The Unity Shoppe’s 37th Annual Holiday Celebration and Telethon will be 5-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at the Kenny Loggins Event Center, 110 W. Sola St., Santa Barbara. The telethon will also be aired live on KEYT.
This year’s telethon theme is Dignity in the Community, reflecting Unity Shoppe’s approach to support those in need with dignity, respect and choice.
Audiences will enjoy appearances by Kenny Loggins, Brad Paisley, Rob Lowe, Michael McDonald, and other celebrities.
The Unity Shoppe offers a variety of programs to meet its mission of providing residents impacted by temporary conditions of poverty, natural disaster, or health crisis with resources — such as groceries, clothing and other essentials — that reinforce human dignity and encourage self-sufficiency and independence.
One of Unity Shoppe’s main programs is the Client Service Center, which serves people referred from one of Unity’s 400 partner agencies, identifying families, children, adults, single-parent households, and seniors needing services, such as free groceries.
Money raised from the telethon has a key impact as it is directly used to run the Client Service Center.
Service Center clients can shop in a store-like setting for groceries that support a healthy and well-rounded diet, choosing foods they know how to cook, as well as other household necessities, personal care products and clothing.
Many of Unity Shoppe’s community clients who are unable to come directly to the Client Service Center are served by Unity Delivers. Unity Delivers serves at-home clients through a custom-selected grocery service. Food is brought directly to a client’s home via a refrigerated Unity Shoppe vehicle.
Unity Shoppe purchases a copious amount of healthy, fresh perishable foods and other nonperishable foods those in need.
During the winter holiday season, the Unity Shoppe’s Holiday Store partners with local businesses and Toys for Tots. Toys for Tots allows thousands of Santa Barbara County children and their families to choose their favorite toys and gifts.
In addition to the Kenny Loggins Event Center, filming for the telethon will take place at 1207 and 1209 State St. to highlight other Unity programs, such as Unity Thrift and Gift Shoppe, where sales of donated items support Unity Shoppe services.
The State Street location is home to Seniors Helping Seniors, where 600 senior volunteers serve some 3,000 homebound seniors and disabled adults to fulfill basic needs requests from hospitals, senior service centers, and other organizations.
Traditional Assistance (TAP) and Job Smart services are available at the State Street site, too. TAP and Job Smart assist individuals transitioning into new housing after experiencing homelessness, and provide job search support and clothing for job interviews.
The Unity Telethon is sponsored by Chevron, Consumer Fire Products, Inc, DocuProducts Corp, Easter Team Realtors, Berkshire Hathaway, Marborg Industries, UCLA Health, American Riviera Bank, Montecito Bank & Trust, Community West Bank, Pacific Premier Bank, BMW, the Santa Ynez Band of the Chumash Indians, as well as businesses and individuals in the community.