What You Can Do To Help

We have a variety of ways to support Walnut Avenue!

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  • For information on donating goods, you can find more details here, including the wishlists from our different programs. Please note that all donated items must be new and unused.

  • For information on donating your time as a volunteer, check out our volunteering section.

  • If you would like to host one of our presentations or workshops for adults, youth, and other service providers, you can see what’s available here.

All monetary donations can also be used for tax purposes and receipts for your donation are available through our main office.

“What’s most helpful?”

Monetary donations allow us to put the money exactly where it’s needed most at that moment: this might be helping a survivor who has just fled a dangerous situation buy some new clothes, providing some groceries for one of our families, or buying some new supplies for our kids in the art program. Monetary donations aren’t ‘impersonal’ - they’re essential!

Your Donation Impact

  • $10,000 provides over 250 hours of respite care for children from families dealing with teen pregnancy, those seeking housing or jobs and/or experiencing family violence.

  • $5,000 provides over 30 individuals with counseling, support groups and job searches.

  • $2,500 provides 30-40 community volunteers with training to work with domestic violence survivors and youth.

  • $1,000 provides 30 children in our Early Childhood Education program with new books for a year.

  • $500 sponsors a Life Skills Workshop at a local group home, middle school or high school.

  • $250 provides a week’s worth of supplemental groceries for 60 families.

  • $100 provides a week of formula & diapers for infants of teen parents who are striving to graduate from high school.

  • $50 provides safe children’s programs while their parents receives services or attends one of our groups.

Donating by Cash or Check

There is no minimum or maximum for any monetary donations!

You can donate in cash by visiting our main office at 303 Walnut Avenue, Santa Cruz, between 9am-5pm on Monday-Friday. We recommend calling ahead, just in case, at (831) 426-3062.

Checks can be mailed or given in person. They should be made out to “Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center,” and if it’s being mailed, you can use this address:

Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center
303 Walnut Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA
95060

Donating Online via PayPal

Donating Gift Cards

Gift cards and preloaded Visa cards are immensely helpful as they can be given directly to a survivor or family and used at their own discretion. Being able to make their own decisions about funds, even if it’s as simple as choosing which brand of cereal is best for their child, helps people facing economic struggle and emotional challenges feel a little more control over their own lives. This is an essential part of our philosophy: allowing services to be as strength-based and participant-driven as possible as part of a family reestablishing its stability.

Gift cards we use most often:

  • Preloaded visa cards

  • Grocery cards (Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Grocery Outlet)

  • Clothing cards (Target, Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, Forever 21)

  • Cards for restaurants and activities with teens in mind (Jamba Juice, Saturn Cafe, Taco Bell, Boardwalk, Petroglyph, Pacific Edge)

  • Other needs: Amazon, gasoline