myself and hold compassion for myself and what I have been through.” -Adult therapy client NAMI MONTEREY COUNTY Year Founded: 1984 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 6 paid, 50 volunteers Budget: $573,748 (831) 422-6264 namimonterey.org BIG IDEA: NAMI Monterey County, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, provides the full spectrum of support services for people facing mental illness, and those who love them. This Big Idea is to continue offering free programs to help people understand their diagnoses, find services and maintain hope. As demand grows, peer-led groups, like Peer-to-Peer and Family-to-Family, and school programs like Ending the Silence help reduce the isolation of mental illness and connect people in need to solutions and support. “Your programs help us find hope and not be stuck with the fear [that comes with mental health challenges].” -Anonymous THE SALVATION ARMY Year Founded: 1900 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 19 paid, 28 volunteers Budget: $3,300,000 (831) 899-4911 montereypeninsula.salvationarmy.org BIG IDEA: For those experiencing poverty, The Salvation Army (and its army of Big Ideas) steps up to help. Every weekday, this nonprofit prepares 120 hot meals at the Hope Mobile in Monterey or Good Samaritan Center in Sand City. Visitors can then enjoy a hot shower or wash clothes in a newly renovated laundry space. Day camps, summer camps and character-building programs are available for kids, and food boxes help sustain families—all at low or no cost for those in need. “It was so good, I don’t think my son even realized we were staying in a shelter.” -Mother in emergency shelter SENECA (FORMERLY KINSHIP CENTER) Year Founded: 1979 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 15 paid, 204 volunteers Budget: $10,149,000 (831) 688-0400 senecafoa.org/regions/central-coast BIG IDEA: Weeks- or months-long waiting lists can be an unfortunate reality for a child or family seeking mental health support. Seneca, which you may remember as Kinship Center, provides same-day crisis response and ongoing therapy for kids and families in our community who need local, age-appropriate care quickly. Donations support the Big Idea of child and family therapy services in Seneca’s outpatient clinic, round-the-clock support for kids in short-term residential treatment, structured day programs and a 24/7 mobile response team, helping keep those wait times shorter. “Seneca’s program made me feel less alone.” -Liam F., 15 82 Monterey County GIVES! 2026 mcgives.com COMMUNITY & SOCIAL SERVICES DONATE ONLINE MCGIVES.COM “Because of HRC’s generosity, my children and I were able to start over with dignity, comfort and hope.” -Samra Ahmad, The Housing Resource Center WATSONVILLE LAW CENTER Year Founded: 2007 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 16 paid, 10 volunteers Budget: $2,105,222 (831) 722-2845 watsonvillelawcenter.org BIG IDEA: Escalating threats directed at local immigrant families have overwhelmed the volunteers who mobilize to help. Watsonville Law Center, in partnership with the Monterey County Solidarity Network, provides a grassroots service to shield immigrant families in crisis. Donations to this Big Idea will help formalize this volunteer-led effort, establishing a permanent Rapid Response Initiative. Plans include unifying emergency dispatch, conducting rapid-response drills, training more than 750 community responders, and connecting affected families directly to legal defense and emergency aid. “The Watsonville Law Center is absolutely central to the work we do in the Solidarity Network. They provide critical legal expertise, guidance and insights that can only come from folks working directly with the immigrant families who are so threatened and harmed. The deep respect and community standing that Watsonville Law Center has forged has opened doors and helped facilitate valuable connections with other agencies, public officials and community members. As a volunteer, I often turn to the center’s staff for the kind of guidance, information and leadership that can only come from those who model the heart and practice of community-based service.” -Deb Busman SPOTLIGHT
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