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Fun in the Sun                                                                                                                   < Back to Main Calendar





United Way of Santa Barbara County Fun in the Sun Initiative
 
Fun in the Sun is widely recognized as a significant resource in the lives of disadvantaged youth in our community.

 









Director & Founder
United Way of Santa Barbara County

Lead Agencies
Girls Inc. of Carpinteria
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara
Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast

Partners
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara
Girls Inc. of Carpinteria
Art From Scrap
Assistance League of Santa Barbara
Cancer Center of Santa Barbara
Carpinteria Unified School District
City of Carpinteria, Department of Parks & Recreation
City of Santa Barbara, Department of Parks & Recreation
Community Action Commission
Community Environmental Council
Cornelia Moore Dental Foundation
Dancing Drum
Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Food Fun Nutrition
Friendship Center
Goleta Union School District
Santa Barbara Jazz Dance Academy at Arts Alive
Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
Santa Barbara Public Library
Santa Barbara School District
Santa Barbara Zoo
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara
The Territory Ahead
 		 Among United Way's many supported services, Fun in the Sun has become a community hallmark, directly impacting the lives of nearly 300 children annually.

Young children living in Santa Barbara's low income neighborhoods are being threatened with isolation, gang violence, drug abuse, and other risky personal and social behaviors. In addition, the lack of structured activities and adult guidance over the summer months leads to a dramatic learning loss, which triggers a downward spiral effect on their academic achievement during the school year.

To combat this ongoing problem, twelve years ago United Way launched Fun in the Sun, a highly specialized summer enrichment program for these at-risk children. The program has expanded and grown over the past decade, and we were able to serve over 350 children and teens at four locations from Carpinteria to Goleta this past summer.

Fun in the Sun takes kids off the streets and puts them in a safe and supportive environment where their potential can grow. In a 7 week session, at-risk youth ages 5-16 participate in a multitude of indoor and outdoor activities creatively focused on engaging minds that would otherwise languish over the summer months. The goals are: build positive self-esteem and behavior choices, provide quality educational enrichment with an emphasis in reading achievement, and involve parents and the community in the children’s activities.

The children who attend Fun in the Sun are from the neediest families in the Santa Barbara community. Thanks to our partners and generous United Way donors, the Fun in the Sun program is free to participants. These children need Fun in the Sun in order to maintain academic skills over the summer, enrich and extend their educational experiences, and increase their chances of success in school and in life.

More than 30 public and private organizations partner with us each summer to present a research-based, educationally diverse program that is the most comprehensive our community has ever known.

Fun in the Sun is a safety net for the children and families who participate, catching them before they fall behind during the long summer months and catapulting them forward into school with sustained skills, an expanded base of educational opportunities, and a stronger foundation of social and emotional support.
 

Fun in the Sun General Information


July 28, 2007 Santa Barbara News Press Fun in the Sun Article
2008 Fun in the Sun Areas of Impact
Fun in the Sun Success Stories
Fun in the Sun Brochure
Letter from Angelica, A Fun in the Sun Participant


Outcome Information

Fun in the Sun 2008 Evaluation Report
40 Developmental Assets™ for Elementary Age Children


Volunteer Information

2008 Fun in the Sun Flyer (pdf format)

 

Video Clips & Multimedia-Coming Soon!


 Click here to download Adobe Flash Player. 

 

 

The Lunch Bunch
 

Lunch Bunch connects Fun in the Sun kids with hundreds of volunteers from dozens of companies from the local community. It also provides caring adults with a fun way to get involved during their lunch hour.

Volunteers have a chance to chat, play, and even plan activities for the kids. Many teams use this as an opportunity to teach the children an aspect of their organization they feel is important for children to know. Other organizations also come up with other ways to contribute such as holding a book drive, organizing a soccer game with the kids, or sponsoring a barbeque for lunch. Lunch Bunch is an intentional time for volunteers to be a positive role model for the Fun in the Sun children. Teams are encouraged to come up with fun ways to educate the Fun in the Sun children about what they do for their job. This opportunity broadens the children’s horizons and encourages them to dream big about their future.

In the summer of 2008, 36 local employers recruited over 460 employees to participate in the Lunch Bunch volunteer program.  Sign up now for Lunch Bunch 2009! 
 

Enjoying lunch at Fun in the Sun


More Fun in the Sun/Lunch Bunch Snapshots!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |


THANK YOU! to our 2008 Lunch Bunch Teams!


ABC-Clio
AGIA-Association Group Insurance
Bank of America
Bartlett Pringle & Wolf
Brown & Brown
Cancer Center Of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Barbara-City Hall
City of Santa Barbara-District Attorney's Office
City Of Santa Barbara-Public Works
Commission Junction
Community West Bank
County of Santa Barbara
Cox Communications
Dupont Displays
Equity Title
Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort
GE Fanuc
Goleta Sanitary District
McFarlane Faletti & Co.
Montecito Bank & Trust
Montecito Rotary Club
Network Hardware Resale
Northern SB County United Way
Pacific Scientific
Paul Mitchell The School Santa Barbara
Platinum Insurance Marketing
Prudential CA Real Estate
Raytheon
Sansum Clinic
Santa Barbara Bank And Trust
United Way of Santa Barbara County
Venoco
Vetronix
Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara
Wells Fargo
Wolfe & Associates

 

Lunch Bunch Participants 2001-2008

THANK YOU!
Company Name Year(s) Participated Company Name Year(s) Participated
ABC-Clio 2001; 2003-07 Lockheed Martin Santa Barbara Focalplane 2006
AGIA-Association Group Insurance 2001; 2006-07 MacFarlane Faletti & Co. 2007-present
Agile Materials & Technologies, Inc. 2001; 2004-05 Macy's West 2001
American Medical Response 2004 Mercer Global Advisors 2001-04
Astro Aerospace 2003-2004 Merrill Lynch 2002
ATK Space Systems 2006-07 Montecito Bank & Trust 2001-present
Bank of America 2001-2002; 2004-2006-07 NAUTRONIX Maripro Inc. 2003
Bartlett, Pringle & Wolfe 2001-2006-07 Network Hardware Resale 2001; 2003-present
BEGA 2007 Northern Trust of California 2001; 2003-05 ;2007
Brown & Brown of California 2002-07 Northrop Grumman Corp. 2001-2002
Business First Bank 2003-07 Ogilvy-Hill Insurance 2006-07
Byrd Financial 2001 Openwave Systems Inc. 2001;2003
California Highway Patrol 2001; 2003 Pacific Coast Business Times 2004-07
Callwave 2002-2005; 2007 Platinum Insurance Marketing 2003-06
Cancer Center of Santa Barbara 2001-present Powerlink Communications 2001
Carpinteria Sanitary District 2007 Prudential California Realty 2006-present
Casa Dorinda 2002 QAD 2002; 2007
Catholic Charities 2004 Raytheon Company 2001-present
Character Counts! Committee 2005 Rehabilitation Institute of Santa Barbara 2003-05
City of Santa Barbara 2001-present Rincon Catering 2007
CKE 2007 Roaming Messenger 2002
Clear Channel Communications 2001-2003 Robinsons-May 2002
Combined Federal Campaign 2001-2003 Ronald L. Wolfe & Associates 2005-06-07
Commission Junction 2001; 2003 Sansum Clinic 2003-05; 07-present
Community Home Health 2004 Santa Barbara Bank & Trust 2001-present
Community West Bank 2001-02; 2004-2006-present Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District 2002;2004-05
Computer Associates 2003-2006 Santa Barbara Heartfelt Foundation 2005
Compuvision 2003 Santa Barbara Jazz Dance 2005
Cottage Health System 2003 Santa Barbara News-Press 2004-05:2001-2002
Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse 2003-2006 Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority 2003-05; 2007
County of Santa Barbara 2001-present Santa Barbara Rehabilitation Institute 2007
Cox Communications 2001-present Santa Barbara City School Districts 2004
Cumulus Broadcasting 2003; 2006 Seymour Duncan 2001-03
District Attorney Christine Stanley's Office 2007 Smith Barney 2005
Dupont Displays 2003-present State Farm Insurance 2003
Equity Title 2007-present Superconductor Technologies 2001;2003
Evans Hardy Young 2005 Tetra Tech 2005
FastClick 2005 The Territory Ahead 2003
Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort 2002-present Tynan Group 2007
FLIR Systems 2001-2007 UBS Financial Services 2001
Four Seasons Biltmore 2001-2003; 2004-2006 UCSB 2002;2004
General Dynamics Land Systems-CTC 2001;2004 United Parcel Service 2004-05
Girl Scouts Tres Condados 2005 United Way Campaign Cabinet 2004-05
Goleta Sanitary District 2001; 2004-present United Way Leadership from Home 2004-05
Goleta Union School District 2002 United Way of Santa Barbara County 2001-06
Goleta Water District 2002;2004-2006 United Way Women's Leadership 2004-05
Hager & Dowling 2001-2006 Venoco, Inc. 2001-03; 2007 present
HUB International 2007 Vetronix 2001;2003-05;2007-present
Innovative Micro Technology 2001:2005-06 Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara 2003-2005
Inogen Inc. 2004-06 Washington Mutual 2007
InRoads Technology, Inc. 2001-04 Wells Fargo Bank 2001-2003; 2007-present
International Transducer Corp. 2004-06 Westmont College 2002
Intuitive Surgical 2001 Wexford Corporation 2002
Investec 2004 Woodglen Hall 2001
Isla Vista Youth Projects 2001 World Publications 2006
Islands Media 2001; 2003-04    
Kiwanis of Santa Barbara 2005-06    


 

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