unitysb
Source: Unity Shoppe
Unity Shoppe, Inc. announced today that its Founder, President, and Director of Operations, Barbara Tellefson, lost her battle with a terminal illness and passed away on Sunday, November 22. She was 84. Ms. Tellefson, long known for her determination and passion, worked year-round alongside a dedicated staff — and thousands of community volunteers — to help struggling local families put food on the table and clothes on their backs, prepare for employment, and find joy over the holidays.
For over a century, thousands of supporters have shared their time, resources and volunteer efforts with Unity Shoppe in ways large and small, including longtime Unity devotee and beloved performer, Kenny Loggins. “I don’t have adequate words to capture the gratitude and admiration I feel for Barbara and her unwavering dedication to Unity Shoppe; over many decades, her grit, tenacity and heart inspired me, her staff and other volunteers. I will miss her immensely, but am gratified to have played a part in the growth of this peaceful haven of support for nearly one million Santa Barbarans over the years.”
“There will never be another Barbara Tellefson in our town. She was a force of nature, but not one that ever sought the spotlight; instead, she poured all of her energies into working behind the scenes, enabling Unity Shoppe to grow and develop a physical footprint where our Community’s low-income families, seniors, the disabled, and disaster victims could receive a broad range of services when experiencing a crisis event,” says 35-year advocate and Santa Barbara’s 2019 Woman of the Year, Jelinda Devorzon.
In the days since the onset of Covid-19, Ms. Tellefson had been doing all she could to foster the stability of Santa Barbarans, especially after 25,000 hourly wage residents lost their jobs and were desperate for groceries to stave off hunger. She mandated an organizational streamline singularly focused on meeting the overwhelming need for free nutritious groceries in a safe manner and, today, because of Barbara’s vision, Unity Shoppe is prepared to safely feed thousands more residents throughout 2021.
“The legacy left by Barbara has been enormous,” says Tom Reed, Unity Shoppe’s Executive Director. “Unity Shoppe’s Board of Directors, management team, and staff intend to keep the doors of Unity Shoppe wide open and its services free of charge to Santa Barbara residents in need for years to come, which was her final wish.”
According to Pat Hitchcock, Director of Donor Relations, Ms Tellefson understood that there will always be people impacted by temporary crises and in need of help. “Particularly in the last year, she was intent on making sure Unity Shoppe would be able to sustain its current and future operation of critical programs in a stable and debt-free manner.”
Unity Shoppe is currently in need of $5.5 million to complete the establishment of its physical footprint. Before her passing, Ms. Tellefson made a final pledge of the first $500,000 towards this goal. Community residents interested in honoring Barbara Tellefson’s pledge to help sustain Unity Shoppe’s physical footprint and range of support programs into the future can make a donation at www.unityshoppe.org; or contact Director of Donor Relations, Pat Hitchcock, 805-979-9511.
Unity Shoppe At A Glance:
Unity serves upwards of 20,000 people annually who are referred by over 300 nonprofits. In a non-Covid year, anywhere from 1,700- 2,000 local volunteers work alongside the Unity staff, including hundreds of seniors. Together they help operate Unity’s distinct programs out of two locations:
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At 1401 Chapala Street, Unity runs the Grocery and Clothing Distribution Center that is relied upon by thousands annually to help them make ends meet and avoid homelessness and welfare dependence, as well as the seasonal shoppes, including the back-to-school clothes and supplies shoppe in the fall as well as Unity’s famed Santa’s Toy Shoppe in December. Chapala Street is also the location of the “Work, Learn & Earn” volunteer training program for young adults and the disabled that functions throughout the year, giving youth an opportunity to help their community, earn community service credit for high school, as well as entry-level job skills.
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At 1207-09 State Street, Unity runs several programs, including “Job Smart,” a program for low-income adults in need of interview clothes and employment support; the senior volunteerism program, in which a bevvy of senior volunteers work year round offering their handiwork as well as assembling and delivering essential care packages to other homebound seniors and the disabled; and the space also houses the long-term disaster relief program that responds to natural disasters when they occur.
Unity Shoppe is a tax-exempt 501©3 dedicated to providing the basic necessities of life and occupational skills training to Santa Barbara’s most vulnerable populations during times of temporary crisis, while encouraging self-sufficiency and independence. All programming and services are offered at no cost to qualifying clients without regard to political affiliation, religious belief, or ethnicity.
I find it very confusing that she donated several thousand dollars to Trumps’ campaign. Seems those $ could have gone a long way at the Unity Shoppe and odd that she supported a man who cared less than nothing about immigrants or the impoverished when the opposite was presumably her life’s work.
This one act doesn’t offset the tremendous good that she did in our community. She will be missed.
I don’t like Trump but that was her choice. She did amazing things for this town and not many of us can say that we have done a fraction of what she devoted herself to. Shame on you!
This woman gave and will continue to give $1million dollars of her personal wealth to the Unity Shoppe and gave $4800 to Trump as an individual. People need to get a life and some perspective.
I can’t speak for @3:52, but I read his/her main point to mean that it just seems odd that someone who cared so much about the downtrodden and impoverished could give personal financial support to someone like trump, who very obviously didn’t. It would be like the head of a gay rights group personally donating money to the Westboro Baptist Church.
Perhaps her interest was saving jobs for Americans. Perhaps she liked Trump policies around closing the borders, instead of giving jobs to China and Mexico keep jobs for Americans.
This woman contributed so much to our community. I feel disheartened that her legacy in this community will be judged by her political leanings. I always grew up with – don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about religion. It’s all personal. I guess that is not a factor anymore. We all get our information from different places, from different perspectives, but at the end of the day, we’re all still neighbors, trying to navigate this world as best we can, and helping each other out as best we can. It sounds like this woman was the best she could be and I absolutely applaud her for all she did. Thank you, and good journey to wherever you may go.
Oops is right @12:05, this is exactly cancel culture, they are shaming her legacy because of her political views.
Agree! This isn’t a post to argue about political beliefs, it’s to honor an amazing woman. I will raise a toast to Barbara tomorrow because I am thankful for her contribution. Her life was about serving others. Wouldn’t be surprised if she left everything in her will to the Unity Shoppe as well!
Perfect example of today’s cancel culture- shameful!!
RIP, thank you for your never ending contribution to our community.
MtnMan, after 4 yrs of attacks on our republic, which continue to this day, bipartisanship and live and let live is gone. Or do you think hysterectomies on detainees is something we can agree to disagree on? https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/ice-detainee-hysterectomies-hospital/2020/09/22/aaf2ca7e-fcfd-11ea-830c-a160b331ca62_story.html
CItizenSB maybe she liked this and maybe she liked that and maybe she liked something else, and maybe she didn’t.
Maybe a talking wig will fly out of your rear someday and educate you as to how ridiculous it is for you to theorize about the motivations of someone who has passed away.
Maybe.
Mountainman, yeah, you know the problem is, if you support something that hurts people that will become part of your legacy on this earth.
Does it detract from or take away from the massive amount of good that a person can do in other arenas? No. But, if you hurt someone in one place, helping people somewhere else is not much comfort to the one you hurt.
So it’s complicated isn’t it.
? Not a single person is saying they should shut down the Unity Shoppe or that this woman did not leave behind an amazing legacy. People are a bit confused by it is all. Need not call it “cancel culture,” nothing and no one is canceled here.