Adventures in Caring Foundation
$2400 for the Compassion in Action Program
Adventures in Caring trains volunteers to visit patients who are sick and lonely in hospitals and nursing homes, and produces materials on communicating with compassion. The Compassion in Action service learning program provides hands-on training to students pursuing careers in the health professions.
http://www.adventuresincaring.org


Committee for Social Justice
$1000 to support a City-Wide Youth Newspaper
This new quarterly publication is intended to empower young people to speak openly and truthfully about what concerns them, and to teach courage, independence of thought, the uses of freedom, and cross-cultural empathy and cooperation.

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Conflict Solutions Center
$4600 for General Support
The Conflict Solutions Center empowers youth and adults to manage conflict fairly and effectively, by providing tools, training and support to families, schools and workplaces throughout Santa Barbara County.
http://www.cscsb.org


Dancing Drum
$2000 for Drummin' Up Character Interactive Performances
Dancing Drum is an arts education and performance group that focuses on the universal language of rhythm as a tool for building community. This program uses original hip-hop music, live drum rhythms, songs and dances to highlight the six pillars of the Character Counts program.
http://www.dancingdrum.com


Education for Sustainable Living Program
$3000 for Program Support
ESLP is a student-led interdisciplinary effort throughout the UC system whose mission is to create sustainable community through service-learning programs and community engagement. This grant supports the program at UC Santa Barbara.
http://orgs.sa.ucsb.edu/esl/

Educational Kinesiology Foundation
$3000 for the Santa Barbara Giving Back Program
This intergenerational program pairs elders trained in "Brain Gym" with elementary school children, to create relationships that enhance learning, respect, and self-esteem.
http://braingym.org/


La Casa de la Raza
$2000 for the Cochitlehualli Youth Photography Program
La Casa has been providing bilingual advocacy and advice to Latino families for 34 years. This program, whose name in Aztec means "visions so clear they are like dreams," is an after-school youth photography program for recording daily life, creating nonviolent self-expression, and building new skills.


La Escuelita
$3000 for Program Support
La Escuelita is a student-run organization that provides its members with pre-professional teaching experience. Services include tutoring low-income Spanish-speaking youth, mentoring local youth and families, and offering fun, safe, and educational events for the children and families of Isla Vista.
http://orgs.sa.ucsb.edu/laescuelita/
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Life Chronicles
$2500 for General Support
Life Chronicles produces video recordings of people who are terminally ill, who are in life crises, or for those who wish to share their life story for the next generation.
http://www.lifechronicles.org/


New Beginnings Counseling Center
$2500 for the Life Skills Training Program
This nine-month curriculum, offered to low-income parents and children in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, teaches effective communication, listening and sharing skills, nonviolent conflict resolution, and tools for understanding family violence, child abuse, proper nutrition, and substance abuse.
http://www.newbeginningscounselingcenter.org/


Ocean Futures Society
$3000 for Ambassadors of the Environment
A program of Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society, AOTE is an inquiry-oriented program, conducted at El Capitán Canyon, that provides inspiration and tools for change in the Latino youth community. This grant supports the program at César Chávez and Cleveland Schools.
http://oceanfutures.org/

SB Dance Institute
$4000 for program support
Modeled after the national program created by Jacques D'Amboise, SBDI is a multicultural arts education program that exposes elementary school children to the power of the arts by offering high-quality dance education. This grant funds the program at Solvang, Adams and César Chávez elementary schools.

Spiritual Paths Institute
$1000 for Scholarship Support
The Spiritual Paths Institute offers interspiritual programs and retreats to help participants understand the world's great spiritual traditions and develop their personal spiritual paths.
This grant funds scholarships for "The Path of Love and Compassion," to be held February 3-5, 2006, at La Casa de Maria in Montecito.
http://spiritualpaths.net/

Speaking of Stories
$2000 for Word Up Workshop with Sus Narrativas Performance
Speaking of Stories promotes the appreciation of literature through live theatrical readings. Its Word Up program for at-risk youth uses the spoken word as a catalyst to encourage personal self-expression and a sense of belonging within a community, while improving literacy and self-confidence.
http://www.speakingofstories.org/

University Religious Conference of Santa Barbara
$2500 for the Interfaith Banner Project
The purpose of the URC is to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation at the University of California at Santa Barbara and in Isla Vista. This grant supports the creation and dissemination of banners featuring quotations on universal themes, such as truth, love, faith, and compassion, from the major spiritual traditions of the world.
http://urcsb.org/

Vanishing Landscapes
$2500 for Production of Educational Materials
Vanishing Landscapes is an ongoing documentary process that celebrates local artists and land visionaries who work together to save open spaces in Santa Barbara County for future generations. This grant supports the production of a teaching guide and DVD package to be used by educators at Santa Barbara County schools and in the UC system.

Raggedy Ann administers the best medicine.

URC Director Patty Forgie, Linda Phillips, Rep. Lois Capps, and Kazu Furuta with interfaith banners.

(photo credit: Kevin McKiernan)