News across Greater Santa Cruz

Community Bridges built ECM to prevent health crises. Now the state funding is shifting and we have to close the program
California created enhanced care management to help Medi-Cal patients with complex health and social needs before they reach the emergency room. Community Bridges spent three years building a community-based program that now serves more than 200 people. But, Community Bridges CEO…
Monitoring the air in eastern Santa Cruz County
The AirSMART Network is a community air-quality monitoring project, using relatively small, low-cost sensors capable of providing frequent, real-time measurements of particulate pollution and other atmospheric conditions.

A place to turn: The 41st Annual Mountain Affair keeps support close to home
On October 30, neighbors will gather under the redwoods to preserve the food assistance, counseling, crisis response and disaster recovery services that help ensure San Lorenzo Valley families have somewhere to turn when they need it most. “Community Bridges helped me hold my…

Stepping away from the desk and giving back with Second Harvest Food Bank
This past week, five members of Lookout Santa Cruz volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County, filling over 200 bags of groceries for local families. The experience provided the opportunity to engage with the work and community members which Lookout Santa Cruz…

Dolly Parton’s legacy lives on: 20,000 books to Santa Cruz County children
One year in, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has delivered nearly 20,000 free books to young children across Santa Cruz County. More than 3,000 local children now receive a new, age-appropriate book in the mail every month — building home libraries and a love of reading from…

Rotary Club of Freedom to host annual Uncork Corralitos fundraiser for local nonprofits
The `Rotary Club of Freedom` will host its annual Uncork Corralitos fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 17, bringing together local wine, food, music and community support for three Santa Cruz County nonprofit programs. The event will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at Alladin Nursery, 2905 Freedom…

Karen Delaney helped build Santa Cruz County’s Volunteer Center. Now she’s handing it off
When longtime Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County Executive Director Karen Delaney began preparing for retirement, the organization knew it had big shoes to fill. So big, in fact, that the board kicked off an 18-month strategic planning process to help chart the organization’s…

This Santa Cruz County literacy program changes lives: here are three ways you can help
Teresa sat across from a hiring manager, answering interview questions in English. Although she had been studying English with her literacy tutor, they hadn’t reached the lesson on job interviews yet. But Teresa (a pseudonym, used to protect her privacy) applied for the…

25 years later: Santa Cruz, Bay Area first responders honor 9/11 victims with memorial stair climb
More than 60 firefighters, first responders and community members from Santa Cruz County and the San Francisco Bay Area gathered Friday morning at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos for the annual 9/11 memorial stair climb, marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist…