2022 ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
GIVING TUESDAY AND OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING IS COMPLETE FOR 2022. WE HAD GREAT SUCCESS THROUGH GIVING TUESDAY, OUR GALA, AND OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER. WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF OUR DONORS AND SUPPORTERS. WE ARE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE AND EXPAND OUR PROGRAMMING IN 2022.
2022 ANNUAL FUNDRAISER RESULTS FINAL RESULTS!
$19,520!!
WE HAVE SURPASSSED OUR ORIGINAL GOAL OF $10K AND WE HAVE SET A NEW LIMIT OF $25K. ALL THESE DONATIONS WILL HELP SUPPORT OUR MANY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN 2023 - THANK YOU!
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WE REACHED $3525 ON GIVINGTUESDAY (NOVEMBER 29TH) TOWARDS OUR ORIGINAL $10,000 GOAL. $3000 OF THE DONATIONS WERE DOUBLED LEAVING US WITH A TOTAL OF $6525!
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WE RECEIVED A $10,000 DONATION FROM CHARITABLE VENTURES READY TO GROW PROGRAM (DECEMBER 14TH)!
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WE RAISED $2795 FROM OUR OC DREAM GALA! THANK YOIU FOR THOSE THAT ATTENDED AND SUPPORTED OUR WORK (DECEMBER 6TH)!
Michaela Coats
Michaela Coats - Social Media and Education Specialist
Michaela graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a master’s degree in Conservation and Restoration at UC Irvine. Her educational goals, work experience and passion for endangered species management, outdoor education and outreach, and new interest in wildlife photography brought her to OC habitats as an intern in 2020 and staff member in 2021. She will be working as a education coordinator with OC Coastkeeper starting in August 2021 but will continue to volunteer with OCH in restoration and social media and provide leadership in a variety of other aspects of our organization to promote conservation of our precious habitats and species.
Kevin Bollman - PR Specialist
Kevin started with OCH as an intern in August of 202 and became our PR person. He was finishing up his bachelor's degree at California State University, Long Beach at that time and wanted to gain experience in his field and blend it with his other passion, nature and the environment. He has lived in Huntington Beach his whole life and has always enjoyed being outdoors. At OCH, he proved himself to be an excellent writer, great marketer, and project manager as he led us through our most successful fundraising drive to date - GivingTuesday 2020. With his enthusiastic and motivational leadership, we were able to engage our OCH friends and the public in supporting our good work here at OCH. At the end of Kevin's internship he secured a position at an excellent firm and has been thriving there since. Although his time is more limited, he has offered some of his limited time back to OCH in an advisory role to our newer interns that are focusing on marketing and PR work.
Kevin Bollman
Cameron White
Andreana Chou
Matt Spooner
Matt Spooner - Financial Leadership
Matt was born and raised in Sacramento, and has been living in Southern California for 23 years. During his time in college at UCLA, Matt developed a passion for running, a sport that eventually got him involved in trail running. It was that scene that opened Matt's eyes to the beauty and wonder of the mountains, and helped kindle his interest in preserving and protecting the environment. Matt was introduced to OC Habitats in early 2022 as part of OneOC's "Ready to Grow" program. Through that program, Matt was able to form a meaningful relationship with OC Habitats' Executive Director, Stacey Chartier-Grable. As a former nonprofit professional with experience leading both marketing and fundraising efforts, Matt is looking forward to making a meaningful impact on OC Habitats as a member of the organization's Board of Directors.
Bianca Borja - Student Liaison and Educator
Bianca Borja has a strong passion for keeping the environment clean and intact. While working towards her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, she focused her research on recycling and environmental education. She has years of experience in the educational field, and has worked with children at various schools and clubs where she taught about the environment and the importance of recycling. Bianca works with OCH as a Habitat Monitor, Habitat Educator, and Student Liaison.
Bianca Borja
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GET READY FOR OCH'S ANNUAL 2021 YEAR-END GT FUNDRAISER - NOVEMBER 30, 2021
Annual OCH GivingTuesday
Fundraising Drive - 2020
Thank you!
OCH had a fantastic turnout for our annual fundrasier and received $3085 in funds through our GivingTuesday drive and were matched for all, totaling $6170!
We want to humbly thank all those that support us through their time and treasure. The donated funds will support our education, restoration and monitoring programs that we run throughout the year.
We will be hosting our annual drive on GivingTuesday in 2021 but donations and volunteers are accepted year-round!
Donations of $25 or more, will receive our OCH T-Shirt!
#GivingTuesday- November 30th, 2021
OSO FIT 5K
Join us on February 25th as we "Get Fit" with OSO Fit 5K. If you pre-register and choose OC Habitats, your fees will go to ouor organization in support of our conservation work. We are already building up a team and hope to see you there!
Danny Rivas - Monitor Trainer
Danny Rivas graduated from UC Merced with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with an emphasis in ecology and evolutionary biology. He joined OCH to develop his skills monitoring at-risk coastal wildlife and aid in restoration efforts. His passion for conservation arose early, being in awe of the vast amounts of biodiversity present and learning of the current issues that threaten the health of biological communities. He is committed to serve his community and work towards preserving our habitats for future generations
Cristina Robinson
Cristina Robinson - Associate Director of Programs
Cristina received her Bachelor of Science in marine biology from California State University of Long Beach and protects marine life with research, education, and by advocating for plastic pollution prevention. She is the founder of @PlasticMeNot, a website and social media presence dedicated to spreading awareness on marine debris, plastic alternatives, and zero-waste options. Cristina has been a whale-watching naturalist for Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's Whale Watch Program, a community scientist for the Aquarium of the Pacific's Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Project, is a pen pal for Letters to a Pre-Scientist, and is a NOAA affiliate for the Protected Resources Division focused on sea turtles and marine mammals. She previously provided environmental science education for OC Coastkeeper and Laguna Ocean Foundation, and just started Bren's Master of Environmental Science & Management program at UC Santa Barbara. Cristina hopes to help reduce whale entanglements off the West Coast and create better approaches to prevent plastic pollution through source reduction.
Kyle Fructuoso
Kyle Fructuoso
Kyle was born and raised within Southern California. He grew up in an active family that frequented beaches, mountains, lakes, and rivers. His passion for the environment started at a young age where he fell in love with the ocean and the ecosystems within. During his time in college at UC Riverside, he earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and partook in California coastal aquifer research. In 2021, Kyle began work as a Scientific Aid with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board within the Planning, Implementation, and Permitting Branch. Concurrently, Kyle started an internship with OCH and dove headfirst into a leadership role for OCH’s habitat restoration and monitoring teams and continues to be an active monitor. With the combined experience at OCH and his Scientific Aid position, he earned a promotion to a full-time position as an Environmental Scientist in January 2022. Kyle is excited and motivated to help the environment and OCH team as a member of the OCH Board.
Seth Perez
Joyce Vu
Joyce graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with a concentration in ecology and evolution in August 2020. From her classes, her interest in the environment arose when she learned about how healthy the Earth used to be and how it has slowly changed over time. She joined OC Habitats as an intern in the Spring of 2020 with the interest to create and develop a project where she could share her knowledge about the different animals and habitats that she has she studied in school. Her efforts at OC Habitats has proven her invaluable to our team and she is officially our first employee. She will continue to work on conservation and preservation on our team and provide a source of leadership in our programs and projects with the end goal of continuing to conserve the natural environment for future generations to enjoy.
Sam Grable
Sam is working towards getting a bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in physical science from the University of California Berkeley. She has worked on projects in Environmental education with nonprofit Wholly H20 and in Environmental and Food Justice with the UC Berkeley Alternative Breaks Program. She Joined OC Habitats as a volunteer in 2017 when it first began and has worked on restoration and other projects with us since then. As an environmental science student, Sam is interested in the large-scale effects of climate change and pollution, as well as mitigation of these problems, With OC habitats she hopes to expand her knowledge in a variety of environmental areas as well as gain skills in education about these pressing issues. As a staff member, she will work in restoration, and education as well as other projects. She hopes to help make a difference in our local ecosystems to keep them healthy for future generations of animals, plants, and humans alike.
Dominique Murillo- Social Media
Dominique is an Orange County, CA native and can see first hand all the changes that have taken place locally, like strip malls on every corner, shops, restaurants, and a massive increase in road traffic. Understanding the profound effects that this has on the environment and biodiversity, she has taken personal strides to do her part. She is passionate about veganism and firmly believes in the saying, "Be the change that you want to see in the world".
She currently works as a loan processor for an OC company that specializes in business loans as well as loans for companies that were hardest hit by 2020's turn of events. She also holds a degree in Cyber Security as well as special training and certifications in networking, security, governance, risk mitigation, and compliance.
In April 2020, she started volunteering with OC Habitats because she was so impressed with their hands-on approach to making a difference through volunteerism and education. She feels privileged to be a part of this outstanding organization and team of people. OC Habitats is truly making a difference in our beautiful county.
Ross Griswold has never been a scientist and has never taken a biology class, it just wasn't his thing! Ross earned his Geography/History degree from USC, worked in retail sales and service, married, and had three boys, who are all now grown men. Ross retired early (in 2006) and wanted something to keep him out of trouble so he took up birding. He had never birded in his life and was so impressed by what great people birder's are! He has always been a photographer and started photographing birds early on. He considers them easier to photograph since birds don't have a bad side, don't blink or get red eyes! Ross is a Western Snowy Plover and California Least Tern monitor with CDFW at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. He loves to share his knowledge and is willing to train others, which he likes to call Gilligan's Island Beach 3-hour Tour!
GIVING TUESDAY AND OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING IS ONGOING THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR. DONATIONS ARE STILL COMING AND WE WELCOME THEM AT ANY TIME. YOU CAN DONATE HERE ON OUR SITE OR THROUGH FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM (OC HABITATS)
SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH OUR PROGRESS BAR.
JOIN US TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTS!
ANNUAL FUNDRAISER RESULTS SO FAR!
WE HAVE SURPASSSED OUR ORIGINAL GOAL OF $10K AND WE HAVE SET A NEW LIMIT OF $25K. ALL THESE DONATIONS WILL HELP SUPPORT OUR MANY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN 2023 - THANK YOU!
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WE REACHED $3525 ON GIVINGTUESDAY (NOVEMBER 29TH) TOWARDS OUR ORIGINAL $10,000 GOAL. $3000 OF THE DONATIONS WERE DOUBLED LEAVING US WITH A TOTAL OF $6525!
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WE RECEIVED A $10,000 DONATION FROM CHARITABLE VENTURES READY TO GROW PROGRAM (DECEMBER 14TH)!
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WE RAISED $2795 FROM OUR OC DREAM GALA! THANK YOIU FOR THOSE THAT ATTENDED AND SUPPORTED OUR WORK (DECEMBER 6TH)!
WE CONTINUE TO AIM FOR OUR FINAL GOAL OF $25,000!
Our Annual Fundraiser will continue through December 31st, 2022 if you missed the GivingTuesday Kick Off. You can donate here on our website (Donate Button) or on our Social Media platforms - Facebook and Instagram.
TO KICK OFF THE 2022 GIVING SEASON, THE AMERICAN DREAM AND THE BRUERY/OFFSHOOT BRUERY ARE SPONSORING A BEACH GALA TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF OCH IN ORANGE COUNTY ON DECEMBER 6TH, 2022.
TICKETS ARE $125. LIVE MUSIC AND A DJ WILL BE PLAYING YOUR FAVORITE TUNES WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A LITTLE DANCING! LOTS OF GREAT FOOD AND CRAFT BEERS WILL BE ON TAP AS WELL AS A SIGNATURE DRINK FOR OUR NON-BEER DRINKERS. TO TOP THINGS OFF, THERE WILL BE A SILENT AUCTION THAT INCLUDES PHOTOSHOOTS, SURF LESSONS, YOGA LESSONS, PAMPERED CHEF BAKEWARE, OFFSHOOT AND BRUERY BEER AND SO MUCH MORE. A PORTION OF ALL TICKET SALES AND ALL SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS WILL GO TO OC HABITATS.
Fundraising Partner
Weaving Wild Tales and OC Habitats are now partners! A portion of proceeds from “If Dolphins have Thumbs” by Melissa Price and Weaving Wild Tales publishing will go to the mission and goals of OC Habitats.
#OCHabitats #IfDolphinshadThumbs #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #bookstagram #kidlit
2023 Fundraising Events
Virginia “Ginny” Gregurek is a natural resource interpreter with over ten years of experience leading interpretive tidepool education in Orange County. Ginny is an avid hiker and has walked the California Coastal Trail from Oregon to Mexico. Recognizing the need to promote environmental literacy and the value of “nature learning”, Ginny continued her education by becoming a California Master Naturalist and a Certified Interpretive Guide. Ginny’s formal education is in Art History and uses this knowledge of interpreting the artwork of mankind into interpreting the masterwork of Mother Nature. Ginny's enthusiasm for life and for the environment is contagious to all those she encounters. She is an excellent educator and children and adults alike find her lessons interesting and informative.
BUFFALO EXCHANGE TOKEENS FOR BAGS
We have been selected as a recipient of the Buffalo Exchange Tokens for Bags® program from January through June 2023!! You can now donate to us just by shopping at Buffalo Exchange Costa Mesa. Instead of a plastic bag, the Tokens for Bags® program offers every customer who makes a purchase one “token” valued at five cents (the cost to produce a bag) to donate to one of several local charities selected by the store. The program has generated over $893,860 for hundreds of local nonprofit organizations since 1994 and has saved over 17.87 million plastic bags from the landfill. Go get secondhand clothes and contribute to a good cause!! Buffalo Exchange
