Santa Cruz County Community Service & Support Digest

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.

Community Foundation Foundation Santa Cruz County announced the distribution of $1.9million in grants to 92 local nonprofits in its latest grant award cycle.

Santa Cruz County's first cleanup day held on May 11 had 431 volunteers from 30 organizations collecting 1,548 pounds of litter.

18 new volunteers were sworn in as as Court Appointed Special Advocates following their 35 hour training.

Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the community school initiative with $4.1 billion in grants to connect students and their families to medical care, counseling and other services.

In advance of the opening of the new Santa Cruz County government center on Westridge Drive in a few weeks, the Human Services Department announced it was moved in and ready to provide services.

The Capitola Aptos Rotary Club presented a check for over $90,000 to County Park Friends which is fundraising for the Treasure Cove Inclusive Playground at Jade Street Park.

The Teen Kitchen Project is building a new kitchen space in Soquel to expand meal production capacity to meet demand from those in need.

A 34-unit tiny home village for people displaced when Pajaro was flooded will begin construction in Watsonville on a church-owned parcel in Watsonville.

The Downtown Streets Program is growing to 8 teams in the County with the start of a new 6 month pilot program in Boulder Creek on the Highway 9 commercial corridor.

Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley was awarded a $2M by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

A dinner and silent auction fundraiser for the Pajaro Valley Education Foundation is set to take place on Aril 18 at Jalisco's, 618 Main Street in Watsonville.

Former Santa Cruz city council member and county supervisor Ryan Coonerty has been named as the new Executive Directory, taking over from Interim Executive Director Dave Vincent.

The retiring District 2 County Supervisor received the Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award from the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and Agri-Culture at the National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon.

A celebration of Women’s History Month highlighting 15 Santa Cruz County women.

A local nonprofit said it has made an offer to purchase a senior center in Live Oak while a representative from the school district that owns the site says it isn’t quite ready to make definitive moves.

Harnessing their collective expertise, two nonprofits in South Santa Cruz County have joined forces to provide resources to families in need and fight against regional inequities.

After halting services for about four years, a sobering center that county leaders say is a critical boon to the community, local health care providers and law enforcement is back online in Santa Cruz.

Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown muses about the 75th anniversary of the city’s incorporation as a time to reflect on history while considering the opportunities that lie ahead.

Salud Para La Gente in Watsonville was one of two health care programs in Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s district to receive funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Center Program.

This year’s eight finalists, all in their 20s, emerged from a pool of nearly 100 California-based applicants.

Students throughout the nation have been engaging in environmental stewardship projects, as part of NOAA’s Ocean Guardian School program.

The Big Sur Food & Wine Foundation has awarded 17 grants worth a record $225,000 to local organizations with funds raised in 2023. Activities included the Big Sur Fashion Show, the Ferrari Event at the Barnyard, and more.

Carbon capture is having a moment. Companies such as Chevron Corp. are building technology to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks while others are working to yank the greenhouse gas out of the air.

“Progress remains slow,” according to a recent report on faculty diversity at California’s community colleges. For Nikia Chaney, the sole full-time Black faculty member at Cabrillo College, the experience is personal.

Emery Unified took a targeted approach, including paying teachers extra to stay after school and tutor students.

State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.

The financial aid application for undocumented students is cumbersome and confusing, and many students aren’t completing the forms. A new law streamlines the process.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

With fellow classmates, Iman Moshari collects underused bikes, repairs them and give them to people who apply.

During its Holiday Food & Fund drive for Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County, the Twin Lakes congregation raised $512,725.07 — the largest sum ever donated by an organization during the drive.