By Natalie Edwards
Special to the Daily Press

DOWNTOWN Santa Monica non-profit organizations are having a field weekend with Saturday and Sunday back-to-back festivals celebrating and promoting local stewardship.

The Third Annual Nonprofit Festival, organized by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, will take hold of 3rd Street Promenade from 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday.

“This is a really terrific way to feel the community spirit of Santa Monica, said Laurel Rosen, President and CEO of the chamber.

Over 40 local non-profits will be exhibited, all vying for the attention of residents with booths, brochures, enthusiastic volunteers, and maybe a few surprise draws to educate locals about the widespread and multi-faceted presence of charitable organizations in Santa Monica and inspire them to contribute.

“I think this is a great opportunity for anyone who has been looking for a way to reach out to the community, be a service, and make their lives count in terms of getting back,” said Rosen.

The festival originated in 2006. Former head of the chamber Kathy Dodson was trying to brainstorm with her staff members the best way to further service the nonprofit organizations that abound in the city. Many didn’t have the marketing funds to reach as many people on their own as they needed to remain active and visible.

“This event just made sense. The festival is a tool for them to reach a wider audience,” said Sheila Estaniel, Director of Marketing and Events for the chamber.

The festival differs from past years by the introduction of special presentations. The Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative, a non-profit organization that sells Indonesian products in Santa Monica to support efforts to protect the endangered Sumatran orangutan, will introduce it’s new full-size orangutan costume and host a naming contest.

A fashion show hosted by the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop and a song and dance performance by the Church of Scientology are also planned.

Heal the Bay, the organization behind the Santa Monica Aquarium and efforts to clean and protect Southern California coastal waters, will be one of the non-profits featured at the festival.

Randy Parent, Community Outreach Coordinator for Heal the Bay, sees the festival as an opportunity for increased exposure.

“We’re hoping in a few minutes time, when people stop at our booth, to educate them about the storm drain system, the way it pollutes the Bay, and measures they can take to combat that.

“We’ll also have information about Santa Monica’s proposed ban on plastic bags, a drive we’re pleased to have discussed in another forum,” Parent said.

The concept of a non-profit festival also resonated with the chamber because it elicited an exchange of ideas between the non-profits, a boon aligned with the chamber’s mission of facilitating local business growth.

“Anytime you get a group of business leaders together, no matter the sector, they are going to have a forum for sharing experiences,” said Rosen.

Sustainable Works is a non-profit organization funded by the City of Santa Monica’s Sustainable City Plan.

In addition to promoting their Green Living Workshop Program, a series of 6 workshops that teach how to simultaneously live a greener lifestyle and reduce utility bills, the organization plans to connect potential volunteers with other non-profits.

Sustainable Works maintains a Student Screen Program that finds community service opportunities for Santa Monica College Students and keeps a network of non-profit organizations.

“At the festival, once we’ve established a relationship with a non-profit and we learn that one needs a volunteer, we’ll help them,” said Susy Holyhead, Sustainable Works’ Business Screen Programs Director.

Exposure to stewardship opportunities will be possible the following day at Virginia Avenue Park, where the Second Annual Unity Resource Festival will showcase a slew of non-profits — some of the same featured Saturday — alongside keynote addresses and entertainment.

Hosted by Santa Monica College and the Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council, the afternoon event, from 1 pm to 6 pm, is meant to share with residents the resources available to them.

The first festival came about “as a result of information gleaned from community surveys performed by the City that suggested that residents were unaware of services provided for their benefit,” said Betty Macias, Virginia Avenue Park Senior Administrative Analyst.

The festival, with a community information booth representing over 40 non-profit agencies, including local agencies, youth groups, faith groups, and city services, is meant to both combat that ignorance and celebrate the community.

The theme of the festival is “United Youth and Families,” and the event caters to young and old alike by featuring keynote addresses from both Santa Monica-Malibu United School District Superintendent Dianne Talarico and Pro-Skateboarder Terrell Robinson.

Unity Awards will be presented to a handful of “community members who work behind the scenes, the unsung heroes, to thank them for the work they’ve done on behalf of youth and families in Santa Monica,” said Macias.

There will also be a number of musical performances spanning reggae and soul with La.Dee.Dred, jazz with Coop Inc. and the John Adams Middle School Jazz Band, hip hop with SoulReal, and traditional drumming with the UCLA Hanoolim/Poonhmul Drummers; and arts and crafts activities for children.

The festivals were not originally slated for the same weekend. The Non-Profit Festival was rescheduled from Feb. 23 due to rain.

Macias recalls unexpected rain at last year’s Unity Festival did nothing to dampen the mood of the festival.

“The atmosphere was wonderful despite the fact that it started to rain in the middle of the festival. People stayed. There was dancing and some people were dancing in the rain. We had such a broad cross-section of attendants: from children to seniors, and everybody enjoyed every aspect of the festival.”

Both events are free and open to the public.

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