Volunteers take part in Backyard Bounty Day. Courtesy photo
SANTA BARBARA — Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is seeking produce donors and volunteers for the Foodbank Backyard Bounty Day on Saturday, Oct. 25. Foodbank is calling out to community members with harvest sites (orchards or gardens) in south Santa Barbara County, and volunteers to help harvest, with the goal of harvesting over five tons of produce, the organization reported in a media release.
Backyard Bounty Day is an opportunity to enjoy harvesting produce at ranches, historic estates and backyards in the region, while helping Foodbank serve one in four people throughout the county, the organization reported.
“We are so lucky in Santa Barbara County to have such a wide variety of fresh produce growing nearly year-round,” Niles Brinton, Foodbank’s Backyard Bounty coordinator, stated in the release. “Our mission is to make sure that none of this produce goes to waste; to provide it to those who need it most.”
Since the Backyard Bounty program began in 2007, volunteers have harvested more than 500,000 pounds of fresh local produce for area residents in need. All together, the Foodbank provides more than 330 member nonprofit partners with food support — half of which is fresh produce — annually feeding over 144,000 unduplicated people of whom nearly 40 percent are children.
The program’s donors are happy to know that their excess produce will not will be entering the waste stream or rotting on the ground, but instead be going to a good cause, officials reported. More than 25 percent of the local landfill is food, while 1 in 5 children in Santa Barbara County are food insecure.
Backyard Bounty donations range from a single tree to large orchards, with south-county donors stretching from the Goleta Valley to the hills of Montecito and Carpinteria.
“Without good people who share their overabundance of fruits and vegetables and the volunteers who dedicate their time, this program would not be possible,” Brinton said.
To participate in Foodbank’s Backyard Bounty Day:
• Provide a harvest site: visit backyardbounty.org and register trees or crops. Registrants will then be contacted directly to arrange for a harvest. All donations are tax-deductible, and protected under the Good Samaritan Act.
• Volunteer: visit backyardbounty.org to sign up for upcoming harvests, including Backyard Bounty Day.
• Drop off produce: visit Foodbank’s Santa Barbara Warehouse, located at 4554 Hollister Ave., from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Contact Niles Brinton at backyardbounty@foodbanksbc.org or call 805-403-8327 for more information.
SAN LUIS OBISPO — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and RISE (Respect, Inspire, Support, Empower) is hosting or participating in several events in the North County including Octoberfest on Oct. 26, the organization reported in a media release.
The event, at BarrelHouse Brewing Company, will feature live music by Still Evolving, beer, sausage sandwiches from Cregor’s Deli, a cornhole tournament and a raffle.
“We are excited to host our own Octoberfest event at BarrelHouse for the very first time,” said Jennifer Adams, executive director. “In light of the recent events in the NFL, we wanted to host a family-friendly event that brings people together, while also helping to support those affected by domestic violence in the North County.”
Tickets are $25 and include a beer and brat. Additional beers and sandwiches, as well as raffle tickets can be purchased at the event. Tickets can be purchased online at RISEslo.org or by calling 805-226-5400.
THOUSAND OAKS — California Lutheran University is stepping up its commitment to veterans by working with the government to cover all tuition and fees for an unlimited number of qualified undergraduate and graduate students, the university reported in a media release.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill covers a maximum of $20,235 a year in tuition and fees for veterans attending private colleges. Through the Yellow Ribbon Program, universities and the Department of Veterans Affairs can work together to provide additional funding. Last year, Cal Lutheran covered $2,500 in additional costs and the VA provided a matching amount. The program was limited to 45 students.
Cal Lutheran is now contributing 50 percent of the tuition and fees not covered by the GI Bill, and the VA will match that amount for an unlimited number of qualified undergraduate and graduate students taking classes at the main campus in Thousand Oaks, at the centers in Oxnard and Woodland Hills, and online. For undergraduate students, that means Cal Lutheran’s total tuition and fees of $36,690 will be covered for all qualified veterans.
This is the latest of many steps Cal Lutheran has taken to support veterans. In recognition of this, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cal Lutheran third among regional universities in the West in the Best Colleges for Veterans list released in September. The university moved up one spot from its ranking in the inaugural list released last year.
Gerardo Aldana. Photo by Leroy Laverman
SANTA BARBARA — Gerardo Aldana calls it the idiosyncrasy of discovery: A 19th-century German interpretation of the Dresden Codex — a manuscript in Mayan hieroglyphs that resurfaced in the Royal Library in Dresden — identifies astronomical records and becomes the baseline of understanding.
“The interpretation is so powerful and impressive and it takes hold of the field as a whole,” said the UC Santa Barbara professor of anthropology and of Chicana and Chicano Studies, who is also a specialist in the history of science. “Archaeologists start to excavate ancient Mayan sites and take great photographs and illustrations of the monuments. But they’re looking only for astronomical patterns.”
So that’s what they find.
In his new book, “Archaeoastronomy and the Maya” (Oxbow Books, 2014), Aldana suggests that the true role of astronomy in ancient Maya culture is an open question. “First of all, what is Mayan astronomy, this alternate form of science?” he asked. “Second, what role did it play in politics and history? This volume shows different takes and different perspectives, and it’s searching for that new basic paradigm, a new way of understanding what astronomy was in Maya culture. It ends up seeking an agenda for how Maya scholars come together and develop the field as it goes forward.”
CAMARILLO — La Hermandad Hank Laycao Youth Family Center and One Step a la Vez are among six Ventura County nonprofits that provide domestic-abuse prevention and recovery services to women and girls that will receive a total of $100,000 at the Women’s Legacy Fund Celebration on Oct. 15 at the Saticoy County Club.
Established at the Ventura County Community Foundation in 1995, the fund has awarded just under $1.2 million through nearly 150 grants to local organizations with proven strategies to help women and girls improve their chances of leading fulfilling lives.
The 2014 awardees include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County ($10,000), Coalition for Family Harmony ($20,000), Interfaith Children & Family Services ($15,000), La Hermandad Hank Lacayo Youth and Family Center ($20,000), One Step a la Vez ($20,000) and Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura Counties ($15,000).
The celebration will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4450 N. Clubhouse Drive, Somis. The cost is $60 per person or $400 for a table of eight, with proceeds going to the fund’s endowment. To attend, call Lauren Willis at lwillis@vccf.org or call 805-988-0196, ext. 202.
VENTURA COUNTY — Children’s Services Auxiliary (CSAVC), a resource partner of Ventura County Human Services Agency, was presented with a $10,000 check from Rite Aid KidCents, the auxiliary reported in a media release.
CSAVC is a nonprofit organization that raises funds on behalf of the county’s foster youth for services such as health care and extracurricular activities. All of the proceeds of this donation will go directly toward the needed resources for foster children in Ventura County.
The Rite Aid Foundation developed KidCents as a way to help children in need within the communities the company serves. The foundation partners with nonprofit kid-focused organizations for the health and well-being of children. Each Rite Aid wellness+ (plus) member is asked if they would like to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and those donations go to KidsCents.
The donation will greatly help the programs of CSAVC for foster youth in Ventura County, officials reported. Visit http://www.csavc.org/ or www.vchsa.org for more information.
CAMARILLO — Luis Alberto Urrea will be the guest speaker 10th annual Campus Reading Celebration at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 at CSU Channel Islands, in the Grand Salon. Urrea’s book, “By The Lake of Sleeping Children: The Secret Life of the Mexican Border” was selected as the featured book for the celebration.
Urrea is a master of language and a gifted storyteller who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Luis grew up in San Diego. He attended the University of California at San Diego, earning an undergraduate degree in writing, and did his graduate studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The event will include Urrea’s presentation, a Q&A session with the audience, a book signing and a light reception. The event is free for university staff, faculty and students, $10 for community members and $5 for non-CSU Channel Islands students.
Contact Merissa Stith, events coordinator, at 805-437-8548 or send an email to merissa.stith@csuci.edu for more information.