Supporters thronged the auction tables at Stow’s fundraiser. Organizers sold shirts for Stow, printed with his paramedic license number, a yellow ribbon and the universal medical symbol. Photo by Prescott Watson.

Giants and Dodgers fans alike were horrified when Bryan Stow, dedicated father of two as well as a dedicated Giants fan, was beaten savagely outside Dodger Stadium at the home opener baseball game on March 31.

Stow remains in critical condition as of April 14. Fundraisers have been held across the state to benefit Stow’s family, which is still recovering from the shock of the incident.

Hundreds of Giants fans and Stow supporters gathered at a fundraiser held at El Palomar restaurant in Santa Cruz on April 11 to show their support for the Santa Cruzan. Over $25,000 in donations were raised. Danny Simon, friend and roommate of Stow, said he planned the event to show local support.

“I wanted a fundraiser to be done here so Bryan’s family and friends that he’s known since high school could come here,” Simon said. “I just wanted to do something so that everyone could come together and celebrate here in town.”

Stow went to Soquel High School. Many of his friends came to the fundraiser to donate, buy raffle tickets, participate in the silent auction and watch the game in the back of the restaurant. Early in the evening, Simon said he was happy to see all of the camaraderie.

“First we didn’t think there were going to be enough people here to bid on things,” Simon said. “Now I’m afraid there are too many people. It’s crazy, and it’s just started.”

By 8 p.m., only one hour into the event, hundreds of people had already stopped by. The entire event lasted a total of four hours. By the end of the night, over a thousand raffle tickets had been sold.

“Again, it’s the local community of Santa Cruz coming out and supporting one of their own,” Simon said. “It’s what this town does.”

This is exactly what helped him secure donations for the silent auction and raffle, he said.

“Not one person told me ‘No,’” Simon said. “I came to many different places, people I knew or didn’t know, and everybody just said, ‘What do you need? What do you want? Is that enough?’ It was incredible.”

Kimi Hanson, manager of El Palomar, said she was glad to be able to help Simon with the event on behalf of Stow. She became friends with Stow after he and Simon frequented El Palomar many times in the past. Hanson plans on making a private donation from the restaurant to the Stow family, which will be sent to them along with the funds raised by the silent auction and raffle.

“He’s a lifesaver and a family man,” she said. “Just overall a really nice guy.”

Santa Cruz resident Jonathan Nelson, who works with Stow at Santa Clara Operations, attended Monday night’s fundraiser. He said he had already been to a similar fundraiser in Santa Clara, where he made a donation to the Stow family.

“Bryan is a great guy who would give everything he could to somebody to save their life,” he said. “So it’s just really ironic that something like this would happen to him. It’s really sad.”

He commended the Giants for bringing attention to the violence, calling them a “very classy organization.” He also praised the community for coming together to help out in light of the tragedy.

“We really feel for his children and for the family,” Nelson said. “This has been just phenomenal.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Santa Cruzans Support Bryan Stow

The Student Athlete Committee discusses ways to increase exposure. Photo by Rosario Serna.

Photo by Rosario Serna.

Division I athletics is big business.

Enormous sums of money are poured into the athletic departments by boosters like Nike CEO Phil Knight, who donated $100 million to the University of Oregon in 2007. Tens of thousands of fans fill giant coliseums to watch college athletes compete live, while local and national networks broadcast the events to millions watching at home. And D-I football and basketball players are treated like royalty at their schools, and many leave college as full-blown celebrities.

D-III athletics, on the other hand, has a different story.

Last Tuesday, representatives from each D-III team at UC Santa Cruz gathered around a wooden table in a second-story OPERS classroom to discuss ways to raise exposure for D-III university sports teams.

Florescent light shined on the framed photographs of UCSC sports teams, as the Student Athlete Committee (SAC) discussed upcoming fundraisers that would increase revenue and exposure for the teams.

The committee discussed the logistics and plans for their fundraiser at Woodstock’s Pizza on Tuesday, April 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. At one point, a committee member asked if more flyers to publicize the event could be made.

“There’s someone using the copier right now,” Alison Aragon, the women’s golf representative, explained to the other representatives.

“We don’t get a lot of promotion, especially being a Division III school,” said third-year health sciences major CJ Villalobos of the men’s soccer team. “We have to promote ourselves.”

The fundraiser will help raise money for the SAC’s main project of the year: producing UCSC athletics T-shirts sponsored by local businesses and student organizations, which will be handed out for free to freshmen next fall.

Sorensen said he views the T-shirt campaign as a benefit for both the local company sponsors and the athletes at UCSC.

“They get their name up here on campus and we get our name out in the community,” Sorensen said.

SAC members hope that the T-shirts will create more publicity for the D-III sports teams around campus.

“You like to play in front of people, especially when you work really hard,” Villalobos said. “People don’t even recognize us; it’s the worst.”

Villalobos emphasizes the need for the teams on campus to stick together and help support one another.

Through the SAC, all the D-III teams on campus can work as one in the promotion of athletics at UCSC.

“We have to support each other, because we don’t get a lot of support from outside,” he said. “We’ve got to stick together and show up and support one another at games and stuff, which is cool.”

Sarah Finder, the women’s cross country representative, said she hopes the T-shirts will lead to more of a sports following among the student body.

“To get the whole freshman class wearing supportive T-shirts makes athletics a big deal,” Finder said. “The goal is to change the culture of the UC here and how sports are appreciated.”

As March Madness wraps up with the Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend, tens of millions of people will watch D-I athletes play basketball. The success and failure of student athletes at Duke, Butler, West Virginia and Michigan State will be written about in sports sections and talked about at water coolers all across the nation.

Members of the SAC understand that D-III athletics may never have the following that D-I schools enjoy, but Sorensen hopes the committee’s recent efforts help to expand publicity and knowledge about the NCAA teams on campus.

He said, “We want to play and we want people to know we play.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Athletes Hope to Build Sports Following

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, fundraiser! Photo by Rosario Serna.

Alcohol has often been known to heal wounds, especially wounds of the community.

As of last year, even domestic abuse programs felt the sting of statewide budget cuts, giving local nonprofits like the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center (WAWC) a reason to fight back.

Their weapon of choice? Some good old-fashioned tequila.

Felicita “Cita” Rasul, associate development director for the Women’s Center, explained why the organization is holding the March 6 event, appropriately named “Agave Agape” — Agape meaning love that is spiritual rather than sexual in nature.

“We need money to stay open. Right now we’re still furloughed on Wednesdays, so we can’t provide services on those days,” Rasul said. “My assistant director said we needed to do something like wine tasting, but she said ‘I don’t like wine, I like tequila!’”

And although tequila is famously paired with its partners in crime, salt and limes, Rasul explained that this event is all about experiencing the drink from a wine taster’s perspective.

“It’s not for doing shots or getting drunk or crazy, it’s really about tasting the tequila and enjoying it,” Rasul said. “It’s not about encouraging drinking, it’s about learning more about a drink that you already enjoy.”

This past July, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger clipped the remaining $16 million from the state’s Domestic Violence Program, causing groups like the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center to stand up and toast to the fundraising cause.

“We’ve been running on this promise of money,” Rasul said. “We’re applying for lots of grants and just working on gaining support from the community, and people have been very generous.”

Lisa Melloni, a UC Santa Cruz student and intern at the center, is one of many people putting the event together and running the center daily.

“I’ve been organizing all of the donations that have been made, and making phone calls and serving people at the event,” Melloni said. “It seems like I could learn a lot from here.”

Rasul discussed tequila’s origin from the agave plant, and the various types of tequila that will be available at the event.

“The three basics are blanco, anejo, and reposado,” she said. “Some of them are aged in whiskey barrels or bourbon barrels, so that’s where the different flavors come in. There are so many tequilas out there — they have their own nuances just like different wines, and a lot of people don’t really know that.”

Melloni is a fan of the Don Julio brand, which will be available at the tasting. She said that there will be about five companies in attendance, each serving two or three different kinds of tequila.

Rasul explained that along with tequila tasting, Agave Agape will offer wine and beer as well as Nuevo Southwest Grill catering, a silent auction and raffle prizes.

“We have a basket of Newman’s Own Organics, we have movie passes, and a lot of the local companies that have supported us are donating items as well,” Rasul said.

Rasul said that initially, the idea of a fundraiser centered on alcohol spelled trouble to the Women’s Center administrators. Recognizing the thin line they walk, the organizers are making an effort to keep the event as comfortable as possible.

“We had a lot of conversations about the appropriateness of having a tequila-tasting event, or any event including alcohol, aligned with the services we offer,” Rasul said. “The center of a lot of people’s trauma stems from alcohol abuse.”

Rasul stated that they plan to make the event as safe as possible, with car services available to take people home if they end up having too much fun.

The fundraiser’s projected 100-plus turnout helps Women’s Center staff members see the benefits of working in this environment even with a withering budget.

Melloni described the priceless feeling of helping women in the community each and every day, and said resources like the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center need as much support as possible.

“I’ve talked to some of the women that come in here. It really makes a difference in their lives,” Melloni said. “These women help them when they come in here and make them feel understood.”

And even though the fundraiser promises a good time, what it really boils down to — for Rasul and others associated with the nonprofit — is the ability to keep the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center running strong even on its shaky feet.

“Right now we are just raising money to keep the doors open and make sure that our services are available,” Rasul said. “It’s really important to support our families that we serve.”

~~~~~~

The event will be held at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) at the McPherson Center on Saturday, March 6. Cost is $75 per person. For more information, please call (831) 426-3062.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Agave Gives Back

Illustration by Joe Lai.

Amid statewide budget cuts and university fee hikes, athletes are now finding that money to fund their sports is scarcer than ever before. However, some teams on campus have found a creative outlet through which they are raising money to play the sports they love.

Some teams have folded or switched to club status due to the lack of funding they receive from both the university and the NCAA committee. Other teams are finding alternative sources, since they cannot rely on the insufficient finances provided.

Finding sponsors to donate to a team’s cause can be tedious, but the women’s cross country team recently discovered a website known as RaceRaiser that helps keep all their fundraising efforts structured and hassle-free.

Using RaceRaiser has changed the way the team approaches fundraising. The online service gives any organization the chance to go beyond the traditional means, such as selling candy bars and holding bake sales. Instead, incorporating the technology and ease of websites, RaceRaiser allows teams to design their own page. As athletes participate in marathons or meets, sponsors who pledge can simply enter their credit card, which will be charged as each runner runs more miles — very much like an online shop for a charity or nonprofit organization.

“The general idea is to make it easier for the teams who are fundraising to earn significant amounts of money, and the Internet is the next step in where we need to go,” said Matt Jones, manager of business development at RaceRaiser. “We give teams a chance to branch out to people who network using Facebook and Twitter.”

As the new season approaches, the men’s tennis team is also looking to raise money for their sport in any way they can.

“We run tournaments; solicit donations from alumni, current and past team parents; we do events with local clubs and we have a current campaign to start an endowment for men’s tennis,” head coach Bob Hansen said. “This is the first real, focused and organized year-long campaign we have had and hopefully we will be able to meet our goal of raising $75,000 this season. I have learned a great deal and we are now close to covering this year’s expenses so that any future fundraising can go toward the endowment.”

While the team is undoubtedly one of the most successful on campus — last year they took home the Division III national championship — the money they receive from expected sources, such as the university and the NCAA committee, are not enough to cover full costs.

“The money we receive from the school only covers about a third of the cost to run the team, and we must raise the other two-thirds-plus to cover team expenses,” Hansen said.

The men’s tennis team recently invested in a new option in their fundraising efforts. Utilizing the close proximity of an ATP event, the team has built a partnership with the San Jose exhibition, selling special courtside tickets with the inclusion of a dinner to begin their evening.

The second annual UCSC Alumni and Friends Night at the SAP Open Tennis Tournament, which will take place on Feb. 10, helps the team not only fundraise, but also reconnect with alumni and network with others.

“It was a great way to connect past and present members of the Slug tennis community,” said senior tennis player Marc Vartabedian. “It was cool to meet players that were part of championship teams from past years that we had only heard stories about from Bob.”

As expenses continue to skyrocket, many are hoping that the fundraiser will help ease the burden that now falls to the team.

“Last year the event did not bring in any significant funds, but served a great function in getting alums and boosters together,” Hansen said. “This year we hope to generate some additional funding support at the event.”

Even if the fundraising event is a new one, hopes are high that more schools will participate to spread the word.

“Last year we were the only school that participated,” Hansen said. “This year will be our second year and Stanford will have an alumni event as well. Each new event we do opens the door to more contacts and hopefully more productive fundraising in the future.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at UCSC Teams Come Up with Creative Ways to Fundraise

Illustration by Kiri Rasmussen.

There are very few times in your life when you can eat a gluttonous amount of sweets and not feel guilty about it.

The third annual Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival may just be one of those times. On Sunday, Jan. 24, from 1 to 5 p.m., students and locals are encouraged to “Indulge in a Worthy Cause,” as headlined in a flyer for the event. Admission is free, but tasting is not. Chocolate lovers can buy tickets for tastings, ranging from $5 to $20.

“How many times can you contribute to a good cause and eat chocolate at the same time?” mused Bonita Sebastian, publicity chair for the Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival and first vice president of the UC Santa Cruz Women’s Club.

Sunday’s events are designed to raise money for re-entry students’ scholarships.

“Re-entry students are students returning to college after having a break in higher education for some particular reason,” said Lorraine Margon, chair of the event and Women’s Club board member. “They can be the first in the family to go to college, or they can be single parents [for example].”

Margon founded the chocolate festival in 2008 at the suggestion of another board member while brainstorming for more ways to fund the club’s re-entry student scholarships.

“It has always been a special goal of the club to raise scholarships — we’ve been raising re-entry scholarships for students for over 30 years,” she said.

Now that it is entering its third year, the chocolate festival has seen exceptional growth and success.

“It turned out to be our top fundraiser,” Margon said. “We’ve doubled the amount of money raised every year.”

Both Sebastian and Margon agree that from the onset, the turnout has been phenomenal.

“We had 17 chocolate vendors the first year. We had to set up all the tables and chairs ourselves and pray that someone would come,” Sebastian said. “About half an hour after it opened we couldn’t move. We had 600 attendees. And later we thought, ‘We better have a bigger space.’”

And a bigger space they got. The second Chocolate Festival in 2009 moved locations from the Attic to the Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove to accommodate more people. The numbers grew even more, attracting 30 vendors and 1,600 attendees.

But the number of vendors and attendees isn’t the only thing that grew. The amount of money the club raised for its scholarships rose from $8,400 to $22,000.

The UCSC Women’s Club re-entry student scholarships fill a void that other scholarships cannot cover.

“They don’t just go to tuition — they can go to laptops and childcare and other expenses that other scholarships don’t apply to,” Margon said.

Though they come from the Women’s Club, the scholarships are not limited to women. Out of last year’s 17 scholarship award recipients, six were men.

Among these recipients was Kahlil Morse, a UCSC re-entry student pursuing a dual degree in history and global economics. He is now in China — the scholarship helped to subsidize the cost of his studying abroad.

“It gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture that I am focusing my degree around,” Morse said in an e-mail to City on a Hill Press. “Also, I have had the opportunity to connect with students interested in renewable energy and climate change issues here in China.”

Prior to studying at UCSC, Morse worked in the Manhattan fashion industry for five years while enrolled part-time in community college.

“I was 25 at the time … and I decided to take a leap of faith and give up my job in order to pursue my education,” Morse said.

Since then, he has founded an international student organization called the Santa Cruz Energy and Resources Collaborative, and co-produced the U.S.-China Green Tech Summit with Marley Association, a nonprofit dedicated to creating partnerships around green technology projects in the United States and China. Currently he runs the China office of the Marley Association while studying Mandarin at Peking University.

“I think it’s extraordinary,” Morse said of the UCSC Women’s Club effort to give academic and financial support to re-entry students. “It is encouraging to have a group on campus that understands and supports students like myself.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at An Un-Guilty Pleasure at Cocoanut Grove

Performers Serena Fennell, Kansten Mueller and Brent Adams pose before taking the stage in the 418 Project’s fourth annual “What is Erotic?” fundraiser, which shows May 29 and 30. Photo by Conner Ross.

Performers circle the perimeter of the room. A jester serves mango and a masked woman swings a sword and drags it across the necks of audience members. People sensually kiss and hug and it becomes difficult to tell who is actually a part of the show — it seems everyone is.

A sign on the bulletin board of the 418 Project details its income, totaling $105,615, while its expenses have reached $127,000. It is clear that some monetary stimulation is necessary. The annual “What is Erotic?” fundraiser is intended to provide just that.

Now in its fourth year, the interactive performance raises money for the 418 Project, a nonprofit community center located in downtown Santa Cruz.

“The 418 is really a place where diversity lives,” center director Ana Elizabeth said.

The 418 serves over 1,000 people per week, and is an all-ages, alcohol-free venue and rehearsal space for various music, dance and theater events.

“We’re a place where new and up-and-coming artists can present and explore different works without spending a lot of money in a supportive community,” Elizabeth said. “We’re not stuck on tradition.” 

Composed of local artists and volunteers, the performance pushes the envelope of the topic of eroticism.

“I think eroticism is about suggestion, tension, passion,” said Phoenix Toews, an interactive digital artist. “It’s that moment of whiteness as the climax approaches.”

Toews collaborated with fellow artist Serena Fennell on a piece entitled “Being with the Divine.”

“This type of thing is a question of the personal aspect of [eroticism] — what the performers personally find erotic — so it becomes a dialogue,” Toews said. “It’s a celebration of the extremity of life.” 

Waiting for the opening-night performance to begin, volunteer and attendee Rosie Stone said that her personal curiosity, as well as the name of the show, drew her to the event.

“I hope that they interact with the audience,” Stone said. “I’d love to participate.” 

The festivities began with an erotic salon pre-show. Upon entering, attendees kicked off their shoes and proceeded to lounge on the futon-covered floor. In the first row of chairs in the back sat a woman with her husband and teenage son. The woman, who would like her family to remain anonymous, said her son is “old enough” for the show.

Sitting between his parents, the teen was approached by a female performer who offered him a chocolate-dipped strawberry and proceeded to slowly hand-feed it to him. Moments later, the mother was given a blessing, in which another female performer lightly caressed her head and hummed in her ears. The father was also soon teased with a strawberry.

The event also featured a confessional booth, complete with a priest, who was “open to hear your sexual fantasies.” 

It was announced that, “The best fantasy will be acted out by the cast.” The teen suggestsed a fantasy of porno and aliens to his mother, while the dad joked, “Where is the cow?” 

With more than 50 people in attendance, the main event began. Among the several works by local volunteer artists, dancer Shelly Adams performed a piece called “Sometimes.” It began and ended with her saying, “Sometimes I like to eat raspberries.” Following her performance, raspberries were served to the audience.

Adams, who teaches dance at  local public schools and is an energy medicine practitioner, spoke of her inspiration for the piece.

“I received an invitation from someone to explore what is erotic to me,” Adams said. “The exploration ended up being like everything from the mundane, everyday eating of a raspberry, all the way to something that’s hotly sexual — and everything in between.” 

Fundraising through events like “What is Erotic?” is crucial to the longevity of the 418, which relies heavily on its income from renting out the studio for performances and classes, as well as to the attached Jumping Monkey Café. 

“If we lost one of our major studio renters, we would be in trouble,” Elizabeth said. “We don’t have a big cushion to lean on. We don’t have a lot of grants to support our programming.” 

Laura Bishop, lead director and co-producer of the performance fundraiser, explained how the center is surviving.

“Most nonprofits rely on just a donor base to get their money,” Bishop said. “We’re still open because we creatively use the space. It’s a lean year, so we definitely need the support. We’re doggy-paddling along.”

In the midst of the interview, Bishop, dressed in a corset, lingerie and top hat, spanked one of her co-performers in the lobby as she explained why it is important to pose a question like “What is erotic?”

“We have to ask it because in this culture people don’t,” Bishop said. “It deserves to be asked out loud at least once a year — and in a really juicy way.”

“What is Erotic?” will be held May 29 and 30 at the 418 Project on Front Street (across from the Metro Center). Tickets are on a sliding scale of $20 to $25. VIP tickets are $25 and include a foot massage. 

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Annual Fundraiser Asks, ‘What is Erotic?’

Illustration by Justin Martinez.

Slugs, food and rock ‘n’ roll.

These three words define UC Santa Cruz’s second annual day-long concert and fundraiser event, Rock ‘n’ Roll on the Knoll.

The knoll of choice, a typically serene, grassy hill located behind Stevenson College, will house a mini music festival this Sunday from noon to 8 p.m., complete with about 10 local performers, pizza, DJ sets and face-painting.

Organized by students, with partial funding from Stevenson Housing, the event aims to bring UCSC students from all ends of campus together to celebrate a common interest in music in the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll.

Second-year Ira Goldenring was one of the main coordinators of this year’s event.

“A bunch of us organized ourselves into a group to put together the show,” Goldenring said. “Personally, I dealt with booking bands, organizing set times, hanging posters up all around school, that sort of stuff.”

Although Goldenring did not organize the event last year, he and many others wish to recreate the benefit, making it bigger and better.

“It began in the spirit of charity,” Goldenring said. “Students wanted to give back to the community while organizing something that would be fun, free and local for the whole university.”

Second-year Paulie Dellamano helped Goldenring organize the event this year.

“It’s mainly supposed to be a local thing,” Dellamano said.

Last year’s event had a good turnout, with about 300 people attending over the course of the entire day.

“It was very impressive for a first run,” Goldenring said, “but we are trying to get two or three times the outcome of last year to come on Sunday.”

Dellamano discussed new plans to prepare for this year’s event.

“Last year was really last-minute, but this year has been planned out for a while,” Dellamano said.

Dellamano said  that although last year’s turnout was not as large as expected, and there could have been more donations, Stevenson Housing agreed to match the amount of money made.

Organizers expect a significant difference in the number of attendees this year, as a result of their increase in advertising and upgrade in entertainment.

Dellamano discussed the new additions to Rock ‘n’ Roll on the Knoll for this year.

“[Stevenson Housing] paid for our whole sound system, which is gonna be legit, and money for food that we won’t be selling, but asking for donations [for].” Dellamano said.

Proceeds from these donations will go to the Santa Cruz Homeless Shelter.

“The concert is free but we are asking for a suggested donation of $5 to $10, which will help to feed and house dozens of people who really need it,” Goldenring said. “Just one dollar can give 30 people a hot meal.”

Dellamano also discussed the process of informing UCSC administration prior to the event.

“We had to notify the police department and CSOs because it’s going into the evening,” Dellamano said. “There’ll be pizza, drinks and probably some other activities going on as well.”
Goldenring also commented on the notification process.

“There’s a lot of paperwork,” Goldenring said. “You have to follow guidelines in a major events policy handbook.”

While following these guidelines, as well as keeping the event drug and alcohol-free, Goldenring expects things will run smoothly.

Regardless of the turnout or amount of money made, Goldenring’s goal is to promote community and cooperation.

“I think it is really cool that Rock ‘n’ Roll on the Knoll is student-run and student-imagined,” Goldenring said. “Students had the idea, and students made it into a reality.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Rock ‘n’ Roll on the Knoll