COVID and the Community

By Chris Finnie

For a rural area, the San Lorenzo Valley is rich in community organizations. Here are how three well-known groups are dealing with the changes they’ve experienced and how they’re coping during the pandemic.

San Lorenzo Valley Museum

Lisa Robinson, collections and exhibition curator says, “We’ve found that when people understand the history of their community, they feel a greater part of it. So, we feel that, by sharing history, we’re building community.”

To do that, they’ve had to be creative. The museum has presented a celebration of the centennial of the suffrage movement that included a Zoom version of a play called Yellow Ribbons that tells the story of Santa Cruz suffrage and Portraits of Persistence, a poster exhibition from the National Archives about women’s voting rights was installed outside the museum. And the Felton branch had the good fortune to show the Smithsonian exhibit Waterways during a brief lifting of shutdown orders.

They’re planning some creative fundraising too. Instead of their annual dinner and auction, they hope to do an online auction. “We may do a community takeaway with local restaurants instead of our usual dinner,” she says.

Visit SLVmuseum.org to get on the mailing list for upcoming events, make a donation, become a member, and find links to the museum’s social networks.

Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center

The mission of the Art Center is to support local artists and bring art to the community. This has always been accomplished through in-person shows and sales, and the  ever-popular after-school and adult art classes. But, with schools and the center’s gallery closed, events and classes have gone outdoors and virtual with COVID protocols in place. For example, kiln firings have taken place in the large ceramics yard when county orders permit.

The most successful transition has been the virtual gallery shows. These have provided an opportunity to showcase an even larger selection of artwork than can sometimes fit in the gallery. And artists have been enthusiastic about the chance to show their works.

Visit mountainartcenter.org. Take a look at the latest show, Abstract Expressions, while you’re there.

Valley Churches United

Lynn Robinson, executive director of Valley Churches, notes that they’ve never closed during the pandemic because they’re considered an essential business. But, like the other groups, this “volunteer-powered” organization has had to scale back to maintain a safe workplace.

They’ve also seen an increase in their client base with people coming in for the first time after losing their jobs. Robinson said, “It was so sudden that it took a lot of people by surprise. People were shocked. The CZU fire was a second blow. Their lives were just upended in a single day. It was a struggle for a lot of people.”

Though they couldn’t hold the school food drives that usually stocked their non-perishable shelves, Second Harvest has stepped up to provide additional food. Local grocery stores are also regular donors.

Robinson is proud of the fact that they never shut down. During the fire evacuation. The Community Project connected them with Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, where they set up a table to serve clients.

To replace their usual fundraisers, Robinson says, “We had amazing community members who stepped up and came up with unbelievable alternatives to the physical fundraisers we would have had. We’ve had two virtual fundraisers that have been remarkably successful.”

Valley Churches currently needs canned soup, cereal, mac and cheese, and jelly. You can bring food donations to the office at 9400 Highway 9 in Ben Lomond between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Or donate by mailing a check to PO Box 367, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.

f you’d like to help Valley Churches help your neighbors, you can donate foods for pantry bags. They currently need canned soup, cereal, mac and cheese, and jelly. You can bring food donations to the office at 9400 Highway 9 in Ben Lomond between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Or donate for them to buy food by mailing a check to PO Box 367, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.

Chris Finnie has lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 25 years. She’s worked as a marketing copywriter for more than 35 years. And has been a local, state, and national political activist for 17 years. She has contributed articles and columns to several local newspapers.

Feature photo: The Air that I Breathe by Alisan Andrews. Photo contributed by SCMAC.