This year, United Way of Santa Barbara County’s annual Holiday Gift Drive helped to make the holiday season memorable for 252 local children and families. The gifts, which were donated by 70 local companies and individuals, reached families across 13 different schools, organizations and programs.
“The smiles and joy warm anyone’s heart,” said Casie Killgore, principal of Franklin Elementary School. “The gratefulness of the families is unforgettable. These students had no idea what they were going to get and to be pulled out of class to open gifts with family… amazing!”
This marks the third year of United Way’s Holiday Gift Drive, and the 2022 drive set a record for the largest number of holiday wish lists fulfilled so far. United Way works in tandem with schools and organizations to hand-select the families that are in greatest need each year.
“We’re proud to partner with our local community to support these families during the holiday season,” said Victoria Dominguez, supervisor of workplace and corporate development at UWSBC. “Every child deserves to have something to unwrap that makes them feel special and seeing the smiles on these families’ faces is the highlight of this time of year for us. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s drive possible — we couldn’t do it without you.”
Supporters of the 2022 Holiday Gift Drive include:
| ACME Hospitality | Julie Heider - Gray |
| Adam Austin | Karen Robinson |
| Agnes Souza | Kathryn Duncan |
| Alyssa Pollard | Kevin Molloy |
| Amazon | Kimberly Rockwell |
| American Riviera Bank | Kristen d'Offay |
| American Indian Health & Services | L3Harris Technologies |
| Andrew Gonzalez | Lisa Winebrenner |
| Annie Thwing | Luke Lundin |
| AppFolio, Inc. | Lynda Elliot |
| Bechtel | Marianne Lynch |
| Bryan Kaye | Mary Lopez |
| Carly Walters | Maxine Smith |
| Caryl Bowman | Megan Phillips |
| Cottage Health | Meredith Newcom |
| Cottage Health - IT Department | Michael Oanta |
| CrossnoKaye | NALS Apartment Homes |
| Daniel Dzierski | Natalie Smith |
| Douglas Thrift | Neenu Ann Varghese |
| Elisabeth Crain | Nishith Patel |
| Elissa Rubin | Northern Trust |
| Erin Moy | Penny Luce |
| ExxonMobil | Rachel Brown & Friends |
| Holly Shumway | Rachel Solomon |
| Ina Frank | Raytheon Technologies |
| Ivy Arkfeld | Redwire Space |
| Janette Pell | Reyna Kaufman |
| Jenny Jack | Ryan Springer |
| Jeremy Montgomery | Shari Liu Fellows |
| Jesse Crossno | Stantec |
| Joeran Kinzel | Suzanne Danielson |
| Jonathan Gilkeson | Suzy Plott |
| Jorden Angel | Taylor Toner & Family |
| Juan Pedro | Wendy Cork Keyzer |
| Juli Askew | Zoe Rosenberg |
Participating Programs & Schools
| Adelante Charter School |
| Aliso Elementary School |
| Buellton Union School District |
| Canalino Elementary School |
| College School District |
| ERAP Children |
| Franklin Elementary School |
| Girls Inc. |
| GRAD Academy |
| Guadalupe School District |
| Hope Elementary School District |
| United Learning Center |
| United Learning Center at Harding |