Good Times Community Fund

January 25, 2012 – You did it! You helped us raise $72,536 to help local youth through career, leadership and educational programs!

Thanks to support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and our local partner the Good Times.

Good Times readers contributed a total of $41,536 to these four community groups, $31,000 of which will be matched by the Packard Foundation.

The amounts to be awarded to each group are:

• Watsonville Wetlands Watch – $25,980
• "Food, What?!" – $20,057
• Mariposa's Art – $14,043
• Summer Youth Employment Program – $12,457

Great job Santa Cruz County!

Last year, you helped us raise $75,026 for Barrios Unidos, Family Service Agency of the Central Coast, Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

You can still read more about this year's four groups, watch their video and contact them directly to contribute.



Summer Youth Employment Program


Helping local youth gain access to a summer job, obtain essential work readiness skills and identify future career opportunities is the goal of the newly reconstituted Summer Work 4 Youth Program.  Originally funded as the Summer Youth Employment Program through American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds, the program has served over 900 at-risk youth between the ages of 14 – 24, with a subsidized summer job since its inception in 2009.  The program provides workplace skills training, goal setting and subsidized job placements aligned with the youth’s career pathway.  




Watsonville Wetlands Watch
Watsonville Wetlands Watch takes students and teachers on real “down and dirty” tours of one of the largest coastal fresh water wetlands in California. Participants get first-hand knowledge through slough clean-ups, nature education and other hands-on programs. At the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center, on the campus of Pajaro Valley High School, a California standards based curriculum is used to educate over 1,000 students a year.



"Food, What?!"


"Food, What?! is a youth empowerment and food justice program that uses food, through sustainable agriculture and health, as the vehicle for growing srong, healthy and inspired teens. Through internship, summer jobs and community events it partners with low-income and at-risk youth to grow, cook, eat and distribute healthy, sustainably raised food and address food justice inssues in Santa Cruz. "Food, What?!" is a project of Life Lab Science Program.




Mariposa's Art
Mariposa’s Art provides after-school art and music programs where youth learn to express themselves, creatively solve problems, make healthy choices and improve their communities. A program of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, it helps high school students become leaders, mentors and role models by co-teaching with professional artists in local schools. Since 1998, it has served over 12,000 students, including youth in the Pajaro Valley and Santa Cruz.




Good Times Community Fund