Blog

We’ve made it to November in the age of pandemic life. Around us we see the signs of the holiday season taking hold with the endless supply of holiday baubles arriving on store shelves and despite the challenges of this year many are ready to turn their thoughts to the joy of the holiday season.  … Read more

As the holiday season approaches, many people feel a strong inclination to pitch in and express their generosity towards their community.  One great way to get involved is to volunteer time distributing food with a local food bank.   The pandemic has brought widespread financial hardship and food insecurity has grown to previously-unseen levels across … Read more

Along with our presenting sponsor Santa Cruz Community Credit Union and fellow sponsors we are excited to celebrate the 2020 Be the Difference Awards honoring the individuals, groups, and businesses that transform Santa Cruz County through volunteerism. Starting at 11:30 AM the Be the Difference Awards will take over the Volunteer Center homepage. While this … Read more

Every day we face new and ongoing challenges as the pandemic seems to have no immediate end in sight. We recognize that this time is especially hard on older adults, who now more than ever need our support, resources, and friendship. Over the past seven months our Senior Programs Team has been an innovative force … Read more

The Lightning Fires that consumed our beautiful mountains with a relentless ferocity unleashed a torrent of bravery, kindness, spirit, and ingenuity from every part of our beloved community.  People are donating, volunteering, feeding people, and sharing housing with neighbors, coworkers, friends, and strangers in record numbers.  While we are just one agency involved in this … Read more

Thank you to all who have stepped to help their neighbors. As we continue to mobilize and place volunteers our first priority is community safety.  Below you will find important information about evacuation resources and fire safety. Please heed all recommendations to evacuate as needed. The County has established evacuation centers. Call 211 for more … Read more

We are pleased to announce that the Call for Nominations for the 14th Annual Be the Difference Awards is now open.  The “Be the Difference” Awards are about honoring the individuals, groups, non-profits, and businesses that transform Santa Cruz County through volunteerism.   We invited you to share your stories of inspiration. Have you worked … Read more

With the spread of COVID-19, youth programming across the country has adapted to new ways of engaging children and teens both online and in person. During this time, YouthSERVE has remained dedicated to connecting youth, ages 11-17, with rewarding volunteer projects across Santa Cruz County. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our participants are completing at home … Read more

Systemic Racism exists in America, in California, in our beloved community, and in our agency. We see the evidence in unequal poverty rates, graduation rates, disproportionate incarceration rates, even in life span. We see it in the experiences of our own programs and when working with our clients. What is happening in our country is … Read more

Our sense of SELF. Our sense of WELLNESS. We carry forward with each. We wear them like armor, sink into them like a deep unforeseen hole, or hold them up brazenly like a golden ray of sun. Somedays we may vacillate and float between which way to carry them. Other days we may have more … Read more

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWBwd2L6nB4 Over the past two months as businesses, schools, and nonprofits have shuttered their doors and suspended programs, we’ve all been forced to adapt.  At the Volunteer Center, we’ve used this time to assess our resources and our strengths and we have made huge shifts to meet today’s immediate critical needs. Through this process, we’ve … Read more

Dick Davis joined our staff on #GivingTuesdayNow for the video premiere of Keep the Lights on Santa Cruz County to share why he is proud to donate his stimulus check to his community. Learn more below and watch his interview with Executive Director Karen Delaney. Hello, My name is Dick Davis and I am on … Read more

Like many community organizations, here at the Volunteer Center, we’ve made huge shifts in the way we business in order to both continue operations and meet the immediate critical needs of the community during the public health emergency. This public health emergency has had a huge emotional and economic toll on so many. From community … Read more

Today, on this Earth Day, we are grateful for the community leaders and local organizations that cultivate the nature lover, budding scientist, and environmental advocate in each of us. Our community is happier and healthier because of the effort you put forward every day. We are honored to highlight five organizations fundraising through the Human … Read more

Acting with compassion for others and in ways that make our community stronger is what volunteers do. We see this during the COVID Crisis in people who are making and donating masks, shopping for seniors, delivering food and staffing shelters to help our neighbors Shelter in Place and all of us flatten the curve. In … Read more

We are all living in a new reality with shelter-in-place. While some of us are continuing to work, others are wondering when they will be able to work and worrying about paying rent. While some of us are crowded with the kids at home, others are living alone and scared to leave the house. Whatever … Read more

Our mission at the Volunteer Center is to transform our community and ourselves for good through the power of each one of us finding meaningful ways to contribute our time, talent and resources to make our world better.  While this is always a big job – engaging 15,000 volunteers to donate $11 million worth of … Read more

While the celebration scheduled for May 9th will not cap off our six-week fundraising campaign this year, we feel undaunted as we know our generous community  is not one to be deterred. We also know that the most vital piece of the Human Race is the six week online giving campaign. Last year our fundraisers … Read more

Why do you volunteer? We all have our stories, and here’s mine: When I was 18, I was diagnosed with severe depression. I did not know, then, that depression would debilitate me for much of my adult life, nor that my diagnosis was incomplete. It would be decades before I found a doctor who helped … Read more