Santa Cruz County Community Service & Support Digest

A coalition of 27 service providers is holding a March to End Homelessness in downtown Santa Cruz on May 4.

The 4th annual Live Oak Jack Rabbit fundraiser for local arts programs featuring a series of foot races and relays will be held at the Shoreline Middle School on April 26.

Encompass Community Services has appointed behavioral health services veteran Shellee Stopera as the new CEO following the election of previous CEO Monica Martinez who was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

Food aid is one of numerous competing priorities California lawmakers will have to juggle in the face of steep potential federal cuts.

Read on to learn more about the 21 volunteers who completed the training program and were recently sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates for children in foster care.

Read on to learn more about upcoming neighborhood meetings at local libraries hosted by local homelessness nonprofit Housing Matters for discussion around the topic of “Neighbors for Neighbors: At the Intersections.”

Read on to learn more about the six local health nonprofits who received grants from a total of $229,00 from Dignity Health through Dominican Hospital.

A $5 billion pot of federal money set aside to help people on the verge of homelessness pay the rent is running out of cash — and no one has a plan to keep the roughly 60,000 renters, more than 15,000 of them in California — from losing their housing after the last dollar is spent.

Ruby Marichalar couldn’t get an in-person meeting after California’s crime victim compensation fund denied her claim. She wasn’t the only one.

Read on to learn more about "15 women to know in Santa Cruz County."

Read on for details about a report on the 2-year Yolo County Basic Income Program which ended in April 2024.

Organizations which provide food and shelter services in Santa Cruz County can apply to United Way for funding. Read on to learn details.

The largest marine sanctuary in the continental U.S. starts at the ocean’s edge in San Francisco. It’s bigger than Yellowstone National Park. And it could use a little help.The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary stretches from Marin County to the southern end of Big Sur and has a host of volunteer opportunities, from water quality monitoring to on-the-water kayaking naturalist, according to a press release Friday.

Donate to Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, which is facing a waitlist for the first time in 50 years in the face of increasing need. Read on for details and learn how you can help.

Donate to the list of organizations put together by Lookout Local to support victims of the fires still raging in Southern California.

Read on for information about the resignation of Capitola Mayor Yvette Brooks as she begins her new role as CEO of the United Way of Santa Cruz.

Read on to learn how you can donate to the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz fund for workers and harbor residents displaced by the devastating events of December 23 in the Santa Cruz Harbor.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Anticipating certification of her election to the 5th District seat on the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors, Monica Martinez is resigning as CEO of local nonprofit Encompass Community Services. Read on to learn what's ahead for her and Encompass.

Comicoplolis has been serving the Santa Cruz community for 27 years from their downtown location but are in need of of help. This is where you come in. Read on to learn how.

Learn how you can donate to the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District "Stuff the Bus" holiday food drive on December 5.

Lookout Local's list of 10 opportunities for you to volunteer in the community this November.

With more than 65,000 residents relying on their services, Second Harvest Food Bank enters the holiday season in urgent need of donations.

Learn more about the annual fundraising day on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this year falling on December 3.

Your donation to County Park Friends will help raise $30,000 for scholarships so local youth can participate in Santa Cruz County parks and recreation programs. Click to learn more.

Learn more about the 28 community nonprofit programs selected to receive the funding and a summary of the Collective of Results and Evidence-Based (CORE) process used to select recipients.

Live Oak School District and Community Bridges signed a two-year lease allowing the nonprofit to continue running its Meals on Wheels program from district property on Capitola Road.

One September 17, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the start of construction of a 120 unit supportive housing development in the Harvey West neighborhood in Santa Cruz.

Celebrating 50 years, nonprofit health care provider Santa Cruz Community Health will be hosting a fundraising gala at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz on Octtober 5.

A look at Digital NEST as it celebrates a decade of service to Central California youth.

Pajaro Valley Arts has a new executive director and is ready to embark on fundraising to renovate and upgrade the site of its new headquarters in downtown Watsonville.

Beginning Monday, 150 households in Fresno County are expected to receive a $500 prepaid card to spend on anything they’d like — no strings attached. It will be the first of 12 monthly recurring payments those Southwest Fresno and Huron residents will receive as part of a guaranteed basic income program for low-income families.