The global pandemic brought challenges to Santa Cruz County that nobody could predict. The recent CZU Lightning Complex Fire roared through our majestic Santa Cruz Mountains, impacting thousands of our families and friends. And yet, the spirit of commUNITY stands bold and courageous...we are #SantaCruzStrong!
Thankfully, your United Way was made for times like these and we are proud to work alongside you to raise funds and provide services that support Santa Cruz County children and families.
We have generous corporate partners, foundations, and individual donors answering the call to respond and recover. To date, we have been able to provide over $345,000 in grant support to provide immediate and long-term relief and recovery assistance throughout Santa Cruz County. In October 2020, we distributed $160,376 to assist with wildfire relief efforts. Here are the latest grants awarded for wildfire recovery efforts - $184,624 was recently distributed:
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Davenport Resource Center (a program of Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County) - $20,000 to support fire victims and fire evacuees with critical needs including emergency financial assistance.
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Mountain Community Resources (a program of Community Bridges) - $20,000 for shallow subsidies to reduce home rental cost for one year for fire evacuees.
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Cruzio Internet (Equal Access Santa Cruz County) - $25,000 to subsidized internet services for displaced families that have relocated within Santa Cruz County. This will help students remain connected for distance learning.
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Last Chance Community Center -$12,000 for bathhouses/showers and portable septic tanks for Last Chance Community.
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Pacific Elementary School - $6,624 to replace food lost during power outage and purchase of generators to maintain refrigeration as families receive food during distance learning.
Our greatest strength at United Way of Santa Cruz County is our ability to work collaboratively with the entire community. We sincerely thank the generous contributions to the United Way Regional Wildfire Relief Fund. Your organization can donate to the
Wildfire Relief Fund today - either click the link to make your contribution or contact me at kbrowder@unitedwaysc.org
We will continue to listen to the evolving needs identified by community partners, disaster response coordinators, and local leaders. This will help us prioritize distributing resources to where the need is greatest.
Sincerely,
Keisha Browder - CEO, United Way of Santa Cruz County
