CASA of Santa Cruz County recruits, screens, trains and supervises volunteers to act on behalf of one child in the juvenile dependency court system. The CASA develops a one-on-one relationship with the child and/or their families or caregivers. CASA volunteers also work with attorneys and social workers. They review records, research information, and talk to anyone involved with the child, including parents, extended family members, doctors and teachers.

From information gathered, a volunteer presents his or her best recommendations to the judge, for the safety and welfare of his or her CASA child. Very often, a case involving an abused child can slip through the cracks in the overburdened child welfare system. The best hope for that child is one pair of eyes and ears focused intently upon him or her. Those eyes and ears belong to that child’s very own personal CASA volunteer.

Chamberlain’s Youth Services (CYS) is a 18 bed therapeutic residential program located on a seven acre campus in Hollister, California. We have been serving youth throughout California for over fifty years.

CYS strives to be a premier model program providing a home like setting and the highest quality of comprehensive full scope therapeutic, rehabilitative, and educational services for youth six to 17 years of age.

Digital NEST brings growth and stability to the rural, agricultural-based cities of Watsonville and Salinas.

Our communities were historically locked out of the economic opportunity and digital innovation brought by the tech to other California communities. We knew that our kids deserve the very best to nurture their talents, wisdom, and passions so we built our own thriving center for technology and empowerment that prepares our young people to prosper in the workforce. Digital NEST spins a web of connection and opportunity across the entire community.

Jacob’s Heart exists to improve the quality of life for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses by supporting their families in the challenges they face. Since 1998, Jacob’s Heart has provided emotional, practical, financial and peer support to hundreds of local children and youth with cancer and thousands of their family members.

Jacob’s Heart also provides family-centered grief support specializing in the unique sorrow of the loss of a child to bereaved families. We envision a community where every child with a serious or life-threatening condition has a strong, supported and informed family empowered to fully participate in their care.

Committed to the core belief that every child deserves a family, Kinship Center provides the full spectrum of family-centered support to strengthen the families and communities we serve.

Kinship Center has created programs and services over the years to meet the full range of children’s needs, including children with past trauma, and to support the adults who step forward to provide them safe “forever families.”

Monarch Services’ mission is lives free from violence and abuse. We serve survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as their families. Monarch offers the only emergency confidential shelter in Santa Cruz County. We also provide wrap-around case management, therapy, housing support, legal services, and a 24-hour crisis line.

Additionally, Monarch engages in violence prevention work with youth, outreach to vulnerable populations, including the migrant farm worker community, and provides emergency housing to women leaving custodial settings so they are not released into homelessness and placed at higher risk of victimization. All of our services are offered in both English and Spanish.

Partnership for Children has been providing transportation to medical care and family support services for children living with life-threatening illnesses in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties since 2007.

Partnership for Children’s transportation program increases access to compassionate care for children on the Central Coast, and financial and practical support services help ensure families maintain basic living needs such as housing, utilities, and diapers. During the holidays, Partnership for Children provides the children and their siblings with toys, gifts, pajamas, warm hats, and books to bring some cheer!

Founded in 1989, Loaves and Fishes is a community-based organization dedicated to alleviating hunger among working poor families, farm workers, and elderly, disabled and homeless individuals of the Pajaro Valley.

We help sustain the lives of thousands of individuals by assisting them with nutritious food. We envision a community in which all people have access to healthy food and the other basic necessities of life. We are committed to working collaboratively to develop a healthier, more food-secure community through direct service and advocacy. Each day we manifest the values of service, compassion and justice in our work.

The Salvation Army exists to meet human need wherever, whenever, and however we can. We are an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

From disaster relief, food pantries, solutions to human trafficking, spiritual healing, summer camps, alcohol and drug rehab, services for the aging, and more – we work to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

The Teen Kitchen Project is a nonprofit organization that brings young people into the kitchen to learn to cook delicious and nourishing food. The meals they prepare are delivered  to individuals and families who are in crisis due to a life-threatening illness like cancer. We serve families in Santa Cruz County, California.

The teens gain skills in cooking healthy food, learn about the impact of their food choices, and are offered an opportunity to build connections through community service.

Teen Kitchen Project hosts cooking classes and camps for ages 8 and up. We also have a robust catering program. Both the classes and catering program offer us an opportunity to generate revenue to support feeding more families in crisis.