BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF MONTEREY COUNTY Year Founded: 1968 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 65 paid, 163 volunteers Budget: $7,005,000 (831) 394-5171 bgcmc.org BIG IDEA: Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County’s Big Idea stretches to do “whatever it takes” for 6,000 youth and young adults in Monterey County, from homework help to a hot meal. The nonprofit operates two bustling clubhouses, one each in Salinas and Seaside, and offers school programming at 15 local schools…and growing. This nonprofit’s services include providing 80,000 meals to 6,000 students ages 6-24 after school and during breaks. “As an alum, I am now able to look back at my Club experience to see how much the Club helped me plan for my future. Being a part of the College and Career Readiness program, I was able to get a lot of resources. Staff helped me research colleges and took me on many college tours. I even received a scholarship! I am attending Cal Poly as an aerospace engineering major. Even as an alum, the Club staff still reaches out to me to give me college, job and life guidance.” -Xavier Taylor BRIGHTER BITES, MONTEREY COUNTY Year Founded: 2021 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 4 paid, 60 volunteers Budget: $460,942 (831) 277-8020 brighterbites.org BIG IDEA: Brighter Bites, Monterey County has a two-pronged approach to their Big Idea: make healthy food delicious and fun. And then make it abundant. This nonprofit partners with pre-K through sixth-grade classrooms, combining interactive and memorable nutrition lessons with deliveries of 20 pounds of fresh produce weekly to their families. This approach addresses limited access to nutritious food and a lack of education around healthy life skills, the two biggest culprits for the poor health outcomes that Brighter Bites is dedicated to improving. “Brighter Bites has made a meaningful impact on our school community by providing access to fresh produce and promoting nutrition education that inspires healthier lifestyles for our students and families. In class, our kids try fruits and vegetables that they may never have tried before, and then we see them going to the salad bar and enjoying fruit at lunchtime.” -Kristen Pantaleon, principal of Mary Chapa Academy, Greenfield CARMEL YOUTH CENTER Year Founded: 1949 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 7 paid, 10 volunteers Budget: $392,926 (831) 624-3285 carmelyouth.org BIG IDEA: Carmel Youth Center has a plan that integrates health, science and creativity into a hands-on, comprehensive curriculum year-round for 200 kids. What could this Big Idea be? Gardening! Carmel Youth Center is expanding its Center for a Healthy Lifestyle program to include maintaining a working garden, then preparing fresh meals with the results. Donations will support initial costs, like installing raised beds, improving irrigation and purchasing small equipment, groceries and safety tools to supply the kitchen. “Carmel Youth Center is the best place for the kids to grow and connect together. This place makes the kids feel free, safe and like it’s a place they can call their own.” -Krissie Salmoun CASA OF MONTEREY COUNTY Year Founded: 1995 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 11 paid, 175 volunteers Budget: $1,869,122 (831) 222-3965 casaofmonterey.org BIG IDEA: For the last 30 years, youth in foster care have had CASA of Monterey County in their corner. This Big Idea trains adult volunteers (called court-appointed special advocates, or CASAs) to serve as consistent representatives for each youth in 84 Monterey County GIVES! 2025 mcgives.com EDUCATION & YOUTH DONATE ONLINE MCGIVES.COM FIRST MAYOR’S HOUSE Year Founded: 1999 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 0 paid, 20 volunteers Budget: $25,000 (831) 214-8661 firstmayorshouse.org BIG IDEA: Step back in time at the First Mayor’s House, a museum and cultural heritage center in Salinas based in the original home of the Isaac Julian Harvey family. This organization maintains an in-person and online experience about the early history of Salinas and Monterey County. Visitors can learn Josephine’s doll story and step into the reality of the first settlers to the area. Donations support ongoing operations for this museum, including Big Ideas like monthly free first Saturdays and youth field trips. “I think the First Mayor’s House is really fun and educational. It was really fun doing the chores like washing socks on a washboard and making butter.” -Charlotte Morrow, student SPOTLIGHT “This place makes the kids feel free, safe and like it’s a place they can call their own.” -Krissie Salmoun, Carmel Youth Center
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