Ellen DeGeneres Donates $10,000 to Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office

Comedian and part-time Montecito resident Ellen DeGeneres, along with her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, recently contributed $10,000 to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The two requested that the money — which was donated in cash in late August — go toward the department’s Carpinteria station, including for bicycle gear for beach patrol and improvements to the station’s common areas.

The donation, like any donation $10,000 or more, has to be officially approved by the Board of Supervisors at their meeting on Tuesday.

According to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover, the couple previously donated $3,500 to the department in 2013. “The Sheriff’s Office greatly appreciates their generosity and willingness to invest in the public safety of their community,” Hoover said.