Editorial: Community is just down the shore

Downtown Santa Barbara sees the largest crowd of its young adult residents on Thursday nights, standing in line with friends to go to Sandbar for discounted drinks. They come with a few friends, but don’t arrive with the intention of creating more or integrating themselves in the broader community less than 20 minutes from Isla Vista. 

A State St crowd gathered for the Día de los Muertos parade, a collaboration between the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara.

Even though it’s virtually impossible for one person to establish a connection with each of Santa Barbara’s over 80,000 residents, our young people should be more intentional about being involved in and engaged with the greater Santa Barbara community — because they have been asking for it.

Many young people in the community go online to sites like Reddit to ask for ways to combat loneliness while living here. Luckily, over 80,000 residents means there is no shortage for opportunities for community connections and engagement.

One way of measuring community engagement is the extent to which people volunteer, as it represents the time constituents donate their time to a specific local cause. AmeriCorp, an organization dedicated to connecting volunteers with service projects in areas such as education, disaster relief and public health, collects data on formal and informal volunteering — meaning volunteer work through a formal organization or independently. Their 2023 report states that 18 to 24-year-olds had the lowest informal volunteering rate and second lowest formal volunteering rate, only surpassing those above 85.

It is important to recognize that a large proportion of our young readership attend a higher education institution in Santa Barbara, so scheduling time to give back to Santa Barbara may feel out of reach after all the hours dedicated to classes, homework assignments and even work. 

But, a part of attaining a work-life balance involves being social and feeling connected to others. And while many college students are involved in community service in Isla Vista through the IV Tenants Union and Isla Vista Arts, Santa Barbara City College and UC Santa Barbara exist in a larger community with numerous opportunities to connect with local people outside of the college context.

For those whose passion lies in protecting our coastline, the Surfrider Foundation organizes beach cleanups where environmentally-minded Santa Barbarans can protect the ocean’s flora and fauna, like the kelp forests highlighted in this issue.

Members of World Dance for Humanity, a local nonprofit who fundraises for countries in need like Ukraine, performing in front of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art

For those wanting to aid those impacted by conflicts abroad — and are open to explore music and dance from other cultures — World Dance for Humanity organizes classes and performances to support Rwandans and Ukrainians in need. They also do local outreach, offering classes to disabled and low-income residents and collaborate with the Westside Boys & Girls Club to tutor kids after school.

Young Santa Barbarans, however, aren’t limited to seeking out nonprofits for community. We recently covered the Santa Barbara Run Club, a group of over 20 runners connecting over cardio. Also, the new bookstore Godmothers in Summerland welcomes anyone to take a break from work or school to enjoy their cozy ambiance and mingle.

Spotlighting these gathering places and events over the last two issues has been no accident. As a publication, Santa Barbara Coast & Culture believes in the power of people coming together and existing in community.

We hope you enjoy this issue, our own product of collaboration and an ode to the great work being done in our space on the Central Coast.

The Editorial Board