

Carmel, Big Sur, Monterey, Salinas
Local Projects
The Braxton Stuntz Foundation is contributing to the local communities of Monterey and Big Sur in a major way. There are multiple projects that are currently in action within these communities. We have some seasonal and some year-round projects that you can get involved with. Learn more about the projects you are interested in below.
10/ 23 CCollaborating with Refresh organization to provice a wam showew to local homeless.
ElEstero Park
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THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED

Year two let's do this!
2000 toys last year.
Starts Nov 15th.
April, May, June 2021- Providing clothing and other essentials every month in Monterey and Salinas.
March 2021-We supplied appliances, new mattresses to a housing program in Salinas. Forty new townhouses are ready for families in desperate need of a home. They were living in motels, on the streets, and cars.
Homeless Help- We find the neediest and assist with food, medication, clothing and water.
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED




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March 2020-BSF Gives a Year Supply of Toiletries
to the Warming Shelter in Salinas!
May- We supplied Domestic Violence Shelter with
requested goods. We fed a shift of farm workers in the field.
April, May- BSF is supplying Salinas Shelter with food, as
homeless are removed from streets. We are in need of
cleaning supplies; a bottle of Windex or liquid soap,
nothing is too small. We have given the 20 some children toys to help pass the time.
June 7- Four picnic tables and pool purchased for homeless families.
July 18- Homeless event giving supplies and clothing
July 18- El Estero Homeless giveaway.
August- We bought goods are given to migrant workers families. September- Donations to Safe Place Shelter.
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
June 4- food needed for Salinas school kids. text 831-521-7987
Everyone can give one can!

THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
BSF Helps Feed Farm Workers
Every act of kindness counts. What an honor to volunteer for the sister
organization to UFW Foundation Wednesday. We assisted in distributing 800 food bags in Salinas. Folks were lined up around the block and respected social distancing. Bags of vegetables & non-perishable foods, diapers & toilet paper were available. Bags were prepared by the National Guard via the Monterey County Food Bank.
Braxton's Cold Gear Drive
(March 14)
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
On March 14, we will convene in El Estero and bring much needed new shoes, socks, and gently used sweatshirts and sleeping bag. Please wash. Contact us if you wold like to donate.
Braxton's Cold Gear Drive (Feb 15)
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
We will have our monthly meeting in Monterey, giving out shoes, hats, and socks, sweatshirts. Contact us if you would like to give or purchase some of these items. We desperately need men's gym shoes, sizes 11 and up. We are purchasing the hats.
Braxton's Toys Holiday Drive
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
On December 24, we are distributing toys at Community Homeless Solutions shelters where there are children living in homeless shelters, shelters for victims of domestic violence, and shelters for warming. On December 20th, we are distributing toys and providing a Santa in the Salinas school district. We are the only charity so far helping in this endeavor. According to the Salinas family Resource Center, There are a reported 3400 homeless children in Salinas. We hope to hit it out of the park with donations from our loving community
Help us reach our goal of making the holiday season
bright for homeless children in Salinas, Ca. New toys are greatly appreciated!
Here is the link to the KSBW news story
https://www.ksbw.com/article/braxtons-toy-drive-helps-less-fortunate-families-in-salinas/30301243
DROP OFF LOCATIONS
Monterey Peninsula Surgery Centers
Salinas Surgery Centerr-SUPER GIVER!
Bennett's Art Gallery Carmel SUPER GIVER!
Santa Catalina School SUPER GIVER!
Notre Dame School SUPER GIVER!
Stevenson SchoolsSUPER GIVER!
Starbucks Rio Rd SUPER GIVER!
Brunos Carmel-by-the-Sea SUPER GIVER!
Ravalin Orthopedics
Gallery Plastic Surgery
Goldberg Plastic Surgery
Salinas Valley Plastic Surgery- Monterey location
St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church SUPER GIVER!
Dr. Markusen Gynecology
LDS Church Monterey SUPER GIVER!
Dr Gieler
Dr. Mary Dahl Dermatology
Carmel Valley Ranch SUPER GIVER!
Monterey Spine and Joint
Performance Physical Therapy- SUPER GIVER!
Boy Scout Troop 127 (Carmel Valley)
Monterey County Surgical SUPER GIVER!
Pacific Cancer Care SUPER GIVER!
CHOMP ED AND MAIN OR SUPER GIVER!

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Big Sur Cellular Service Project
This project focuses on providing cellular service along the Highway 1 coastline of Big Sur. We are working on achieving better cellular coverage in areas of Big Sur that currently lack access. The overall goal is to provide quick communication means in case of emergency, summoning the appropriate first responders. There have been many fatalities along the beautiful coast due to drowning, one being Braxton. While it might not have saved Braxton, there will be others who suffer other accidents that could benefit from speedy emergency response teams. We will do our best to see this initiative through. Mike's dad and Aron Cask are working with local government, local coastal commission, and Internet companies to drive this cause. Updates on our progress will be coming soon. Update- There is a meeting in April 2020.
Braxton's Shoes with Andinn (Jan 18)
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
We are currently working with a boy from Santa Catalina Lower School who is collecting clean, used shoes. Andinn is eager to help and will feel the joy of giving, not receiving. Thanks Andinn! Many homeless have old, dirty shoes. They will welcome a gently used, clean pair of shoes! Please no children's shoes, women's dress shoes, or overly worn shoes.

Braxtons Bags
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
We gathered to put together bags for the homeless including items such as socks, beanies, wipes, deodorant and feminine hygiene products. This was something Braxton did that impacted the lives of countless locals in need.

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Braxton's Blankets and Scarves
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
We just completed our first blanket and scarf donation--and what a success! So many people were grateful for a clean blanket and a new scarf. Two lucky people chose a sleeping bag that was owned by Braxton. Pictured here a happy lady who promised to take good care of Braxton's sleeping bag. He was an Eagle Scout. He loved camp-outs with his fellow Scouts.
Braxton's Bench
Carmel, Ca.
Scenic and 12th
Braxton's Bench Gathering Event
THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED
Through the generosity gift of Community Hospital of Monterey, and work of Dr Sue Roux, Dr. Jennifer Garza, and Dr Mathew Fritsch, a redwood and Carmel stone dedication bench has been placed overlooking Carmel Beach. Braxton spent his childhood playing here and taking beautiful sunset photos. From the bench a view to the left is where he used to meet the Boy Scout troop and friends for beach picnics. A view to the right displays Pebble Beach coastline where he loved to fly his drone and surf . On December 21, friends and family are invited to gather at the bench starting at noon. It is located at Scenic and 12th.
Article from Carmel High Newspaper
There’s a bench along Scenic Avenue that overlooks the gray-blue lagoon of Carmel River State Beach. Not many people notice that underneath is an ordinary black mailbox—however, what’s inside is anything but: seven neatly packed journals, holding the musings of hundreds of tourists and locals who had found this bench and left their stories for others to share and add to. A few of the journals date back to 2015, with some entries pages long and others only a few lines. People share wedding anniversaries, life changes, photographs, names and memories of their loved ones who’ve passed away. Why is this bench there? It was installed in 1992 by Marcia McGinnis, dedicated to her parents, Bob and Gert McGinnis, and her brother, Bob McGinnis Jr. Thirty-one other benches on Scenic hold the same significance: They, too, are dedicated to members of the Carmel community who’ve lived and died here, including two of the most recently installed benches in honor of Braxton Stuntz and Howard Brunn, and one installed 10 years ago for Ryan Field and Alexander Robbins. An 18-year-old college freshman, Stevenson School alum and avid photographer, Braxton Stuntz passed away in January 2019 in a tragic accident after falling into a blowhole during a Big Sur hike. His loved ones gathered together at a ceremony last December to remember Stuntz and see the dedication of the bench. “It’s going to be a place where his family and friends can come in his honor,” his mother Ruth Stuntz describes. “When someone dies, you don’t want anyone to forget the person...so it’s just trying to keep his memory alive.” In addition o the bench, Stuntz’s parents have also set up the Braxton Stuntz Foundation to continue his lifelong passion for helping others—both at home in Monterey County and abroad in Cambodia, where he worked as a relief volunteer. “We just started based on the things Braxton did and that he cared about and it just went from there,” Stuntz’s mother explains. “I guess that’s all you can do. You try to do good things in [his] name.” Ruth emphasizes the significance of the bench’s location, which in its position overlooking the bluffs of Carmel Beach stands as a reminder of everything Braxton had loved to do. “It’s beautiful,” she says. “It looks to the left where he used to play with his friends and have Boy Scout beach parties. Then look to the right and you see Pebble Beach, where he used to fly his drone, so it’s a perfect location.” A few streets away is the bench dedicated to Howard Brunn. His daughter Vance Killen shares that his roles as a local poet, World War II pilot and Carmel City Council member are just a few of the ways he contributed to the community over his 92 years as a resident. “[Before Howard] passed, he didn’t ask for anything other than a bench,” Killen describes. “People that visit Carmel or people that live here can just sit here on his bench and enjoy the beauty, take a moment. We all need to take a moment. So that’ll be there forever, and I don’t think there’s anything more powerful than that.” Killen notes the compelling connection between her father’s time on city council and his bench: When Scenic Avenue was changed from a two-lane road to a one-lane road, Brunn was part of the effort to install the now well-beloved path and the benches along it: “The connection and the big circle of life just felt like the perfect opportunity for Howard.” The bench built in honor of Ryan Field and Alexander Robbins is another important benchmark on this path along Scenic. Ten years after its dedication, it remains a place of remembrance for the Carmel High students who died in a crash car off the Big Sur cliffs in 2006. “It was something that was going to be there forever. Ryan’s 11th Street surf spot was his favorite place to be,” says Jennifer Field, Ryan’s mother. “On the other hand, it’s hard to see [it] in ways too. It’s just a confirmation that this bench was put in because my son is no longer here.” Whenever she can, Field tries to keep her son’s memory alive, whether it’s through visiting his bench on runs, giving out an annual award at CHS’ track and field banquet in Ryan’s name or through educating teenagers about the dangers of driving. Visitors to Ryan’s bench may also notice a laminated card called Ryan’s Wish, a short passage which describes who he was—it was read at CHS’ graduation of the Class of 2007. In the cement stands on either side of the bench, there are seven heart-shaped rocks that Ryan collected for his mother on Carmel Beach after surf sessions. “I’ve met so many wonderful people down there, and it just brings me such hope and it gives me peace to know that these people are sitting on my son’s bench,” Field explains. “I like to tell the story to people. It reminds people of how short life can be, to live in the moment more and to appreciate what they have. It means a lot to me.” As assistant planner for the City of Carmel, Catherine Tarone helps families like Field’s to navigate the process of acquiring a bench, sharing what her work means to her: “It’s a place where families like to visit to remember them, especially those two [recently constructed] bench locations along the ocean,” she says of Stuntz’s and Brunn’s benches. “It’s very meaningful and introspective. It’s meant a lot to me to help individuals make that a reality. It’s one of the fulfilling parts of the job.” Carmel residents can apply to build a bench or to place a plaque on an existing one put in by the City of Carmel. Those who choose to build a new bench have to cover all the costs themselves. Since it started many decades ago, Carmel’s unique tradition of commemorating benches along Scenic Avenue will likely continue for decades to come, as people will always look for ways to remember and honor loved ones who’ve left their mark. You can donate online to the Braxton Stuntz Foundation at his GoFundMe page or sign up for updates on his webpage, braxtonstuntzfoundation.org.