The Cecilia Fund held their Annual Tea and Membership meeting on January 26 at the Santa Barbara Club and it marked the 125th anniversary of what is Santa Barbara’s second oldest charity. Over 100 members and guests enjoyed finger sandwiches and sweets, were treated to a display of the organization's history (below), and were brought up to date on the business side of the organization.
Speakers included local author and historian Erin Graffy (below right) who described what Santa Barbara life was like in the late 1890s when the organization came into being as the St. Cecilia Society.
Dr. Domenic Caluori (below left), Chief Dental Officer at Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics told the audience how indispensable The Cecilia Fund has been for his patients and their families. He emphasized the connection he sees on a daily basis between poverty and poor health, making the assistance his patients receive from The Cecilia Fund even more important. Dental care is a key area of the group's funding assistance since it is often required before other medical treatments can even occur.
In 2016, The Cecilia Fund made grants of over $100,000 and this year received requests in January alone of over $47,000 so the good work goes on!
