United Way to Honor Community Partners

This “Celebration of Excellence” will showcase the contributions of nearly 90 community partners in the success of the Fun in the Sun program, which has been awarded a prestigious 2012 National Excellence in Summer Learning Award from The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA).

With the collaboration of an array of community partners (involving 72 service delivery partners, 15 funding partners, and 500 volunteer mentors), United Way of Santa Barbara County’s Fun in the Sun (FITS) serves financially and academically at-risk children (ages 7-18) and parents, for seven weeks each summer. All participants come from low-income families and qualify for free and reduced-price meals during the school year. Since 1997, 250 community partners have contributed to the program’s success and the program has served more than 2,500 local children and 1,500 parents.