San Benito County Local News: Local Community Groups

Country music, line dancing and plenty of wine were the highlights of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of San Benito County’s “Sip, Savor, Celebrate” event.The annual fundraiser was held on May 10 at Swank Farms in Hollister.

San Benito County’s Interim County Administrative Officer, Henie Ring, was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership.

To mark the spring season and promote healthy activities, Healthy Kids Day was celebrated on April 26 at the YMCA of San Benito County on Tres Pinos Road. According to Executive Director Crystal Canchola, the event drew more than 20 vendors and included several activities.

More than 80 volunteers showed up to pick up trash and sweep Downtown Hollister during The Annual Spring Clean-Up and Earth Day Celebration on April 19 on San Benito Street.

The Pet Friends’ Cowboy Fur Ball Westen Wags & Whiskers Night for Rescues was held on March 29 at the Ridgemark Golf Club & Resort. “We are so grateful for Pet Friends and Rescue's generous support,” said Jack Scutchall, the organization’s president, “and we are thrilled that over 100 guests come to our fundraising events each year.”

Sunnyslope held a ribbon cutting ceremony March 14 for the new Food Pantry that acts as a satellite location in a partnership with the Food Bank of San Benito County. Funding for the pantry site came from the Community Schools Grant through the State of California. 

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust board of directors appointed Noelle Chambers as its new executive director.

A new documentary, "American Agitators," examines the life of labor organizer and community leader Fred Ross Sr. It is narrated by El Teatro Campesino founder Luis Valdez and is scheduled to be shown at the 2025 Poppy Jasper Festival on April 14.

About 40 seniors share daily meals at the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center in Hollister. Over half of them stay a little longer to play bingo. Observing the environment of companionship and laughter, one would not know the organization providing those services faces an uncertain future as it expects to lose two of its major funding sources.

For the last three years, the Community Foundation for San Benito’s Epicenter building in downtown Hollister has been a hub for nonprofit work and organizing.

Frankie Berlanga’s family business, El Nopal Panaderia and Tortilla Factory in Hollister, supplies about 14,000 fresh tortillas a year to the Community Food Bank of San Benito County—reliably providing a cultural staple for the kitchens and dinner tables of local families and residents in need.

More than 40 local organizations came together on March 1 to participate in Hollister Downtown Association’s Fourth Annual Youth Expo at the Veterans’ Memorial Building.

The San Benito County Arts Council along with lead partners, the Arts Council for Monterey County and the Arts Council Santa Cruz County, are excited to announce their selection as one of 36 grantees in a competitive grant program to advance economic resilience, sustainability and growth across the Central Coast.

Hollister’s El Nopal Bakery is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Perhaps more importantly to families in need, it is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of its relationship with the Community FoodBank of San Benito County.

To help better serve the basic needs of food-insecure students and staff, Gavilan College has opened a free food pantry at the new Hollister Campus. Open three days a week, the well-stocked cubby is a collaboration between the college and the Community FoodBank of San Benito County, and was unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Feb. 25.

In a time of unprecedented polarization, Braver Angels encourages citizens to do something completely revolutionary: listen to each other.

Pet Friends & Rescue—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, no-kill-shelter—is excited to announce its reopening after a 4-year closure. As San Benito County’s only low-cost spay and neuter clinic, it has completed over 10,000 surgeries which has helped eliminate tens-of-thousands of unwanted cats and dogs to proliferate and roam our community.

The San Benito Stage Company (SBSC) is hosting a series of rummage sales, selling off merchandise from children’s shoes to mannequin heads and torsos for just a few dollars.

San Benito Stage Company to Premiere First-Ever 24-Hour Play for One Night Only! Theater lovers, brace yourselves for an electrifying and unprecedented event! The San Benito Stage Company is set to push the boundaries of live performance with its first-ever 24-hour play, premiering Saturday, February 22, for one night only.In a bold experiment in creativity and spontaneity, the cast will have just 22 hours to learn their roles, rehearse, and prepare for a fully staged production—all before stepping in front of a live audience.

The YMCA of San Benito County is thrilled to announce its partnership with Hollister High School to manage the Baler Aquatic Center, expanding community access to high-quality swim programs and aquatic fitness opportunities.