Don't forget...

If you have not yet joined the 2009 Women's Fund or if you have already pledged but haven't sent in your check, we need your payment by December 1. You don't want to miss out on voting for the agencies who will receive checks next February!  Click here: to pay online via Santa Barbara Foundation.

So why join?            

100 women who just witnessed the power of collective giving can tell you why!

Seeing the impact of their gifts in action was a gift in itself for more than 100 women who participated in the 5^th annual Women’s Fund Site Visit touring nonprofit agencies that had received $725,000 in Women’s Fund awards earlier this year.

“This event is part of our research--our due diligence--in understanding community needs and the impact our grants are having on the South Coast,” said Fleurette Barsom-Janigian, Co-Chair of the Women’s Fund Oversight Committee.

Traveling by Santa Barbara Airbus, Women’s Fund members and their guests efficiently toured three agencies in the morning, had lunch at a fourth and heard brief progress reports from the other six agencies after lunch.

“What an incredible experience packed into four hours,” said Regina Roney.  “It’s one thing to read about these agencies but to see them up close and hear their stories. WOW!”

The first stop was El Carrillo, a Housing Authority complex receiving supportive services from Women’s Fund recipient PathPoint. “In almost 30 years of mental health service, last year’s budget cuts marked one of the most difficult years,” said PathPoint Vice President Jennifer Newbold. “The rehabilitation specialist you funded has provided eviction prevention, crisis prevention and stabilization services for mentally ill adults who were negatively impacted by budget cuts.” 

We heard a letter from “Mary,” one of the residents who had struggled through domestic violence, rape, substance abuse, untreated mental illness and the removal of her children from her custody. “So here I was at 42 and on the street. They treated me like a murderer not like a lady that needed some help. PathPoint staff was there when I needed to talk about my past and future. They helped me get off booze and street drugs. They encouraged me to go on with my life and helped me get a volunteer job,” for which she was recently honored for volunteering the most number of hours. “I am now ‘queen of my own apartment’ with the help of others,” Mary wrote. “Thank you to PathPoint, to the Judge that helped me get off the street, to the Housing Authority and for the grants (like the Women’s Fund) that help people like me.”

Second stop: Casa Serena’s Main House, where Program Director Nancy Belknap led the tour of one of its three residential facilities where women are taught the life skills they need to complete a safe path to recovery from alcoholism and other addictions. The $75,000 Women’s Fund donation provided scholarships for recovery services. “So far this year, your support has enabled more than 30 women to get the help they need. That doesn’t just help the women and Casa Serena; it helps the community as a whole,” explained Belknap.

Next stop: Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC). Executive Director Cynder Sinclair led a tour of their Eastside Medical Clinic where SBNC clinicians are now able to monitor patient history more accurately than ever before due to the $80,000 grant for i2iTracks software upgrades. Speaking to a television reporter about the Women’s Fund, Dr. Sinclair said, “It’s like they understand why this work is so important, especially now when people are losing their jobs, losing their insurance and they have nowhere to go.” In 2005 the Women’s Fund granted SBNC $105,000 to complete the capital campaign for the Eastside Family Dental Clinic, which the group also toured.

Last stop: lunch and a tour at the United Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara in Goleta, which received $80,000 to expand after-school programs for at-risk teens in areas vulnerable to gangs. CEO Michael Rattray spoke of a former club member who loved basketball so much he would climb through the window into the Boys and Girls Club’s gym on Sundays when the building was closed. He is now a UCLA basketball coach. 

Also on the program at the luncheon were progress reports from the other 2008-09 grant recipients.

Matt Sanchez of AllForOne Youth and Mentoring, which received $65,000 for a program director to help high-risk youth make healthy choices and avoid gang involvement, drew an appreciative laugh when he said, “I am probably the most thrifty person when it comes to disbursement of funds, so you should know I will make your dollars last and be more effective.”

Linda Güereña of the Parent Project, which received $35,000 for parent-adolescent communications training, told a story about parents who were extremely concerned about their daughter. “She was in really bad shape, failing all her classes, ditching school, very depressed, and she was cutting herself. ... Through our Parent Project program the parents learned that for their daughter to change her destructive behavior, they first needed to change the way that they were interacting with her. They finally got help for their daughter, and I am happy to say that this year she is a freshman in high school and she is now earning straight A’s. Support from the Women’s Fund changed the lives of this family.”

Amir Abo-Shaeer, Director of Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, said the $150,000 Women’s Fund award was a huge vote of confidence as they raise funds toward a new building. He is proud that - with aggressive outreach -  the current DPEA program has grown from only two females enrolled when the program began in 2002 to today’s enrollment where half of the 128 students are girls.

Gabriela Rodriguez, Santa Barbara Program Coordinator of Future Leaders of America, said the WF’s $65,000 award has greatly enhanced their Latino youth leadership and education program. Among the specific impacts: a passenger van that has helped transport youth to university seminars and other FLA programs.

Breast Cancer Resource Center’s Board President Angela Torin described how the WF’s $30,000 grant for a new computer is saving time and money and provides an efficient means to match new cancer patients with cancer survivors in similar circumstances.

CORE at Santa Barbara Junior High teacher Marc Fidel is the coordinator of the individualized intervention program for at-risk 7^th and 8^th graders that received a WF grant of $70,000. Fidel shared a recent success story: “Luis” was in a gang and getting bad grades in his junior high classes. Through involvement in the CORE program, Luis made a decision to change his peer group, received tutoring to improve his grades and sought financial aid to attend private school. He is now a straight A student at Bishop Diego High School.

Site Visit Coordinator and emcee Katya Armistead summed up the day: "It's wonderful listening to the people and how excited they are about what they can do with this money and how many more people they can help. And then they share stories with us about people who've actually benefited. It's heartwarming."

“What a great day,” said fund member Carol Fell.  “It feels wonderful to be associated with such good work.”

Thanks to Carole MacElhenny for generously underwriting lunch and Carolyn Novick and Santa Barbara Airbus for underwriting the cost of the buses.

And most of all a special thanks to our Women’s Fund members for their annual commitment which provides the funds to make all these grants come to life.