Programs: Administration of goleta valley beautiful, 15 member volunteer board of directors meets monthly along with executive, membership, finance, awards/events and development committees. Goal of actively fundraising 50% of the budget with grants and contracts to support the rest. Director's average 10 volunteer hours per month. 140 donor members, e-mail newsletter sent to 4000 gvb supporters monthly. Up to date information available at the website www. Goletavalleybeautiful. Org. One full time executive director/certified municipal specialist arborist/certified urban forester. Twenty four trash pick up events in 2013 collected 120 bags with 324 volunteer hours. Continual graffitti removal program (1040 volunteer hours)
educational programs: 57 community service activities for youth groups, including growing 2000 native trees at thedevereux greenhouse. Working with developmentallly disabled adults at devereux and alpha facilities. Tree planting and maintenance with at-risk youth. Conduct science night demonstration projects at local elementary schools involving 1200 elementary, high school & university student volunteers. For california arbor day celebrations, gvb made 10 presentations to local elementary schools (350 volunteer hours)
community capacity building programs: goleta valley beautiful recognized the best land and design locations at the 39th annual goleta valley beautiful awards event and silent auction in may 2013 (525 volunteer hours
environmental quality, protection, and beautification: 1860 volunteers contributed 4785 hours to plant 200 trees in public locations, including various city and county street parkway sites, dos pueblos and san marcos high schools, ucsb, and goleta union school district schools, among others. In support of gvbs two year guarantee on all newly planted trees, volunteers maintained 11340 trees (200 public trees planted).
Planting for tomorrow is the guiding principle for Goleta Valley Beautiful. Trees take time to grow and it is important for us, our children & our environment to have a healthy urban forest. I have been excited to be able to help in small ways to enable this to happen. By attending the yearly Tree Care classes, assisting at school science nights, participating in a few of the actual tree planting opportunities and the annual awards, auction & fund raising event, I have seen the community interest in keeping Goleta green & growing. Our Executive Director is a dedicated arborist who works tirelessly with individuals as well as government entities to provide & maintain healthy trees throughout our area.
Goleta Valley Beautiful was organized over 35 years ago to relocate and renovate the town depot. That depot now has a full time staff and is open nearly every day as a museum Since that time, GVB has had a major part in beaufiying Goleta as well as a large unincorporated area between Santa Barbara and Goleta. This has involved recognizing homes and buisnesses for attractiveness and "greening", graffiti removal, trash pickup, and setting and exceeding the goal of planting and maintaining at least 400 street and park trees annually. Well over a thousand high school and college students work with GVB planting and caring for trees each year. Plantings take place nearly every weekend. GVB has grown each year under the ten year leadership of its full time excecutive secretary and a very active Board. I was a member of GVB for over 25 years and past President, and am now retired.
Goleta Valley Beautiful is founded on the basis of making a great town more green. By constantly working with the city to better improve it, GVB has truly made an impact. Not only is it more visually pleasing as unpleasing areas have been converted, but it also provides shade and a better place to live for all. Dependent on local volunteers, the community is constantly involved. It is a great organization that is dependent upon donations to keep it going. Is most definitely a top rated non profit!
