The Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building Benefit
Grassroots Fundraiser Lifts Hopes
By Michele Murphy
On Friday, August 28, 2026, SLV’s Mountain Music Productions is hosting a musical benefit for The Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building on Front Street in Santa Cruz, featuring the Anthony Arya Band, Slingshot Improv Trio, Love Creek, and Redwood Express. This will be an evening of top local rock n’ roll for a great cause!
The annual compensation the Veterans Memorial Building receives from the County of Santa Cruz has not increased in at least 14 years, despite the rising costs of supplies, goods, generalized inflation, and the lingering impact of the pandemic. Services offered include providing local veterans with hot meals, groceries, housing assistance, and mental and physical medical care and counseling. The building is also used for services open to the public such as educational classes, recovery meetings, theatrical performances, and concerts. The cost of these offerings exceed county funding.
According to executive director Dave Ramos, “Our services and programs rely heavily on the strong collaborative efforts we have with other organizations, like the United Veterans Council and the VA. We offer strong programming to expand our reach and service provision to help as many veterans as possible, in and out of Santa Cruz County. Our Wednesday veterans service day is our flagship day of community, camaraderie, resources, and support. Each week we see over 100 veterans who have access to the meal and pantry program, medical and housing resources, walk-in services to access VA benefits.”
Ramos continued: “The physical structure of the building was improved a handful of years ago, but the cosmetics and certain infrastructure is deteriorating. Repairs and maintenance have been frequently needed, like our recent boiler pump replacement and a major water leak. As of late, operating equipment that is critical to our ability to host our legendary musical concerts and many theater productions has been failing. Our lighting system is outdated and the sound system is in need of an upgrade.”
Our community is home to thousands of veterans, young and old, residents and visiting students. “Outreach and exposure is critically important,” Ramos said, “not only to expand the scope and reach of services, but to engage with veterans in our community who may not know about the benefits that they have earned. Transitioning out of the military can be a very challenging experience and the Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building has many opportunities to build relationships, get access to a wide range of services and support, and avoid isolation.” Contact Dave Ramos to learn more about the Vets Hall: VeteransTakeCharge@gmail.com
Music Benefit for the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Hall
Friday, August 28 at 6pm, Veterans Hall Santa Cruz, 846 Front St, Santa Cruz
Advance tickets are $20. mountainmusicproductions.com
Michele Murphy is the executive director of Mountain Music Productions, a Santa Cruz Mountains based live music networking effort. She lives in Felton with her husband Michael and their cat and dog.
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