Make it Count! Charity Programs

Run or walk as a St. Jude Hero Charity Athlete as you raise funds and awareness for the young patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.  As a Hero, you will receive an online training program provided by Active.com, personalized fundraising Web page, fundraising resource packet and motivational support from a St. Jude representative.  You can also earn incentive prizes such as hotel and airfare vouchers but most importantly you will inspire hope in children who are battling cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the world’s premier pediatric cancer research center that treats patients regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

Learn more about St. Jude’s by watching this great video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS4D2MzH6iM

For more information on supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by running or walking as a St. Jude Heroes Charity Athlete, please go to

Storyteller Children's Center provides quality, tuition-free early childhood education for homeless and at-risk children, as well as comprehensive support services for their families. In addition to its excellent preschool program serving nearly 100 children each year, Storyteller Children's Center helps families in crisis achieve stability. Children receive nutritious meals, medical screenings, counseling, and therapy if they suffer from developmental delays. On-site counseling, parent education classes and referral services are offered. Most importantly, the Storyteller teachers and staff provide a stable, nurturing environment so both children and families can feel safe and secure.

Learn more about Storyteller Children’s center by watching this great video!

Hospice of Santa Barbara

Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc. is the second oldest hospice organization in the United States.  We provide care to anyone experiencing the impact of life-threatening illness or grieving the loss of a loved one.  Our vision is to heal the fear of death and the loneliness of grief through companionship and support from licensed and experienced professionals and trained volunteers.  All services are free of charge.

Learn more about the Hospice of Santa Barbara by watching this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK2b5ivlusw

Multiple Sclerosis Society

The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. We exist to make sure it doesn’t.  For more information about the MS Society, please visit their web site at www.nationalmssociety.org/cal. 

To donate to the MS Society, please visit their website at http://www.msevents.com.

Vitamin Angels

Vitamin Angels works to reduce child mortality worldwide by providing essential nutrients to children under five. Essential nutrients, especially vitamin A, help young immune systems fight infectious diseases, helping children attain good health and the opportunity to lead meaningful and productive lives. Vitamin Angels’ Thrive to Five program provides women and children in the US and abroad with essential multivitamins to develop young bodies and minds before and after birth. Operation 20/20, Vitamin Angels’ global vitamin A campaign, focuses on eliminating childhood blindness and reducing child mortality caused by vitamin A deficiency worldwide by the year 2020.

Learn more about Vitamin Angels by watching this great video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UKOu_fpc1g

For more information about Vitamin Angels, please visit their web site at http://www.vitaminangels.org/donate-funds

Animal Adoption Solutions

The mission of Animal Adoption Solutions is to find innovative solutions   to help animal shelters market their animals.  We have a proven history of getting animals out of their cages and into loving homes.  Animal Adoption Solutions is an IRS certified 501(c)(3) organization.

Learn more about Animal Adoption Solutions by watching this great video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYut-k0aJOQ

 

For more information about Animal Adoption Solutions, please visit their web site at http://www.animaladoptionsolutions.com/donatenow.html

Cancer Center of Santa Barbara

The Cancer Center of Santa Barbara is an independent, not-for-profit corporation, providing state-of-the-art cancer treatment. Since 1949, through the charitable giving of families and foundations, the Cancer Center has stayed in the vanguard of comprehensive, non-surgical, outpatient cancer care. By retaining highly trained and devoted medical personnel, acquiring the latest technology and protocols, and integrating patient support and wellness programs, the Cancer Center treats those on the journey to live with, through, and beyond cancer.

For more information about The Cancer Center of Santa Barbara, please visit their web site at www.ccsb.org.

Team in Training

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

For more information about Team in Training, please visit their web site at www.teamintraining.org

Direct Relief International

Founded in Santa Barbara in 1948, Direct Relief International provides medical assistance to improve the quality of life for people affected by poverty, disaster, and civil unrest at home and throughout the world. We work to strengthen the in-country health efforts of our partners by providing essential material resources – medicines, supplies and equipment. Direct Relief is one of two charities ranked by Forbes that has received a perfect fundraising efficiency score for seven consecutive years and is ranked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as California’s largest international nonprofit organization based on private support.

For more information about Direct Relief International, please visit their web site at www.DirectRelief.org

Challenged Athletes Foundation

It is the mission of the Challenged Athletes Foundation to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics. The Challenged Athletes Foundation believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life.

For more information about the Challenged Athletes Foundation, please visit their web site at http://www.challengedathletes.org/

PKD Foundation – Run for PKD

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is one of the world’s most common, life-threatening genetic diseases, affecting 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million children and adults worldwide. There is no treatment or cure, but there is hope. By joining our Run for PKD team to run in the Santa Barbara International Marathon, you can help fund patient education and vital research needed to find a treatment and cure for PKD! Your funds will make a difference!  85% of every dollar raised goes to patient education and research! Join in the fight! Run for PKD! 

Go to www.pkdcure.org to learn more!  Register with Kirsten Cooper at runforpkd@pkdcure.org or  (219) 588-7192  (219) 588-7192 .

Dream Foundation

The mission of the Dream Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for individuals, and their families, at the end of life’s journey.  Dream Foundation helps adults find peace and closure with the realization of a final wish.

For more information about the Dream Foundation, please visit their web site at www.dreamfoundation.org.

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

DetermiNation - Training for a marathon, triathlon, cycling race, or other endurance events is a huge commitment. Make it mean more by joining the American Cancer Society DetermiNation endurance event program. We’ll provide the support and training to help you achieve your personal victory.  To join our team:  acsdetermination.org

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute is a research center devoted to the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes. Under the leadership of Lois Jovanovič, M.D., Sansum Research is an extraordinary place, where diabetes research, nutrition, education, and diabetes prevention have improved the lives of people worldwide who suffer from this serious disease. The Institute has gained international recognition for work on methods to detect and chart the progress of diabetes, its success in developing protocols to increase the incidence of healthy babies born to women with diabetes, and its work on type 2 diabetes in young people.

For more information about the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, please visit their web site at http://www.sansum.org/

CADA Santa Barbara

On the surface, our wonderful community of Santa Barbara appears to be a modern day paradise. Just like many other American cities, however, Santa Barbara also has a serious substance abuse problem.

The mission of the Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse is building a safer, healthier community by preventing and treating alcoholism and drug abuse for all ages.

The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse's efforts touch the lives of everyone in the Santa Barbara community. Our many programs and initiatives are hard at work everywhere from Carpinteria to Santa Maria.

For more information on the Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, please visit their web site at  http://www.cadasb.org

MDA/ALS
MDA is the world leader in ALS research and treatment.  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a disease of the motor neurons, the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement. For unknown reasons, motor neurons die, and the muscles they control become weak and then paralyzed. Death, usually from respiratory complications, typically occurs between three and five years after diagnosis. However, about 10 percent of people with ALS live more than 10 years, and some survive for decades.

MDA's involvement with ALS began in the early 1950s when Eleanor Gehrig, widow of beloved Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, was searching for a way to fight the disease that had taken her husband’s life. Mrs. Gehrig served more than a decade as MDA National Campaign Chairwoman. Since inception, MDA has dedicated more than $250 million to ALS research, services and information programs.

For more information on MDA/ALS, please visit their web site at http://www.mda.org/

UCSB Alumni Association Scholarship Fund

The UCSB Alumni Association Scholarship Fund (AASF) is an endowed scholarship benefiting current UCSB students. 100% of the donations to the fund go directly to Gauchos students who qualify for financial aid and are performing well academically. With the current economic situation and rising student educational costs, there has never been a more important time for ”GAUCHOS GIVING TO GAUCHOS!”

For more information about the UCSB Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, please visit their web site at www.ucsbalum.com