This holiday season we invite you to join Noozhawk this #GivingTuesday, November 28th and support the causes and nonprofits that matter to you most. Explore our Giving Guide to discover meaningful ways to contribute to the betterment of our community.
Engaging in #GivingTuesday extends beyond a mere financial donation; it offers an opportunity to enrich the lives of others and cultivate a spirit of kindness and community. Together, let’s transform this holiday season into a time of abundant generosity, compassion, and positive transformation. Your support has the power to shape a brighter and more hopeful future for those who could use a little help.
Our Good for Santa Barbara Nonprofit Section provides all the resources you need to donate this holiday season!
In this interview Noozhawk spoke with Cynthia Hooper at Unity Shoppe to learn more about the nonprofits goal to provide essential services to community members in need.
Unity Shoppe, Inc.
Question: What is the name and mission of your nonprofit?
Answer: Unity Shoppe is a Santa Barbara based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free essential services to residents impacted by temporary conditions of poverty, natural disaster, or health crisis. We provide residents with groceries, clothing, and other essentials, as well as job training – the things that help reinforce human dignity, and encourage self-sufficiency and independence.
Q: How long has your nonprofit been in service, and who are its founders?
A: 1917- Originally founded as “Council of Christmas Cheer” by Dr. Pearl Chase.
Succeeded in 1983 by Barbara Tellefson.
Q: What was the inspiration behind your nonprofit?
A: Famed civic leader, historic preservationist and conservationist, Dr. Pearl Chase, among many other things also founded Unity Shoppe’s predecessor, known as the Council of Christmas Cheer in 1917.
It was a charity staffed with volunteers who collected food, clothing, and used toys to give to mothers who were heading up households while their husbands had been drafted to fight in the military during World War I.
By 1972, Barbara Tellefson, Unity Shoppe’s founder, fondly described as “Saint Barbara,” began her first 20 years of volunteerism with Dr. Pearl Chase at the Council. When she was asked about those early years with the Council, Barbara explained: “I was immediately struck by how the Council welcomed and aided all Santa Barbarans — the young, old, rich and poor, people from all races, creeds and colors. As Dr. Chase was getting ready to retire, Barbara made a promise to her that she would commit her life to helping the most vulnerable as best as she could for as long as she could.
In 1983, Barbara was able to secure the Council’s first building to avoid the incredible hardship of repeated moves from rental spaces. By 1987, the Council was renamed Unity Shoppe thanks in part to the support of entertainer Kenny Loggins and local television station KEYT-TV as partners in the production of a fundraising telethon in support of Santa Barbara’s low income residents.
But Barbara took it a step further, insisting that people in need should never be made to feel they have to turn over their dignity, autonomy, or independent decision-making in order to receive something in return. This sentiment was imbued in Unity Shoppe’s work and remains its core purpose to this day.
While Unity lost its matriarch in 2020, Barbara’s legacy lives on not only in Santa Barbara, where Unity Shoppe continues onward under new dedicated leadership, but also in cities like Nashville, TN and Blacksburg, VA.
In 2012, country singer Brad Paisley and his family volunteered at Unity Shoppe while visiting Santa Barbara and were so taken by how the mission was executed, they committed the next few years to replicating the model in their hometown of Nashville, calling it The Store and launching it two years later.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded and what are your greatest needs?
A: The Unity Shoppe is constantly securing and developing relationships and support to continue their mission. Unity procures all foundational and donor potential funding by using a variety of outreach devices including available grant application submissions, one-on-one outreach calls and meetings with select donors, a direct mail and email campaign, Public Service Announcements on KEYT/KCOY, and an updated Unity Shoppe website.
Unity Shoppe will continue to seek funding from other sources in order to cover ongoing costs of operations. Financial contributions are most beneficial as Unity can leverage it’s collaborative partners and buying power to serve the greatest number of clients.
Q: What types of fundraisers and/or programs does your nonprofit run?
A: Unity’s primary fundraiser is it’s annual Holiday Telethon Celebration. This year, the Telethon will air on December 8th from 5PM-8PM on KETY-3. Various campaigns and outreach efforts generate donations year-round. Program descriptions is as follows:
FAMILY SERVICES CENTER
Our Family Services Center, lovingly referred to as the “Free Store,” is the heartbeat of our effort to serve our residents. We nourish them – with the best groceries we can possibly secure – and clothe them – only with new and like-new clothing and footwear that we’d want to wear ourselves.
UNITY DELIVERS
An extension of our Free Store that began in 2020, Unity Delivers meets the needs of our clients who are unable to shop in person. We deliver custom groceries and other essentials they call and request straight to their door twice monthly, throughout the year. Unity Delivers throughout South County but is currently expanding throughout the rest of 2022 to accommodate our clients in North County as well.
HOLIDAY TOYS & GIFTS
There is nothing more gratifying than working with the Santa Barbara Community during the holiday season. We receive donations of brand new toys from individuals, groups, corporations, Toys for Tots, the U.S. Marine Corps, and South County Fire Stations – all ready and willing to work together to make the holidays brighter for our community’s children and their families.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL
The Back-to-School Shoppe pops into action in late summer, just in time to relieve the financial strain of school shopping. Children and families shop for brand new backpacks and school supplies, fresh clothes, cool kicks – all the materials needed for a successful start to the new school year.
SENIORS HELPING SENIORS AND KIDS
Our long-time senior volunteers are nothing short of angels and miracle workers! Hundreds of them work throughout the year – knitting, sewing, quilting, painting, woodworking, and assembling – to bring warmth and joy to our most vulnerable residents.
JOB SMART
Provide young adults, unemployed residents, and individuals living with disabilities with the occupational training and work experience required to find gainful employment in a competitive job market. Participants have the opportunity to select an interview outfit which includes shoes and undergarments. And, referral to resume development assistance.
TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE (TAP)
TAP provides immediate vital resources to help financially vulnerable residents facing a crisis such as natural disasters, sudden job loss, death in the family and a family impacted by unexpected health implications. In addition to distributing food, clothing, and personal-care items, clients can come to the Unity Shoppe’s Transitional Assistance Shop (a “one-stop shop”) for items such as home goods like furniture, dishes, linens and small appliances.
UNITY GIFT & THRIFT AND FURNITURE ANNEX
Located at 1207-09 State Street, Unity Gift & Thrift Shoppe and Furniture Annex is Santa Barbara’s premier thrift store, offering a place to shop with purpose! Every dollar spent at the Thrift Shoppe directly supports programs and services offered at the Client Services Center.
Q: How do people get involved/volunteer for your nonprofit?
A: Some ways to get involve include:
1. Work on site at our Family Services Center sorting, bagging, and shelving incoming deliveries of fresh produce and shelf-stable groceries; organize and categorize clothing donations, toys and back-to-school supplies; help us keep Unity Shoppe tidy always for our clients in need who deserve a pleasant place to shop for themselves and with their families.
2. Team Building- Groups from organizations or companies can volunteer 1/2 day at Unity Shoppe at our Client Services Center. Contact Priscilla@unityshoppe.org for opportunities
3. Off site volunteer opportunities such as food or clothing drives
Q: What makes your nonprofit different from others?
A: Unity Shoppe’s tagline is Dignity, Respect and Choice. The organization recognizes when there is a struggling individual or family, it is empowering to allow them to select food and clothing that works for their situation in a fun and compassionate setting.
Q: What is one best kept secret or fun fact about your nonprofit that not everyone knows?
A: Over the years, many employees, volunteers and vendors were former clients of Unity Shoppe. When guests tour the facility they say “I’ll never forget receiving food and clothing from Unity Shoppe”
Q: Can you share one or two stories of individuals whose lives have been changed because of your organization?
A: 1. Ruth came to us with her four kids. All of her children have special needs. These are her two daughters who are Autistic. She has recently lost her housing and is
working with Priscilla, Program Director through our Transitional Assistance Program (TAP) to get housing and items for when she is housed.
2. Irma and her son Gary sought assistance from Transitional Assistance after spending five months living in their car. Irma’s family of five had been residing in an apartment while working and sending their children to school. However, when new owners took over the apartment complex, they were evicted, leaving the family with no choice but to live in their car. Two of the children were placed in Noah’s Anchorage while the others remained in the car. Thankfully, with the help of New Beginnings and Unity Shoppe, they were able to secure a new home and furnish it.
Q: How does the work of your nonprofit get communicated to the public?
A: Through constant outreach and community partnerships, social media, facility tours, Public Service Announcements, and volunteer engagement
Click here to learn more about Unity Shoppe’s mission to provide residents with groceries, clothing, and other essentials, as well as job training – the things that help reinforce human dignity, and encourage self-sufficiency and independence.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.