“We are helping families rewrite their story,” says Gabriella Garcia, Executive Director of Storyteller.
The Santa Barbara nonprofit has been supporting families in need for 37 years. What started as a small, roped-off section of the Transition House parking lot is now a local institution with three campuses dedicated to providing a safe play space for children between six weeks and five years.
“We are an organization that offers a lot of hope,” says Tess Ortega, who joined in May 2025 as Development Director. “We change and break cycles of poverty. We’re offering long-term social and community change.”
Every dollar invested in the organization helps the families served and the entire community for years to come. Parents and children are nurtured through a trauma-informed program where every detail is strategic and intentional. Staff aren’t just providing childcare throughout the day, but a lifeline for families.
This one-stop shop, as Garcia calls it, can sometimes be the only place a child feels safe and a family feels valued and supported. “We aren’t just providers, we are partners,” says Garcia. “We become [parent] partners in giving them the tools and encouraging them to grow alongside their child.”
Childcare is provided from 7:30 AM to 5 PM year-round, 230 days a year. With childcare costing on average around $2,000 a month in Santa Barbara, the programs offered at Storyteller couldn’t function without donor support.
The center’s eight classrooms across three campuses create spaces for joy and creativity, and provide the tools for each family to rewrite their story. Classroom sponsors can provide a colorful backdrop for the 150 families served each year, from funding supplies that support early childhood education, such as books, healthy snacks, educational and mental health screenings, and sensory materials, to additional certifications and training for staff.
Storyteller is long beloved here. The nonprofit was honored as Nonprofit of the Year by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, and in February 2026, it will host their annual Color the World Gala.
The annual event introduced new branding last year, dropping “center” from its name and revealing a vibrant color palette. “We felt our new identity must be technicolor, as we embrace the idea that a healthy, vibrant community is represented by a spectrum of colors symbolizing the diversity, vitality, and unity that define us,” reads the website.
Color the World: Hues of Love will take place on February 21, 2026, at the Rosewood Miramar.
Donate and learn more at: wearestoryteller.org/donate
We change and break cycles of poverty. We’re offering long term social and community change.