Santa Barbara Community Outreach - Renée J. Nordstrand-Black

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Montecito Beautification Day: Celebrating 40 Years of Community Service

On November 8, 2025, the 40th Annual Montecito Beautification Day brought together over 300 volunteers for a day dedicated to enhancing and celebrating the local environment. The event kicked off at Montecito Union School, where participants enjoyed breakfast courtesy of the Rosewood Miramar. Lunch, prepared by the Montecito Fire Department, was generously sponsored by Montecito Village Grocery and San Ysidro Ranch.

Montecito Beautification Day was boosted by outstanding community participation, with 18 partner organizations, including Westmont Student Council, and more than $16,000 in sponsorships. Volunteers helped clean and revitalize public areas, with Riskin Partners winning the friendly competition for most trash collected. Earthcomb’s team removed 2,500 pounds of debris from the local homeless corridor, a major accomplishment in ongoing cleanup efforts. Doug Black, partner of NordstandBlack PC is the current president of Montecito Association, and our whole family participated in the event and collected trash.

The Montecito Association was honored with a certificate from state assemblyman Gregg Hart, recognizing four decades of service, and Trish Davis was named Citizen of the Year by Roy Lee. The event underscored Montecito’s enduring spirit of collaboration and pride.

Protect Yourself: Immigration Rights Card for Your Wallet

In uncertain times, it's more important than ever to know how to protect yourself. Our Immigration Red Card is a free, printable resource you can carry in your wallet or purse. It outlines your constitutional rights and what to do if approached by an immigration agent. Whether you’re a citizen or not, this card can help you stay calm, stay safe, and stay informed. Download it below and keep it close—you never know when you might need it.

Passover Shoe Drive: Walking through the Wilderness

Attorney Renée J. Nordstrand-Black and her dedicated legal team were proud to participate in the Passover Shoe Drive organized by Congregation B’nai B’rith (CBB) in Santa Barbara by donating a variety of shoes. The shoe drive is just one of the many projects and opportunities sponsored by the CBB to help support the people in our community who do not have basic necessities, such as shoes, shelter, and food. Even a small contribution, like a pair of shoes, can go a long way toward changing the lives of those in need. The shoes collected during this drive went directly to the local homeless shelter Casa Esperanza and the public benefit corporation Unity Shoppe.

To learn more about CBB and how you can become involved, please visit: http://www.cbbsb.org/wordpress/get-involved/social-action-programs/

CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates

Ms. Nordstrand has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for over five years.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates Program provides stability, safety, and support for children in need in Santa Barbara County by assigning each child a volunteer to advocate for them both in court and in all other aspects of their life. Its goal is to "prevent abused, neglected, and abandoned children from becoming lost in the Juvenile Dependency system and working to find them, safe, permanent homes as soon as possible."

CASA Volunteers undergo extensive training before being assigned to advocate for an abused or neglected child both in and out of the courtroom. Advocates meet with the child weekly, write a report to the juvenile court judge for each hearing concerning the child, attend all court hearings regarding the child, and strive to serve any unmet needs of the child. Volunteers work with the child for the duration of the case or until the child is placed in a safe and protective home.

CASA volunteers are highly respected within the Juvenile Court system and among social workers, teachers, and therapists for their dedication to each child.

For more information on the CASA program and how you can become involved, go to: https://www.sbcasa.org/

Children's Waiting Room

Renée J. Nordstrand-Black initiated the idea of a Children's Waiting Room in the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria courthouses and worked through Santa Barbara Women Lawyers to secure funding for those facilities. The Children's Waiting Rooms are available to children of families having business in the courthouse such as custody hearings, trials, witness duties, self-help services, etc. The Children's Waiting Rooms are free of charge to all users.

Scholarship Opportunities

NordstrandBlack PC Scholarship is offering a $500 scholarship which is open to all high school seniors and currently enrolled college students. To enter, the student must submit a 500-1,000 word essay on "what your experiences have taught you about overcoming life’s obstacles". Submit all entries here. The contest runs until May 31st, 2023. Winners will be announced June 28th, 2023.

Hands Across Montecito

At NorstrandBlack PC, we are dedicated to serving the local community. That’s why Douglas Black is pleased to volunteer and serve as vice president of the Montecito Association, which is working with Hands Across Montecito (HAM) in their efforts to assist our homeless population. Douglas recently took part in one of HAM’s monthly hikes, where volunteers work with local government and nonprofits to seek out unhoused people and offer them assistance that includes:

Drug and alcohol programs
Veteran’s services
Help moving into shelters
Reuniting people with their families

HAM works with public and private organizations including City Net and Earthcomb to offer food and assistance to local homeless people, collect information about the unhoused population, and clean up the local environment.