: : DONATE ONLINE now until midnight Dec. 31, 2012 : : www.montereycountygives.com

FOR THE LEAST OF US

Year Founded: 2007

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 100

Budget: $18,000

250-7921

www.fortheleastofus.com

THE BIG IDEA: Christmas is a teary time for the 1.7 million youngsters who have a mom or dad in prison. There may not be any presents under the tree – if there’s even a tree. For The Least Of Us, a faith-based nonprofit that supports families with an incarcerated member, wants to bring joy to 20 Angel Tree (prison ministry) families this Christmas, providing gifts to 99 children at Carmel Presbyterian Church’s Christmas party and recruiting adoptive families to host these kids and build relationships with them throughout the year.

The Greatest Commandment: “You guys are valiantly filling a tremendous gap,” says Rev. Cynthia Montague, a chaplain at the Monterey County Jail. “If the public only understood prisoners return to the neighborhood.”

FRIENDS OF THE MONTEREY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Year Founded: 2000

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 45

Budget: $55,000

646-5601

www.mplfriends.com

THE BIG IDEA: Some 350,000 Monterey County residents check out more than a half million books, movies, magazines and other items each year at the Monterey Public Library. For some, Sunday is the only day they can visit. It’s also the only day the library is closed. This means students needing last-minute study and research help, seniors wanting to read in a warm, well-lit place, job-seekers hoping for computer assistance and families looking for low-cost learning activities are faced with a dark building and closed doors. In 2012, because of budget cuts, the library ended its 30 years of seven-day-a-week service to the community. Two years later, opening the library on Sundays is still the most requested service. Raising $50,000 will restore Sunday hours at the Monterey Public Library and make librarians, children’s story times, checkout assistance and thousands of print and online resources available to the 500 or so Sunday library users once again.

Teacher From All Walks of Life: “I’ll be receiving a new teaching degree, and every staff member of the Monterey Public Library should be on that platform with me,” says library fan Olivia Brianna Morgan.

GLOBAL MAJORITY

Year Founded: 2003

Paid Staff: 1.5

Volunteers: 25

Budget: $100,000

372-5518

www.globalmajority.org

THE BIG IDEA: Over the last nine years, Global Majority has organized several international graduate seminars in negotiation, mediation and nonviolent conflict resolution, both locally and globally. During this time, the nonprofit has also helped design and deliver an elective course in conflict resolution at the Salinas Community School. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Global Majority will link its local and international programs through the Global Majority Fellowship. The fellowship – funded by local donations – will provide a stipend for two Salinas youth, a young man and a young woman, to continue studying nonviolent conflict resolution while gaining professional experience. They’ll help organize an international seminar that will take place in 2014. The fellows will work in the Global Majority Monterey headquarters and attend the seminar as both staff and student.

Give Peace a Chance: “Thank you, Global Majority, for spending time with us and teaching us something we’re actually going to need,” says a Salinas Community School student.

HOUSING RESOURCE CENTER OF MONTEREY COUNTY

Year Founded: 1982

Paid Staff: 10

Volunteers: 26

Budget: $1 million

424-9186

www.hrcmc.org

THE BIG IDEA: In 2010, the Housing Resource Center homeless prevention programs helped 986 Monterey County residents either keep or find housing. In 2011, funding sources kept 750 residents off the streets. The nonprofit has been helping local families for almost 30 years, but in the past year its funding for homeless prevention and emergency rent assistance has been axed. It’s asking the community to augment those lost funds and help more than 75 families in Monterey County who would be homeless without the Housing Resource Center’s help.

Shelter Me: “The landlord issued an elderly disabled couple a three-day notice. Because (rules) allow them to help with up to six months of arrears, they agreed to pay $2,190.”

INTERFAITH OUTREACH OF CARMEL

Year Founded: 2007

Paid Staff: 3

Volunteers: 75

Budget: $295,000

626-1427

www.ifaithcarmel.org

THE BIG IDEA: In 2011, Interfaith Outreach granted some $51,000 in funds to five community agencies in Monterey County that work with the homeless. As of July, the inter-denominational organization of faith communities had granted another $51,000 to another five agencies. One of the ways in which IOC raises money to make these grants is from sales at the Joining Hands Benefit Shop. Last year, the nonprofit used Monterey County Gives! donations for upgrades to the shop. Its big idea for 2012 is to update the marketing campaigns for IOC and the store. Better marketing means more donations, shoppers and shop volunteers, all of which bring in more money to help the homeless.

Faith and Hope: “The Interfaith Outreach Council will be a link for faith communities to work on common projects that benefit the community.”

INTERIM

Year Founded: 1975

Paid Staff: 60

Volunteers: 160

Budget: $8,900,00 million

649-4522

www.interiminc.org

THE BIG IDEA: Because the general public knows very little about mental illness, people with psychiatric disabilities are often stigmatized and denied work, housing, and educational opportunities. And they may also be afraid to seek treatment. Enter Interim’s Success Over Stigma (SOS), a program that trains people with mental illness to speak publicly at high schools, colleges, service clubs, law enforcement groups and religious organizations. Sharing their stories helps to educate the community and combat the biases against mental illness. After hearing presentations, audience members often approach panelists to share their own experiences. The audience gets a glimpse of what it’s like to live with psychiatric disabilities and learns about the mental health services offered in Monterey County. Panelists say the public speaking empowers them to find jobs and become more involved in the community.

Speak Out: “SOS has motivated me to try things I thought I’d never do again,” April E. says. “I’ve learned to live a full life, not just survive.”

LEADERSHIP MONTEREY PENINSULA (LMP)

Year Founded: 1982

Paid Staff: 1.5

Volunteers: 35

Budget: $100,000

649-8252

www.leadershipmonterey.org

THE BIG IDEA: Get teens involved in the community now, and create future Monterey County leaders. Leadership Monterey Peninsula wants Monterey County Gives! dollars to fund YouthConnect, a program to develop informed leaders in local middle and high schools. It does this with an annual youth leadership summit and a summer leadership boot camp that trains students how to motivate their peers to stay in school. It’s a much-needed message, considering a recent Children Now report put Monterey County in the bottom third of the state, based on its number of 12th graders who graduate on time: 71 percent, compared to the state average of 76 percent. YouthConnect emphasizes being engaged with the community and making a positive difference. The summit connects students from different schools and backgrounds, while boot camp takes them to community sites – a lettuce field, for example, to see how lettuce is cut and wrapped.

Lead the Way: “LMP changed my life,” Anne Auburn says. “When I started, I wanted to learn how to be a good team member, but I finished as a team leader.”

LEGAL SERVICES FOR SENIORS (LSS)

Year Founded: 1985

Paid Staff: 6.5

Volunteers: 12

Budget: $530,000

899-0492

www.lssmc.net

THE BIG IDEA: Another casualty of the Great Recession: Many local seniors have to work well past the age when they had planned to retire. Because of this, Legal Services for Seniors is developing an after-work outreach program to meet with seniors. The nonprofit plans to hold outreach hours in South County, Salinas and anywhere else in Monterey County it sees a need to assist seniors with their legal problems. Last year, the group protected more than $382,000 of our seniors’ money which otherwise would have been taken from them by fraud, wrongful suits, sloppy billing practices and unscrupulous landlords. Help LSS add to the pot that stays in seniors’ pocketbooks this year.

Putting the Secure in Social Security: “I live on Social Security. LSS fought for me when Medicare made a mistake. Without Legal Services for Seniors, I would be paying $5,000 I didn’t owe.”

MONTEREY COUNTY RAPE CRISIS CENTER

Year Founded: 1973

Paid Staff: 11

Volunteers: 42

Budget: $873,743

373-3955

www.mtryrapecrisis.og

THE BIG IDEA: Let’s stop sexual violence by teaching teens to speak out against it. Monterey County Rape Crisis Center is asking the public to support its sexual violence prevention clubs in local high schools. These clubs’ goals are to empower teens to create change, in themselves and the community, by talking to their peers and high school campuses about sexual violence and how to prevent it. The My Strength Club for males and the My Life Club for females examine the social norms and culture that surrounds youth, connects those messages to sexual violence and then helps youth take action. Students create a community of respect and healthy communication, which leads to sexual violence prevention.

Taking Control of My Life: “Our My Life Club girls learn to deconstruct unrealistic media messages, embrace their strength and grow towards their true potential,” says Vicki Schutzler, a Salinas High School teacher.

MONTEREY HOSTEL SOCIETY

Year Founded: 1992

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 15

Budget: $3,500

899-3046

THE BIG IDEA: It’s a new program called Hostelling for Everyone: connecting domestic and international travelers and groups with our local community through hospitality and activities that encourage conversation, participation and intercultural exchange. Monterey Hostel Society hopes to break down cultural barriers and stereotypes to promote worldwide peace and understanding. Money donated will help defray the costs of hosting and planning events. By the end of next year, the nonprofit plans to have established lasting programs that will collectively involve travelers and the local community.

See the World on the Cheap: “I was able to go kayaking, whale watching and participate in the potluck dinner, which I would not have been able to afford,” says Sam Brend.

MONTEREY PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER (MPJC)

Year Founded: 2004

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 30

Budget: $48,000

899-7322

www.peacecentral.org

THE BIG IDEA: Teaching kids English helps them do better in school and bridges gaps between ethnic groups. Monterey Peace and Justice Center’s new program, Finding Friends Across Diversity, will expand its free ESL program and better integrate the students into other projects at the center and in the community. Currently, the center offers four two-hour, one-on-one tutoring sessions. While focusing on English learning, the curriculum also covers environment, sustainability and social welfare/justice issues. The ESL teachers volunteer from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, work with neighborhood and community organizers to host monthly bilingual movies, potlucks, community events and celebrations to bring a diverse group of people together in one place. MPJC also plans to feature ESL students’ stories in storytelling or poetry events at the center.

Lessons Learned: “Teaching in this unique program, I was able to learn about a culture that previously had been very foreign to me,” says Sarah DeMola, student/volunteer.

REBUILDING TOGETHER – MONTEREY/SALINAS

Year Founded: 1995

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 300

Budget: $70,000

644-0473

www.RebuildingTogether-MS.org

THE BIG IDEA: Fourteen percent of Monterey County residents live in poverty, according to 2009 data, including 12 percent of families and 28 percent of single-mom households. Less than 5 percent of Monterey County homes are affordable to median-income families. And more than half (55 percent) of owners with mortgages and 9 percent of owners without mortgages spend 30 percent or more of household income on housing, which the federal government says is too much. RT typically rehabilitates 15 to 20 low-income homes and one nonprofit facility in a fiscal year – at no cost to homeowners, because RT uses volunteer labor and donated or fundraised materials. This year it proposes Blitz Build: repairing 20 to 25 homes and two nonprofits. Its neighbor-helping-neighbor project improves the lives of low-income homeowners and helps nonprofits to better serve the community.

Raise the Roof: “I just didn’t know fairy godmothers still existed until [RT’s] volunteers came to my home,” says Olivia Morgan.

SALINAS STEINBECK ROTARY CLUB FOUNDATION

Year Founded: 1981

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 72

Budget: $40,000

998-2199

www.steinbeckrotary.org

THE BIG IDEA: In 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastated El Higuerito, a small town in Honduras, destroying the community and forcing many residents to relocate. The town’s water supply has since been fed by a contaminated stream, untreated, with exposed pipes that are regularly damaged. This summer, Engineers Without Borders will drill a well to provide potable water. This joint project of the Salinas Steinbeck Rotary Club, the Salinas-Northeast Rotary Club and Engineers Without Borders’ San Francisco Professional Chapter will construct storage tanks and water distribution lines to provide clean water year-round. The Rotary Clubs will use this project as a hands-on example to educate students at their partner schools, Everett Alvarez and North Salinas high schools, about the importance of clean water to local economies and ecosystems. El Higuerito gets water-supply improvements, and Salinas students learn about the necessity of a reliable water supply, which is as important on California’s Central Coast as it is in Central America.

Communities Without Borders: “The impact that Rotary has had on me is immeasurable,” says Samuel Magaña, Everett Alvarez High School Rotary Interact Club President. “It has given me the opportunity to give back to my community.”

SHELTER OUTREACH PLUS

Year Founded: 1978

Paid Staff: 34

Volunteers: 592

Budget: $1,494,905

384-3388

www.sopinc.org

THE BIG IDEA: Shelter Outreach Plus, one of Monterey County’s largest shelter and service providers to homeless families and domestic violence victims, needs help. Local dollars support its short-term emergency shelter, long-term transitional housing assistance, food, clothing, counseling and other services. This gives clients access to income sources like benefits and employment, which also lessens the burden on state – and county-funded safety nets. It’s a hand up for clients, not a handout.

Helping Hands: “The people who run this program actually care whether my brother or I succeed. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

THE SALVATION ARMY – GOLDEN STATE DIVISION

Year Founded: 1896

Paid Staff: 45

Volunteers: 350

Budget: $300,000,000

883-4911

http://tsamonterey.org

THE BIG IDEA: The Salvation Army Monterey Peninsula Corps helps people from Marina to Big Sur to Carmel Valley, providing housing, food, clothing, comfort, counsel and education at a state-licensed school and financial assistance to those who qualify. With the ever-increasing demand for food at the Good Samaritan Center, the nonprofit needs extra funds to ensure a good supply of food to meet the community’s needs. It needs help stocking the shelves, especially for seniors and families that depend on the Salvation Army to sustain them. The nonprofit has an agreement with the Food Bank and Grocery Outlet; with more donations it can buy more food and help end hunger in our community.

Walking the Walk: “Rick and Tammie received help in the form of food, money, counsel and comfort while they lived in a van. Rick got hired by the Salvation Army, and they live in an apartment now.”

THE SECOND CHANCE YOUTH PROGRAM OF MONTEREY COUNTY

Year Founded: 1991

Paid Staff: 13

Volunteers: 59

Budget: $1,187,550

758-2501

www.scyp.org

THE BIG IDEA: Kids often say, “When I grow up, I want to be… ,” but no one really talks about how to make the dream become reality. Big Dream, Come True introduces the concept of staying and doing well in school, focusing on how to get into college. Because kids are making bad decisions – doing drugs, some getting pregnant, joining gangs – earlier and earlier, Second Chance’s new program will start with seventh graders in East Salinas, bringing parents, students, school counselors, parent/teacher clubs and college representatives to talk to youth and their families. Its goal is to promote a college-going culture within the families and help youth set high goals. Understanding the value of academics builds a desire to succeed in school and attend college.

New Lease on Life: “Second Chance helps people get ahead,” Carol Edeza says. “Clients look at life differently; they have hope and are able to look into the future.”

VETERANS TRANSITION CENTER OF MONTEREY COUNTY

Year Founded: 1998

Paid Staff: 12

Volunteers: 5

Budget: $974,552

883-8387

www.vtcmonterey.org

THE BIG IDEA: Permanent housing for homeless veterans means our service men and women don’t have to live on the streets. It’s also vital to veterans who want to reintegrate into society and become productive community members. The VTC’s Coming Home program helps homeless veterans and their families obtain case management and life-skills training, among other services, so they can find permanent housing. Plus, the nonprofit’s transitional housing gives vets the skills they need to maintain permanent housing in a safe, clean and sober environment.

Landing Pad: “Four years ago, Keith Simi was homeless and wanted to put his life together. He decided to apply at VTC. Now he works in housing maintenance for VTC.”

YWCA MONTEREY COUNTY

Year Founded: 1972

Paid Staff: 35

Volunteers: 25

Budget: $1,200,000 million

422-8602

www.ywcamc.org

THE BIG IDEA: YWCA provides Monterey County’s only confidentially located safe house for domestic violence victims while also operating two service centers, a legal advocacy clinic, a 24 – hour crisis line, individual and family counseling, and school-based preventative programs for K-12 students. This year, it’s asking the community to help it provide victim outreach and advocacy in collaboration with local law enforcement. When officers are called to a domestic disturbance within their jurisdiction, the nonprofit wants them to relay information about the victim (name, phone number and a brief description of the incident) to YWCA Monterey County, so that a staff member can contact the victim and connect her with services. This project will allow proactive outreach to victims, instead of waiting for the victim to reach out for help. Statistics show that a domestic violence disturbance is often just the tip of the iceberg, and that victims could greatly benefit from comprehensive services to avoid future violence.

Back On Her Feet: “The YWCA taught me how to become financially independent for the rest of my life,” Lily Sanchez says. “You have given me so much!”

: : DONATE ONLINE now until midnight Dec. 31, 2012 : : www.montereycountygives.com