Local Nonprofit Celebrates Unity in Our Community
Santa Barbara came together to celebrate Unity in Our Community at the Annual Unity Telethon. This 36-year tradition entertains, warms the heart, and raises funds to support our low-income neighbors throughout the year. Jeff Bridges entertained us with an original song. Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald performed an all-time favorite hit. Glen Phillips took us back to the ‘90s and Katy Perry made a surprise appearance. The event was a tremendous success, thanks in part to the generosity of loyal sponsors. Kathy Hughes of Berkshire Hathaway, Randie and Donovan Judkins, Vince Caballero of Union Bank, and BMW/Santa Barbara Auto Group all sponsored Matching Minute segments during the telethon, doubling the impact of individual donations.
Thousands of residents throughout the county rely on Unity programs and services to help them navigate financial crisis. The Client Services Center provides groceries, clothing, school supplies, job service support and so much more. Unity works with more than 400 local service agencies to identify families, children, adults, single-parent households, and seniors in need of services. Clients have the opportunity to shop in a store-like setting for groceries that support a healthy and well-rounded diet, choosing foods that they know how to cook, as well as other household necessities, personal care products and clothing. For more information about Unity programs, visit UnityShoppe.org.
Unity Shoppe
Donate now!
unityshoppe.org
(805) 331-6161
Executive Director: Angela Miller-Bevan
Mission
Unity Shoppe is dedicated to providing residents impacted by temporary conditions of poverty, natural disaster or health crisis with resources, including groceries, clothing, and other essentials, that reinforce human dignity and encourage self-sufficiency and independence.
Begin to Build a Relationship
We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s director of development and/or Executive Director.
I Never Thought This Would Happen to Me
I was first introduced to Unity Shoppe when my son was volunteering for community service hours. We volunteered and worked side-by-side and saw first-hand the clients shopping with dignity by choosing items that they needed and then we watched as it appeared that they checked out at the register just like they would do in any other store but at Unity Shoppe, no payment changes hands. One of my favorite programs is Unity’s Seniors Helping Seniors Center. This program provides basic need requests from hospitals, senior centers, and other organizations helping seniors who are homebound or disabled. It’s no wonder why I love Unity’s slogan: DIGNITY. RESPECT. CHOICE.
Taking the Legacy Countywide
Unity Shoppe is counting on the durable success of its annual telethon to continue investing in its programs and services. This includes JobSmart, which supplies low-income people with work clothes, and the Senior Resource Center, in which long-time senior volunteers knit, sew, quilt, paint, woodwork, and assemble clothes and toys to the delight and comfort of Santa Barbara’s vulnerable residents. In 2023, Unity Shoppe also plans to begin serving families in north Santa Barbara County. It’s a move inspired in part by Brad Paisley, who was so taken by Unity Shoppe that he brought the concept to his adopted home in Nashville. “Until now, people from north county have had to travel down to get our services,” says Executive Director Angela Miller-Bevan. “In 2023, we will go to them.”
Key Supporters
Patricia and Paul Bragg Foundation
Mithun Foundation
Susan and Ronald
Rodriguez Giving Fund
Golden Rule Family Foundation
John and Marcia Goldman
Bank of America Foundation
William Corbett Foundation
Maxine R. Waughtell
Donovan and Kathryn Chalfant
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash
Indians Foundation
Brittingham Family Foundation
Milton Hess
Victoria Ward
Ann Jaxson Family Foundation
MUFG Union Bank
Community West Bank
ZIA Group
Santa Barbara Foundation
Dana Newquist
Brad and Kim Paisley
Montecito Bank & Trust
Kenneth Richardson
Consumer Fire Products
Dena Stein