This Week on the Central Coast
The Boardwalk supports local schools with a raffle, Meals on Wheels brings fresh seafood to the needy, and Santa Cruz makes progress on its library/affordable housing project.
The Boardwalk started its 17th annual fundraiser called Drive for Schools
Drive for Schools raises money by selling raffle tickets. The event supports over 70 schools in the area, including public, private, and charter schools. Participants can purchase one ticket for $5 or six for $25. You can also pick which school your money goes to and those schools get to keep 100% of the money raised for them.
You can purchase tickets by contacting the coordinator for the school you choose. Tickets will be sold until October 17 and winners will be announced at 1pm on October 24 at the boardwalk. Winners will be contacted within 15 days of the announcement and you don’t have to be present to win.
Tickets will also be sold on the day of the drawing at the boardwalk. Tickets bought on the day will go to the Santa Cruz County Office of Education Special Education Department.
Raffle participants can win various prizes, including a grand prize of $25,000. There are also five $1,000 prizes. Other prizes are listed on the boardwalk’s website and they include Santa Cruz, and Golden State Warriors tickets, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom tickets, a cruiser bicycle, lunch for two at Cafe Sparrow, a two hour bowling party for 10 at the Boardwalk Bowl, a one-night stay and breakfast for two at the Chaminade, as well as gift cards for dozens of businesses in Santa Cruz.
Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust pairs Meals on Wheels with Local Fish
Meals on Wheels provides thousands of meals to homebound seniors and disabled adults through Monterey County. When the pandemic caused restaurants to close and strained supply chains, the fishing industry hit a snag. That is when the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust (MBFT) stepped in.
The company seeks to increase the sustainability of fishing in the Monterey Bay. They do that by partnering with a variety of industries, including local fisherman, government agencies, and local conservation organizations. Aided by a “$50,000 grant courtesy of Catch Together, a national nonprofit aimed at protecting fisherman’s businesses and communities”, MBFT started a program called the Monterey Bay Community Seafood Program as a response to the difficulties caused by COVID shutdowns. Since starting the program, “the Fisheries Trust has donated more than 20,000 meals through participating emergency food relief agencies.”
Santa Cruz moves forward with new library / affordable housing project
Santa Cruz took the first step in constructing The Library Mixed-Use Project when it selected Jayson Architecture for the job. The project combines affordable housing with a new downtown branch of the public library. Jayson Architecture has also designed other libraries in Santa Cruz County and expressed a “desire to go above and beyond the affordable housing requirement set by the council”. The company said it would create more than double the requested amount of affordable housing units, raising the number to 107. This will help Santa Cruz near its goal of reaching 123 very low income affordable housing units by 2023.
The next step in the library / housing project is to design the building. That step should be concluded by 2022. Construction could then begin in 2023 and finish by 2025. By that time, Santa Cruz hopes the building will be ready for move-in and a grand opening for the library.
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