FUNDRAISING

The Annual Santa Barbara County All-Star Football Game is the longest uninterrupted game of its sort in California. It was started in 1967 by the Boys & Girls Club and peaked in the early seventies with a record attendance of 10,000.

When the Boys & Girls Club dropped tackle football as one of its youth sports, interest in the All-Star Game waned and it ceased being a successful fund raiser for the Club. As a consequence, the Club, by 1984, decided to discontinue sponsorship of the game just two months before game day. Fortunately, however, John Hamson, then director of the YFL (Youth Football League) assumed responsibility for putting on the game in 1984. Despite continuing for several more years, the game was not a financial success.

In 1990 Mr. Hamson approached the Kiwanis Club of Santa Barbara Suburban which was seeking a fund raising activity to replace its annual horse show at Earl Warren Park. With Mr. Hamson continuing as Game Coordinator plus an investment of money and member energy by the Kiwanis, the All-Star Game was reborn as a successful fund raiser for Kiwanis projects benefiting youth and disadvantaged persons in the greater Santa Barbara community.

In 2004, Mr. Hamson retired and the game is now coordinated by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Barbara Suburban and its members and friends.

In average, we raise between $12,000 and $15,000 to give back to the community each year.

We support the following organizations:

YMCA BOY SCOUTS GIRL SCOUTS HOSPICE ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION UNITY SHOP
UNITED BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS SANTA BARBARA HIGH SCHOOL JODI HOUSE
BRAILLE INSTITUTE REHABILITATION INSTITUTE LUNG ASSOCIATION DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL
MEALS ON WHEELS SANTA BARBARA ATHLETIC ROUND TABLE
MONTHLY OUTSTANDING YOUTH RECOGNITION AWARDS FAMILY SERVICES AGENCY HALF-WAY HOUSE
ELLINGS PARK AND MANY OTHER SANTA BARBARA NON-PROFIT AGENCIES.