44 Monterey County GIVES! 2024 mcgives.com Community & Social Services DONate online mcgives.com importance of mental health as a cornerstone of overall well-being. Additionally, these experiences have honed my communication skills, empowering me to advocate effectively and advocate for meaningful change. I’m incredibly grateful for the support and knowledge these programs have provided, and I’m committed to using what I’ve learned to continue making a positive impact in my community.” -Paris C., 16 Carmel Public Library Foundation Year Founded: 1990 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 2 paid, 19 volunteers Budget: $997,716 624-2811 carmelpubliclibraryfoundation.org Big Idea: “Quaint” gets major points in Carmelby-the-Sea. But for the Carmel Public Library Foundation, it’s time for its rich and meticulously documented history to get a modern upgrade. Donations to this nonprofit’s Big Idea will support a significant digitization project, helping preserve cultural artifacts, historical documents and local histories. From photographs and letters, to maps and scrapbooks, these artifacts provide a link to the past. This digital bridge to the future will make them accessible to future generations to learn and enjoy. “The community enrichment provided to us all is not just buildings, services and programs—but it is the people. Our amazing Carmel Public Library continues to serve as a community builder, center for learning and champion of youth. It preserves important historic artifacts, oral and digital history relevant to the community, and serves as a catalyst for addressing social issues.” -Carmel Residents Association, Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 Carmel Valley Community Youth Center Year Founded: 1958 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 18 paid, 120 volunteers Budget: $47,673 659-3983 cvcyc.org Big Idea: The Carmel Valley Community Youth Center’s decades-old playground is in need of a modern redesign. And when it came time to choose the new plans, the CVCYC consulted with Salinas’ Tatum’s Garden Foundation to design a new, fully accessible playground for Carmel Valley—only the second of its kind in Monterey County. Donations to this Big Idea will start the building phase, with inclusive features like accessible ramps, therapeutic swings and covered seating. “I really love Tatum’s Garden, so I am excited to have one closer to my home. I can’t wait to play on the see-saw and the new slides. I like that all my friends from school can play!” -Baylee R., 8 Catholic Charities Year Founded: 1984 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 48 paid, 25 volunteers Budget: $4,582,538 393-3110 catholiccharitiesdom.org Big Idea: Catholic Charities steps in to help reduce poverty by providing essential human services like financial aid, disaster relief, immigration legal services and assistance applying to complex health care and food programs. This nonprofit’s Big Idea is to maintain that wide reach and remain responsive to assist with emerging threats to our neighbors’ financial stability. Funds from last year’s donors to this Big Idea helped divert 17 local families from becoming homeless. “During the 2023 storms, the fields where my “I cannot help everyone in the entire world, but I can help the people in need.” -Aidin Shahi, American Red Cross of the Central Coast Asian Cultural Experience of Salinas (ACES) Year Founded: 2008 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 4 paid, 50 volunteers Budget: $36,700 809-8310 salinasace.org Big Idea: Did you know the Asian Cultural Experience of Salinas has received several important historical objects and original photographs, with more to come? It’s exciting news and means that the nonprofit can contribute to Salinas’ multicultural history by maintaining this archive. This big news comes with a Big Idea: Donations will help ACE purchase and renovate a 20-foot storage container for archival purposes. Additional insulation, shelves and devices are needed to monitor humidity and temperature inside the container to protect this important collection. “ACE has an amazing collection of historical photos and objects donated by local Chinese, Japanese and Filipino families. We’ve done research to find descriptions— names, places, dates, activities—for the images and objects. Learning about who the people are, where they are from, what they’ve done and why, is fascinating; these stories represent an important part of Salinas and Monterey County history. We input the photos with their descriptions into our new digital archive, which is great to have—but we need to preserve the original photos and objects for posterity and to create our museum. Realistically, it will take years to renovate the Republic Cafe as a museum and cultural center. That’s why ACE needs an archival storage container now.” -Kathleen Slattery spotlight
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