Address: 5624 Hollister Ave • website • Opportunities: Donations - Other
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit fighting out nation's #1 and #3 killers, heart disease and stroke.
Here are just a few ways we are involved in the Santa Barbara Community: Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a joint movement started by the William J. Clinton Foundation and the AHA to encourage young people to engage in healthy and active lifestyles. Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for Heart- Classroom lessons and fundraising activities for elementary and middle school students that combines education, physical activity and community service. Start! is our groundbreaking new national movement that calls on all Americans and their employers to create a culture of physical activity and health to live longer, heart-healthy lives through walking. This year-long campaign culminates in the Start! Heart Walk celebration. Food Certification Program- The American Heart Association's red-and-white heart-check mark helps grocery shoppers quickly identify foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Get with the Guidelines is the premier hospital-based quality improvement program. It empowers health-care provider teams to consistently treat heart and stroke patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines. Heartsaver & Family and Friends CPR & First Aid Training- Credentialed and non-credentialed courses in CPR and first aid teaching you how to respond to a cardiac arrest, choking, or first aid emergency. Go Red for Women is the AHA's national call to increase awareness of heart disease-the leading cause of death for women-and to inspire women to take charge of their heart health. We celebrate this cause campaign with the annual Go Red for Women Luncheon. Heart Gala- Come celebrate the success of the American Heart Association and help us fund extraordinary programs and research by being a part of this fabulous event with dinner, a silent and live auction and lots of dancing.
• Phone: (805) 963-8862 • Address: 212 West Figeroa St Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary
Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
Angels was established to offer excellent foster homes and stabilize babies, meeting the growing demand for licensed foster homes in Santa Barbara County. We are looking for families that reside within Santa Barbara County that are willing to foster or foster-adopt an infant or toddler. Angels parents agree to keep the child until reunification with the birth parents or adoption occurs. A twelve-month commitment is usual. • About Us: Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara is a non-profit charity that recruits, screens and trains foster parents in Santa Barbara County to care for infants and toddlers. In Santa Barbara County last year, 200 children were sent out of our community due to a lack of foster homes and/or services. Our families take only one child or sibling group at a time, must have a stay-at-home parent, and keep the child until he/she is out of the dependency system to avoid moving the child around. This encourages normal bonding and the children are stable, loved and cared for. Angels is entirely funded by grants and individual donations. Your support is greatly appreciated. • Phone: (805) 898-0901 • Contact: Meichelle Artnz, Executive Director • Address: 3905 State Street, #7-115, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary
Art From Scrap
Volunteers are our valuable partners who assist in all areas of Art From Scrap. Adults, high school and college students, business groups, and those needing community service hours or participating in Teen Court are welcome.
Business Partners sponsor the AFS School Materials Program. This program offers "Reuse" supplies to teachers for free or at a low cost - saving on school budgets and incorporating the concept of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" into local schools.
Pre-approved donations of clean and safe re-useable materials from businesses and individuals. Donations reduce your disposal costs, keep items out of the landfill, and are tax-deductible.
• About Us:
Art From Scrap is an independent 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
• Green Schools is the environmental education program with a focus on waste diversion, water quality and school gardens, serving over 12,000 students and teachers throughout Santa Barbara County by presenting over 600 in-class lessons and field trips to Art From Scrap, the Recycling Center, the Watershed Resource Center and creek sites each year.
• AFS Reuse Store provides an innovative solution to the lack of funds for the arts, while also decreasing the amount of trash going to the landfill, by supplying low-cost, recycled materials to schools, community organizations, families and the general public.
• Community Art activities expand opportunities for children and adults to explore their creativity through art workshops at the AFS Art Center, professional art shows in the AFS Gallery, and partnerships with community organizations to conduct free art activities at their events and festivals.
• Phone: (805) 884-0459 • Address: 302 East Cota Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Assistance League of SB
Assistance League of Santa Barbara seeks funds from contributions and grants. The funds are used for our philanthropic projects. We are a 501(3)(c) corporation and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Donations may be made at any time by cash, check payable to Assistance League of Santa Barbara, Visa or Mastercard.
Donations of new and used items ranging from clothing to furniture are gratefully accepted during business hours at our Assistance Shop located at our Chapter headquarters.
• About Us: Assistance League of Santa Barbara is a nonprofit all volunteer organization that develops and implements projects to benefit children and adults in Santa Barbara County.
Assistance League of Santa Barbara and its auxiliaries, Las Aletas and Assisteens®, currently sponsor 13 philanthropic projects, which continue to enhance and expand to meet the needs of our community. These projects are funded entirely through donations, grants and proceeds from our Assistance Shop located on Veronica Springs Road in Santa Barbara. See how you can get involved... Operation School Bell, Teen School Bell, Bear H.U.G.S., Kids on the Block, Fun in the Sun, Fostering Friends, SB Smiles, Family Learning Program, Very Improved Performers, Operation Bookshelf, The Little Cottage, Friendship Luncheon, Hillside House.
• Phone: (805) 898-1967 • Address: 1259 Veronica Springs Rd Santa Barbara, CA 93105 • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Backpacks & School Supplies
The Associated Students Community Affairs Board and the Professional Women's Association collect backpacks and school supplies for low-income children in Santa Barbara County. (elementary and junior high school) Our goal is to assemble at least 200 backpacks and gather more school supplies to help with the growing need within our community. If you are interested in donating time, money or materials please contact Michelle Miller in the Community Affairs Board office at (805) 893-4296 or Katya Armistead in the UCSB Visitor Center at (805) 893-8113.
• Phone: (805) 893-8113 or (805) 893-4296 • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
CALM
Volunteer opportunities mainly involve child care and transportation. Without our volunteers, we would not be able to provide free child care while parents are receiving treatment. It is a very important service that helps enable families to get the treatment that they need. An additional need we have is for volunteers to drive clients to and from their therapy appointments. Also, periodically, there are special community events. At those events, our volunteers staff tables in the community and dispense information regarding CALM's mission and services. All of the assignments that our volunteers so generously provide make a difference.
• About Us:
CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) is the only private non-profit agency in Santa Barbara county whose sole mission is to prevent, assess, and treat child abuse by providing comprehensive, culturally appropriate services for children, adults and families.
CALM's GOALS are to:
* IDENTIFY and reach stressed parents in order to prevent child abuse or its reoccurrence.
* PROVIDE effective treatment and support services for victims and offenders.
* TEACH children how to keep themselves safe from abuse.
* EDUCATE the public about child abuse - its causes and cures.
CALM's services are provided by credentialed psychologists, psychiatrist, marriage & family therapists, and licensed clinical social workers. CALM's administrative support staff and trained volunteers--all work under the direction of Executive Director Anna M. Kokotovic, Ph.D.
We are in need of assistance with eyeglasses for our clients. We get many requests for assistance with eyeglasses and we do not have an agency that assists since the Lions Club does not assist anymore. Thanks so much. Please reply ASAP. Thanks again! • About Us: 2-1-1 is an easy to remember phone number for non-emergency information and referral, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention. 2-1-1 is to health and human services what 911 is to emergency services.
How does 2-1-1 work?
2-1-1 HelpLine calls are answered by trained, multilingual staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and are confidential. Staff help identify what program or programs will best meet the caller's needs, provide information, connect, and/or refer callers directly to the programs that will assist them. Staff also provide immediate crisis intervention and suicide prevention. As with all 2-1-1 calls, these calls are strictly confidential.
2-1-1 HelpLine is the first point-of-access to all community services, including shelter and housing, food, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment, health facilities, counseling, mental health services, senior issues, financial assistance, legal assistance, child care, child and elder abuse services, recreation, disaster relief, crisis intervention and suicide prevention, and much more. 2-1-1 is also the number to call when you are looking for ways to give back to the community, find volunteer opportunities, and other ways to support local organizations.
• Phone: dial 211 in SB County to use the service; (318) 227-2100 • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Other
Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs
Coastal land that encapsulates the beauty of local environment, passion for conservation and the empowerment of grassroots effort.
• About Us: Weeding, native plant restoration, and maintenance is needed by parents, teachers & kids. Help with fundraising.
Kids can decorate placemats, bags or boxes with art. Kids can learn about the senior nutrition program & contribute funds for a certain number of meals. Kids can make cards & write notes to the seniors who get their meals delivered. Call director for details.
• About Us: We provide hot lunchtime meals Monday-Friday at Senior Centers as well as through CAC's Mobile Meals home delivery program for seniors who are unable to go out to eat or shop for food.
• Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities
Community Arts Music Associaton
The Community Arts Music Association supports music education in local Elementary and Junior High Schools. Volunteer docents are needed to make monthly PowerPoint music appreciation presentations in 4th - 8th grade classrooms. Computer laptops and training is provided. Some music background is helpful, but not necessary. Please contact CAMA now if you are interested in being a docent for the current or upcoming school year. • About Us: The purpose of CAMA is to enrich Santa Barbara's cultural life by the presentation of a variety of live performances by world-renowned performers and orchestras at the highest level of artistic excellence. Our mission to serve the community includes a commitment to expand and enrich audience appreciation and education through various forms of media and to offer associated music outreach programs to the widest possible audience.
• Phone: (805) 966-4324 • Contact: Joan Crossland • Address: 111 E. Yanonali Street • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities
Community Counseling & Education Center
CCEC needs 8 Comfortable Chairs, 2 Floor Lamps, Storage Unit, Armoire, Racks for Brochures, 20 hours of Capentry Work, Blinds for Offices. Monetary donations are always welcome.
CCEC is looking for a permanent home to house the agency for the future. Can you help? The donation of this building will guarantee the continuation of much needed services in our community.
• About Us: Community Counseling & Education Center (CCEC) is grateful for the opportunity to provide the community with affordable, bi-lingual counseling and educational services. This is our 23rd year in Santa Barbara offering day and evening appointments on a sliding fee scale, ongoing educational classes and support groups along with evening and weekend presentations. We are here to support you in any way we can. Contact Patricia at 962-3363 x2 for general information, to set up an appointment or to enroll in one of our classes or support groups.
Affordable Individual, couples, child, teen and family counseling
Single Parent Project
Spanish Speaking Families Project
Teaching Peace Project
Ongoing Communication Skills Classes
Ongoing Platicas de Familia
Girls Rule! group for girls ages 10 – 13
Boys Voices! group for boys ages 9- 12
Children’s Feelings Group
C.E.U. classes
All services are confidential, professional & affordable. We are open week days Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9a.m – 2 p.m.
• Phone: (805) 962-3363 • Contact: Patricia Cooper • Address: 923 Olive Street Suite 1 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Community Kitchen of Santa Barbara
We are always looking for new volunteers. We need people to pick up food and deliver snacks to programs; people who would like to help serve food to residents of the homeless shelter at lunchtimes or in the evenings.
PLEASE SUPPORT US OVER THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION
Mail: PO Box 22960 Santa Barbara CA 93121
• About Us: For the last 15 years, the Community Kitchen of Santa Barbara has been feeding the young, hungry and homeless of Santa Barbara. We operate free healthy snack and meal programs for afterschool programs catering to children from low-income families, as well as food-giveaway and meal programs. Our kitchen is located at 816 Cacique Street in Santa Barbara
Please donate blankets, jackets, sweatshirts for kids and adults in the Goleta School districts. • About Us: We help many families (60 or more) each year.
Men and women of all ages are needed in almost every department of the hospital. Dedication, a desire to help others, and a few hours each week is all we ask. Most people volunteer to be helpful to others but find the experience to be rewarding and inspirational to themselves.
As a volunteer you will become a part of the very foundation of Cottage Health System. Your time, your skills, and your compassion help Cottage provide the best care for our community.
Volunteer opportunities are available to everyone who is at least 14 years of years of age and eager to become a part of the healthcare team at Cottage Health System.
Special event volunteer opportunities available, too.
Donations for capital campaign as well as gifts for patients that are in original packaging are accepted.
• About Us: Cottage Health System, formed in 1996 as the not-for-profit parent organization of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (including Cottage Children's Hospital), Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, and Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital is guided by a volunteer board of directors from the greater Santa Barbara community and provides the residents of the Central and South Coast with exemplary health care, continuous improvements in medical practice, and a commitment to our communities. • Phone: (805) 879-8992 • Contact: Dana Goba • Address: PO Box 689, SB, CA 93102 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Special Event Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Other
Direct Relief International
Kids can visit the local headquarters for a tour and video overview on the global mission of Direct Relief. Spend 45 minutes assembling health kits for families in Africa while learning about children who have lived in poverty and suffered from famine and illness.
Kids can raise money by doing fundraising projects.
• About Us: Direct Relief International provides medical assistance to improve the quality of life for people victimized by poverty, disaster, and civil unrest at home and throughout the world. We work to strengthen the in-country health efforts of our partners by providing essential material resources - medicines, supplies and equipment.
The following donations would help support DVS's programs for women and children: area rugs, bath towels/rugs, collapsible port-a cribs, dustbuster, art supplies for children fun, learning toys for children, children's books, tickets to places such as Natural History Museum, Sea Center, Botanic Gardens, Art from Scrap, etc.
Volunteer opportunities are available for individuals.
Clubs or groups can volunteer together at a one-day work party or sponsor a holiday party.
• About Us: Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County works to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence by providing prevention and intervention services and by challenging society's attitudes, beliefs and behaviors to effect social change.
DVS is dedicated to providing safe and confidential shelter for battered women and their children throughout Santa Barbara County. We provide emotional support and personal advocacy to battered women and other women in crisis, enabling them to recognize strengths and resources within themselves. We encourage women to be empowered to be free to make choices. We play a leadership role in effecting social change by educating the community, by associations with other social change groups and by supporting the work of women's rights organizations.
Domestic Violence Solutions earns highest, four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Rating reflects excellence in fiscal responsibility and charitable efficiency.
• Phone: (805) 964-5245 • Address: P.O. Box 1536 Santa Barbara, CA 93102 • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Donating Stuffed Animals & Books
There is a group of young girls in New York that started a project that they have been doing for 8 years. It is a great thing to start locally because it is a hands on way for kids to give back. Below is how you can do this by having your kids and some of their friends get together once or twice a year to get the animals and books ready to donate.
Raise money among friends and in your community to pay for shipping if you want to send overseas and to pay for supplies to restore the stuffed animals. You may be able to get craft stores to donate some items.
Kids can help by donating their animals and books or by contributing some of their allowance to help raise money. They can also assist with restoring the animals.
Give them a lift by washing them and putting fresh buttons or ribbons on them. You can wrap the books in tissue paper and a ribbon to make it more fun.
Donate to other countries, give to a local hospital or organization that helps underprivileged kids, Research organizations that could benefit from this and then commit to doing it each year at the same time. I would encourage you to do this after the holidays when people tend to forget about giving. Another thought is to put together a package with a book and stuffed animal for Easter.
Opportunities: Donations - Other
Elings Park
Elings Park is the largest and most diverse, nonprofit 501(c)(3) park in Santa Barbara and the Tri-Counties area, offering a wide range of activities including Summer Camp for kids, bicycle moto-cross (BMX) track, off-leash dog program, paragliding and hang gliding, youth/adult soccer, youth/adult softball, youth baseball, rugby and lacrosse leagues. Weddings, special events, cultural/family events and the largest veteran’s memorial site in Santa Barbara County are all part of the Elings Park experience. Elings Park is supported entirely by grants, private donations and user fees—a park built by the community, for the community. Visit the Elings Park website at www.elingspark.org . • Phone: (805) 569-5611 • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary
Free Wheelchair Mission
“Transforming lives by sharing the gift of mobility with the physically disabled poor in developing countries as motivated by Jesus Christ”.
TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO, the sight of a crippled Moroccan woman crawling across a dirt road planted a seed that germinated in 1999 when Don Schoendorfer, founder of Free Wheelchair Mission, invested his education and professional expertise as a PhD Mechanical Engineer to create a simple, rugged, and inexpensive wheelchair. The mental picture of the crawling woman's anguish and loss of dignity had haunted him for years until God opened a path for Dr. Schoendorfer.
The chairs are distributed free to those in need, regardless of one's religious affiliation if any. Click on website for more information about how you can purchase a wheelchair and send a gift card to someone you are honoring with this donation.
• Address: PO Box 513538 LA CA 90051 • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary
Friendship Center
Providing care for senior citizens during the day. Our focus is the Gold Project with is a program that seeks to enhance a sense of awareness in children about the value of growing older. Through the program, the elderly make visits to local classrooms sharing their life experiences with students, helping to bridge the gap between young and old.
• About Us: Children can visit the center and be assigned tasks such as gardening or washing vans. They can bring greeting cards and treats for the seniors. Kids can bring a craft project to work on with seniors or play games and read with the seniors.
Donate any and all unwanted furniture, clothings, toys, household items to benefit people with acquired brain injuries and HIV. Drop off at the store or call to arrange pick-up!
• Phone: (805) 884-8700 • Address: 528 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Other
Join Girls Inc. and ABC in the "BE UGLY 07" campaign. Girls Inc. is pleased to announce our partnership with ABC Television on the "BE UGLY '07" campaign, which encourages people to be real in a superficial world, just like the title character of ABC's Golden Globe-winning show, Ugly Betty. ABC is donating net proceeds from the "Be Ugly" t-shirt (which comes with a free "Empower" ring) to Girls Inc. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz composed the BE UGLY 07 theme song, "The Beauty in Ugly." When you purchase the song from iTunes, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Girls Inc. Learn more about the campaign kick-off event, where Girls Inc. girls met Betty herself, Golden Globe-winning actress America Ferrera.
• About Us:
Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara celebrates 46 years as an affiliate of a 140 year old national non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. Through educational, research-based programs, activities and advocacy, Girls Incorporated offers girls ages 5 to 18 years with opportunities to experience success as they prepare to lead independent and fulfilling lives.
Girls Inc of SB offers two licensed child care facilities, a gymnastics program, and outreach programs.
• Phone: (805) 963-4757 • Address: PO Box 236, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 • email • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Hospital Placemats
Kids can decorate placemats and send them to hospitals to brighten up the meal tray for kids and seniors in the hospital.
Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities
Hospital Visits
Take your children and deliver balloons/stuffed animals, etc. for the sick children. A great way for a mother to teach her children compassion and how important it is to care about others.
Visit retirement homes and interact with the elderly residents. Deliver meals to those homebound by illness or injury. Spend time with those that have disabilities. Serve dinner at a homeless shelter. Clean up litter at local parks and beaches. Provide transportation for elderly people to do their errands or drive those with illnesses to doctor's appointments. Read stories to kids in hospitals or orphanages. Older kids can help with tutoring young kids.
Make an appointment with the hospital wing of nursing home in our neighborhood. Bring over brownies or cookies for the residents. We walked around and smiled and offered them to everyone. They were so happy! We were both amazed what joy a little effort like that can bring. The residents' twinkling eyes and gentle pats and kind words made us feel so great.
We are part of the organization called Community of Friends.Volunteers meet every Saturday at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. The volunteers make bouquets and then deliver them accompanied with greeting cards handmade by local school children. If you know someone in the Santa Barbara area who could use a little pick-me-up bouquet of flowers, or if you would like to help make some of these special deliveries, call us.
Holidays: Every year our school decorates a huge box and places it in our center check in area. We encourage all of our parents to dontate gently used and new clothing and toys. Then we set up a "store" for our "parents in need" to shop at a specific private time. There is no limit on what they can shop for. Once our parents have shopped, then we send the remaining items to the Isla Vista Youth Projects for their families.
My 15 year old daughter and I volunteered to help 28 Goleta families have a happy holiday. My daughter did most of the computer work and I made the calls to talk to the parents and find out what the kids wanted. These are families that don't qualify for Unity but need help. Each family got a food basket, presents for the kids, and a pointsetta plant. Most families were very touched when they came to pick up the presents.
On Christmas morning, our family and friends, made breakfasts, packed them in bags, and walked downtown to pass them out on State Street. The first year we made 15 breakfasts, this year we made 40. There are many people without anywhere to go who hang out on State Street on Christmas. It feels good to share some of the true spirit of Christmas with others. I want our kids to grow up knowing that Christmas is about giving to others and the gift God gave to us. We plan to make this an annual tradition!
Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities
Junior League of SB
The Junior League of Santa Barbara, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.
Life Network provides abstinence education and helps pregnant teens and single mothers get counseling, birth education, and housing as they carry their babies to term. Monetary donations are always welcome. If you have items to donate, please contact them in advance.
• About Us: The vision of Life Network is that the compassion, mercy and love of God be expressed to any women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. As such, our mission is to provide practical and life-affirming solutions to any woman in such a crisis through our free pregnancy tests, counseling, housing, and education programs. It is our commitment to provide these services in the context of compassionate care and confidentiality, respecting the value of each woman who seeks us out. We recognize the difficult decisions young women face in unplanned pregnancies and desire to provide the best possible information on her options.
• Phone: (805) 967-9096 • Address: 185 S Patterson Ave Suite C Santa Barbara, CA 93111 • website • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary
Linus Group
Donate yarn to this wonderful group of women that crochet blankets for children who are hospitalized. You can also make a blanket and donate it to your local chapter where it will be given to a deserving child. Blankets need to be new, handmade and washable.
• About Us: Project Linus is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization with a two-fold mission:
First, it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers."
Second, it is our mission to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.
• Phone: (805) 228-4427 • Contact: Joy • Address: Santa Barbara Chapter • website • Opportunities: Donations - Other
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation is always in need of volunteers as Board Members, Community Representatives, Wish Granters, Office Volunteer, and Internship capacities. Please visit our website for an application.
Travel Fun Kit Program: This is a great family service project. Create a travel fun kit for a wish family traveling by plane, train or car to their wish destination. Get a one gallon zip-lock bag and start filling it with individual and group activities for the family. Add a letter from you as the creator of the kit and a stamped return addressed postcard so the family can write to you on their trip. Deliver your kit to our Wish Center, 4141 State Street, Suite C-3, Santa Barbara CA 93110.
• About Us: Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.
Please consider donating your used cloth diapers. We accept all items pertaining to cloth diapers; covers, cloth wipes, wool soakers, snappis...even fabric and sewing supplies. We accept used, seconds, recycled diapers, even diapers in need of repairs. We also accept slings, natural baby items, unused natural menstrual items, unused cloth nursing pads, and natural living products. All donations received are passed on to families in need.
Cash donations are joyously welcome as well, and are used to purchase cloth diapers for those in need, and to help cover shipping and advertising costs.
• About Us:
Our nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing cloth diapers, baby products, and natural living items to struggling families all over the world. We accept donations that were given generously by caring individuals and redistribute them to families who are in need of assistance.
The use of disposable products decreases resources, increases waste output, costs more, and has significant health risks. Through providing cloth diapers and other natural living alternatives to low income families, we aspire to increase the use of reusable items on a larger scale, therefore helping improve the environment for generations to come.
Miracle Diapers is 100% volunteer run so your donations go directly to families in need.
The purpose of the Campaign for Champions is to raise money to support the Page Youth Center's mission and to continue its legacy of sports, fitness and recreation for youth and adults in the Goleta and Santa Barbara communities.
All donations to the Campaign for Champions will be directed to current operational needs, financial assistance awards for in-need youth and the development of additional youth sports programs. Checks should be made payable to Page Youth Center. Pledges will be gladly accepted, payable before the end of our fiscal year - June 30, 2008.
• About Us: The Page Youth Center develops, promotes and supports sports, fitness, wellness and recreational programs for all residents of Southern Santa Barbara County. Our primary mission is to enrich the lives of youth in our community, targeting boys and girls ages 5 through 18 years The focus of all youth sports programs is to build young people's self-esteem, self-confidence, sense of personal responsibility and respect for others. Recognizing that today's youth are tomorrow's community citizens and leaders, the Page Youth Center is committed to instilling the values of cooperation, teamwork, perseverance and good sportsmanship.
• Phone: (805) 967-8778 • Address: 4540 Hollister Ave in SB; MAIL TO: PO Box 6766 Santa Barbara, CA 93160 • email • website •
Pajama Program
The Pajama Program, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, provides new, warm pajamas and books to needy children in the United States and around the world, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. These are youngsters who may not know the comforts of a mother or father to tuck them into a cozy bed and read them a bedtime story. It is based in New York with chapters throughout the USA.
* Support the six-week TLC summer program as a volunteer. * Volunteer to help with outreach into the community. * Volunteer to help with TLC events. * Volunteer as an usher for our performances.
BECOME a MENTOR:
* Seeking professionals in the worlds of theater, film, music or dance to speak at our events or classes.
FIANANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES:
* Donate funds for scholarships for one or more of our TLC children.
LEND us your HOME or VENUE:
* Donate your home or underwrite the cost of a local venue to our foundation for an event. * Provide housing for a TLC guest musician or performer.
OUR WISH LIST:
* T-shirts * Caps * Pens * Notebooks * Books * Theatrical Scores or Music * Supplies (used to make sets) * Costumes or Fabric
• About Us:
"to inspire the creators of tomorrow through the performing arts, today"
Theatre of Life for Children will empower our children through the performing arts.
Children affected by environmental and smoking related illnesses, those from multi-cultural backgrounds, the disenfranchised and the affluent are all welcome in our program.
Theatre of Life for Children is committed to developing the talents and passion of these children while promoting healing, structure and interdependence through the magic of theatre.
AUDITIONS FOR THE 2008 SUMMER PROGRAM ARE JAN 12, 13, 19, & 20 from 1-5pm at the Unitarian Society, 1535 Santa Barbara Street for children ages 10-16. The Summer program will run July 7 through August 17, 2008.
• Phone: (805) 568-3600 • Address: 928 Carpinteria Street, Suite 5 Santa Barbara, CA 93103 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
People to People International
We connect kids with children in other countries and set up pen pal exchanges.
• About Us:
We are a service that connects teachers & students with classes in other countries (K-12).
Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP) is looking for some good parent volunteers. The only requirements to be a PEP Volunteer are that your are a parent , live in Santa Barbara County, and complete our 12 hour training program. If you would like more information about becoming a PEP Volunteer please call the warmline or send us an e-mail. • About Us:
PEP's 24-hour warmline provides FREE confidential one-on-one support from trained volunteers, parents just like you... from basic infant care to breast or bottle feeding issues to postpartum adjustment, the Warmline can be a great source of information and support.
PEP's New Parent Discussion Groups are specific to your child's age... new classes form every other month! Whenever you're ready to join, you can be connected with parents whose children are the same age as your child.
PEP's Baby Basics Classes are offered monthly. Topics included are feeding options and techniques, typical newborn behavior, diapering options and techniques, child vehicle safety, safety tips in the home, bathing (live baby demo in class) and more. Participants also receive their book, Baby Basics: A Guide to Your First Weeks as Parents.
PEP was founded in 1977 by a group of new mothers to offer support to each other. PEP is a non-profit corporation staffed entirely by volunteers, all of whom have been trained to provide answers and act as objective, nonjudgmental listeners. PEP's services are open to any individual or family.
Many preschools have a wish list of things they need. Contact one to find out what items you may be able to donate. Ideas include: toys, books, dress-up clothes, furniture, outdoor equipment, etc.
Opportunities: Donations - Other
Project Renaissance
Project Renaissance is an arts program serving at risk teens in Santa Barbara. Our program is offered at no cost in weekly open art studios. Our program is a gang and drug and alcohol resistance program serving teens ages 13-20. • About Us:
The vision of Project Renaissance is unusually multifaceted. It is neither a preventative health program, an arts organization, nor a youth development and leadership program, nor a social change project. Rather, it is all of these combined in a highly structured, solution-oriented curriculum that combines components of all of these models.
Project Renaissance empowers youth to become mature, self-motivated young adults who realize that their lives are integral to the creation of a community that cares about all of its' citizens. Our program evaluations consistently indicate that teens that have artist mentors and a rich experience of the arts are more likely to resist gang affiliation, stay in school, and have increased resistance to drug and alcohol abuse and self destructive behaviors. Over a sustained period of time in the program, youth start to have the experience that they can make a positive difference in their own lives and neighborhoods.
• Phone: (805) 541-7835 • Address: PO Box 42241 Santa Barbara, Ca. 93140 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary
Random Acts of Kindness
• About Us: The foundation inspires people to practice kindness and to "pass it on" to others. They provide free education and community ideas, guidance and other resources to kindness participants on the site.
You can support SB Rape Crisis Center (SBRCC) by contributing your time, skills, money, or services to our efforts to create a violence-free community. Volunteer opportunities include Crisis Intervention Advocacy, Long-term Counseling, Office Support, Speaker's Bureau, Newsletter Staff, and Fundraising.
• About Us:
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center is a private, non-profit agency that has provided counseling, crisis intervention, and support services to survivors of sexual assault and their families since 1974.
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center provides crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy and support in order to heal and empower sexual assault survivors, their family members and friends; and community education and prevention programs to increase the awareness, empathy and understanding necessary to effect the attitudinal and behavioral changes which are essential to the elimination of sexual assault.
The Clinic is need of community volunteers to complete intakes, represent youths and make presentations throughout Santa Barbara. The clinic is also in need of a web designer and of course financial support.
• About Us:
The mission statement of the SBTLC is to educate youths on their legal rights and responsibilities and to empower them to make decisions that will allow them to grow into responsible and productive adults in the community.
Education is largely achieved through SBTLC's "Street Law" program. The "Street Law" program is a nationally recognized and supported program designed to put lawyers and law students in junior high and high school classrooms teaching students about important issues directly affecting them including family law, housing law, contracts, torts, and criminal law and procedure.
The SBTLC, through a panel of attorneys in Santa Barbara, serves a great number of children and young adults, providing free legal advice and representation in many areas including: civil rights, emancipation, guardianship, health care, immigration, pregnant and parenting minors, education (including enrollment, truancy, suspension, expulsion and special education needs), and children living away from their parents. The clinic is run solely through a volunteer board of directors.
• Phone: (805) 568-5962 • Contact: Tara Haaland-Ford • Address: 1215 De La Vina Street, Suite I • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Committee/Board Opportunities, Donations - Monetary
Santa Barbara Vocal Jazz Foundation
VocalPoint, the 12 member a capella vocal jazz ensemble, presents vocal jazz to all public schools. We are dedicated to bringing vocal jazz singing, music education and jazz history, to the children of Santa Barbara. We need funding to ensure that our 8-week vocal jazz workshops to 5th and 6th graders can continue in our local elementary schools. • Phone: (805) 569-9658 • email • Opportunities: Donations - Monetary
Suitcases For Kids
Most foster care children carry their belongings in a black garbage bag as they move from home to home. Each child averages 7 moves while in foster care. Can you help? Large backpacks are acceptable if you do not have any suitcases to donate. Ask your neighbors, your grannies and your friends. Please help a child who is less fortunate than you. Visit website to find out how to get involved.
Get involved by becoming a volunteer helping with fundraisers, events, programs, operations. Make a financial donation or sponsor a family. During the holidays, you can help wrap gifts, make cards and decorations for our families. Even small donations such as phone cards, gas cards, disposable cameras, travel-sized toiletry items, and food & restaurant gift certificates make a big difference.
• About Us: The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is committed to assisting families of children suffering from various forms of cancer. The mission of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is to ensure that children with cancer receive the undivided comfort of their parents during the treatment and recovery process. We provide financial assistance, support groups, financial management and planning and activities for children and their families. We also do endurance training for the body and mind during and after treatment. • Phone: (805) 962-7466 • Address: 402 East Gutierrez Street, Santa Barbara • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Transition House
Families can pack up food for lunches to make for the families.
Kids can provide stockings, Easter baskets, etc. during the holidays.
Kids can raise money for Transition House.
You can donate clothes for kids and adults, toys and more by dropping them off at Catholic Charities. Encourage your kids to go through and select toys they are not using to share with others. Secret Santa Program.
• About Us: Transition House provides shelter for families and helps them get back on their feet.
Join Our Volunteer Sea Crew as Parent-Child Team Educators at the Ty Warner Sea Center!
Would you like to find a new fun, educational, and meaningful activity to do with your child? Join our volunteer Sea Crew as a parent-child team at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Ty Warner Sea Center on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara! You and your child will receive special training about the marine life in the Santa Barbara Channel and marine science. After completing training, you and your child will work as a team at our exhibits, educating and engaging the public and school groups in fun, hands-on activities to light a spark that hopefully will lead to a lifetime of discovery of the natural world. We ask for a minimum commitment of four months, and we ask parent-child team volunteers to sign up for one weekly shift (2.5 to 3 hours) that can be any day of the week. If you would like to sign-up with another parent-child team, there is the option for parents to share the weekly commitment. Please contact the Sea Center Volunteer Coordinator Leeza Charleboix at (805) 962-2526 ext. 104 or seacrew@sbnature2.org. We look forward to seeing you at the Sea Center! • About Us: The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Ty Warner Sea Center is a fun, engaging, interactive marine education facility located on Stearns Wharf. Owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Ty Warner Sea Center fulfills the mission of the Museum to inspire a passion for the natural world.
- Interactive exhibits designed to help visitors experience scientific discovery
- Opportunities to work like scientists, sampling and testing ocean water, studying animal behavior, and examining microscopic marine life
- Live tidepool animal encounters
- A theater showcasing the wonders of the Santa Barbara Channel
At the Ty Warner Sea Center, you will discover the fun science and the wonders of the natural world.
• Phone: (805) 962-2526 ext. 104 • Contact: Leeza Charleboix, Volunteer Coordinator • Address: 211 Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara CA 93101 • email • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Internships
*DROP OFF DONATIONS AT 1236 CHAPALA ST SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101*
Great opportunities to volunteer with your children and help local families in need!
• About Us:
The Unity Shoppe is a 501 (c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation that encourages self-sufficiency and independence by providing education and the necessities of life to families, children, seniors and persons with disabilities during periodic times of crisis. These necessities are provided in a dignified manner without regard to political affiliation, religious belief or ethnic identity.
Services provided by the Unity Shoppe include a "free" grocery store and a "free" clothing store.
The Unity Shoppe Gift Shoppe, 1219 State St, sells new and gently used merchandise to support its programs.
• Phone: (805) 965-4122 • Address: 1219 State St Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • website • Opportunities: Volunteer Opportunities, Donations - Monetary, Donations - Other
Women's Fund
For a donation of $2,500 (or less, if you get friends together and give a total of $2,500), you can help decide how to give away a half million dollars or more!
SBParent.com put together a group of 25 women in 2006, each making a one time donation of $100 to the Women's Fund.
For 2007, we are putting together 3 groups (donate either: $125, $250, $500) -JOIN US!
• About Us:
How to make a difference in your community without getting dressed up or stuffing envelopes: The Women's Fund of Santa Barbara has donated $825,000 to local non-profits in the past three years. Organizations that have benefited included the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics dental clinic, St. Vincent's PATHS program for single moms, the Santa Barbara Teen Center, Domestic Violence Solutions, Noah's Anchorage, and Planned Parenthood's teen outreach program, CASA, CADA, CALM and the Rape Crisis Center. The Women's Fund is run through the Santa Barbara Foundation. Unlike other non-profit endeavors, there are no galas to drag your husband to, no invitations to stuff, no phone calls to make....All you do is write a check, then cast your vote as to which organization(s) should receive the money.
Disclaimer: The information and services on the web site are intended to serve as a supplement to your resources. ParentClick, Inc. and its agents assume no responsibility for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action you take based on the information or material on the website. ParentClick, Inc. does not endorse any business or listing on the classifieds section. This site is to make you aware of choices in your city.
ParentClick, Inc. P.O. Box 60135, Santa Barbara, CA 93160 (805) 448-2426 info@sbparent.com
Families can make a difference in their community without it necessarily being a big time commitment or expense. 
TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO, the sight of a crippled Moroccan woman crawling across a dirt road planted a seed that germinated in 1999 when Don Schoendorfer, founder of Free Wheelchair Mission, invested his education and professional expertise as a PhD Mechanical Engineer to create a simple, rugged, and inexpensive wheelchair. The mental picture of the crawling woman's anguish and loss of dignity had haunted him for years until God opened a path for Dr. Schoendorfer.
Get involved by becoming a volunteer helping with fundraisers, events, programs, operations. Make a financial donation or sponsor a family. During the holidays, you can help wrap gifts, make cards and decorations for our families. Even small donations such as phone cards, gas cards, disposable cameras, travel-sized toiletry items, and food & restaurant gift certificates make a big difference.
