Growing Up in Santa Cruz

  • Good Stuff

    The boardwalk is Hiring

    The Boardwalk is Hiring! Seaside Company Press Release The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is now hiring. Enjoy perks like working at the beach, discounts on food, a flexible schedule, and on-the-job training. Work with your friends, have fun and help their guests safely get back to what they love. You will feel confident with all of the safety protocols that the Boardwalk have in place for you. Together, you can create a lifetime worth of memories for the guests and each other. What are you waiting for? Join their team and gain valuable skills, lifetime friendships, awesome perks, and the best view around! The Santa Cruz Seaside Company owns and…

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    Winners: Gerbrandt Sisters

    Gerbrandt Sisters Feel the Holiday Spirit Coloring contest winners Sisters Adelaide and Emeline Gerbrandt, 8 and 4, won our coloring contest for January. We gave them gift certificates to Wonderland Toys in Aptos. Send your entries each month to [email protected] Emmeline Gerbrandt adelaide gerbrandt

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    Positive Parenting January

    Celebrate Positive Parenting Awareness in January JANUARY 2021 MARKS 9th ANNUAL POSITIVE PARENTING AWARENESS MONTH IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY First 5 Santa Cruz County SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – First 5 Santa Cruz County, which manages the Triple P — Positive Parenting Program, today announced January 2021 has been proclaimed Positive Parenting Awareness Month by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for the ninth consecutive year. The proclamation is especially meaningful this year, as parents and caregivers may have struggled with the health, economic and socio-emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and racial injustices. Triple P offers proven strategies that help parents and caregivers strengthen relationships with their…

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    Patient to Hygienist

    Dientes Provides Opportunities to Achieve Dreams Former Dientes Patient Daniel Uriostegui Starts His First Day as a Hygienist BY (Santa Cruz, CA) As tough as 2020 has been, December 7th is a moment to celebrate for Dientes Community Dental Care as they welcome newly minted Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) Daniel Uriostegui, once a patient – now a hygienist.    Daniel Uriostegui’s journey to becoming a hygienist began at age 10, with his first visit to Dientes. “I was nervous but remember being so impressed at how friendly everyone was and how they took their time to explain everything to me. I knew, then, that I wanted to do something in the dental…

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    Electrifying your Bike

    Thinking of electrifying your beloved bike? Check This Out By Brad Kava E bikes are all the rage these days, and why not? We live in an area that’s so hilly and we are trying to be more environmentally conscious. Yeah, it would be great to simply pedal everywhere, but there’s a great alternative for those who can’t get up the hills or need to do more miles faster, like commuting on the someday coming rail trail (or, we wish, just bike trail). You can buy a new E bike (with battery-powered pedal assist) for anywhere from $1,200 to $6,000 or more. Or, if you have a bike you love,…

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    Happy Giving Hands

    Local Teens Educate, Fundraise and Donate Local high school student, Mikayla Shults, founded Happy Giving Hands when she was nine and left in the dust after a short time. She raised money to make “blessing bags” for homeless people in Santa Cruz. These bags included necessities like deodorant and toothpaste/toothbrushes. Now Happy Giving Hands will be the following: open to all schools in Santa Cruz (elementary-high school) donate period products and other necessities to menstruators in need be a safe place for all genders, races, sexual orientations; HUMANS educate youth in our community about periods and period poverty 🩸We are so happy to embark on this new journey where we…

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    SLV Rocks

    SLV Rocks Out to Feed Families On April 15, SLVHS Math Teacher Rob Lahey reached out to SLVUSD Superintendent Dr. Laurie Bruton with an idea to help SLV residents amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Both of them had been wondering how to pool the SLV community resources and allow neighbors to help neighbors. After two days, they created SLV Food For Families. In one month, $31,000 has been raised. Families in need can apply through the district web page. Each week the fund has given out $10,000. Trying to rally the community and entertain at the same time, Rob Lahey started creating playlists via youtube of local musicians. Each week Lahey…

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    Gateway’s Life Lab

    Gateway’s Garden Bounty Gateway School was established in 1970 and for the last 29 years, it has delivered produce grown in its Life Lab Garden to a variety of agencies through its Growing for Good program. Recipients have included Second Harvest Food Bank, the Familia Center, River Street Shelter Kitchen, and this year, Grey Bears. The Growing for Good program was developed to help students understand access to food and what and how the supply chain works. Every fall as part of Gateway School’s Social Justice curriculum Kindergartners and 5th graders discuss what they are thankful for and learn about those who are less fortunate. Gateway School’s Life Lab Garden…

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    History Repeats Itself

    History Repeats Itself BY CAREY LISTON I’m a social music teacher longing to be back in school creating music with my students. The past few weeks have been extremely difficult. Feeling like I needed to channel my energy, I started sewing face masks. I called my mother,  who in my mind is a master seamstress, to walk me through my first mask. After the first I started to crank out more. As I was sewing, my husband pulled a book titled Historic Homes of Boulder Creek from the shelf and reminded us of a story we had forgotten.  In 1907, George and Mildred Cress bought our house on Pine Street…

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    Second Harvest COVID-19

    National Guard & Second Harvest Feed Those in Need PHOTOS BY KEVIN PAINCHAUD Thirty volunteers joined with the US National Guard to help the Second Harvest Foodbank distribute food to Santa Cruz County residents at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds on Friday, April 3. Suzanne Willis, Development and marketing officers for Second Harvest Foodbank estimates that food was distributed to over 2,000 cars, feeding over 3,000 families across the Santa Cruz County. The distribution included fruits, vegetables, and various frozen food items. Second Harvest Foodbank is looking to distribute food at the fairgrounds every Friday until the pandemic ends. They are currently looking for other distribution locations in the mid-county…

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    Cabrillo College Maker Space Masks

    Cabrillo College Instructor Takes Action Cabrillo College Makerspace Begins Production of 3-D Printed PPE Masks and Face Shields for Santa Cruz County Medical Providers. APTOS, CA – In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting shortage of medical supplies and PPE masks, Payson McNett, Cabrillo College Art Studio Instructor and Director of Digital Fabrication has a solution – he’ll make them. Deemed essential by Cabrillo College Superintendent/President Matt Wetstein, the Cabrillo College Makerspace is staying open to produce PPE masks and face shields, both of which are desperately needed by medical facilities and hospitals nationwide. McNett has done extensive research on the best options for 3-D printed masks…