Staff Report
The Chumash Casino Resort’s annual concert to highlight the area’s Toys For Tots campaign couldn’t be held this year due to the pandemic, but the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is still playing a role in supplying toys to less-fortunate children this holiday season.
The tribe is announcing it has donated $25,000 to this year’s Central Coast Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots campaign, which serves families in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties through partnerships with local agencies, such as Unity Shoppe, People Helping People, the Salvation Army, Community Action Commission, Tribal TANF and the Boys & Girls Club.
“While we couldn’t get together and enjoy a concert in celebration of the work Toys For Tots does for our community, we’re proud to remain partners with an organization that provides such a positive impact on children in our area,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
Past Chumash Casino Resort concerts to benefit Toys For Tots have featured acts such as Melissa Etheridge, 98 Degrees, Clint Black, The Judds and even a young, up-and-coming Taylor Swift at the 2006 show. This year’s donation brings the tribe’s total contributions to Toys for Tots, since its first benefit concert in 2004, to $425,000.
“The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has been a crucial component of the Marines’ annual campaign and the mission of the Toys For Tots program,” said 1st Sgt. (retired) Soledad Kennedy, the Marine Corps League 1340 Toys for Tots Coordinator for Santa Barbara County. “These funds will assist our efforts to purchase toys and help economically disadvantaged children enjoy this Christmas.”
For more information on how to donate a toy or make a monetary donation, visit www.toysfortots.org.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving. To find out more about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation and its giving programs, visit www.santaynezchumash.org.
