Meet Sara Macdonald,
Volunteer Extraordinaire
You Don’t Need Money to Give Back to
Your Community, Says the Low-Income Senior
By Indy Staff | August 22, 2024
Read the rest of our 2024 Active Aging cover story here.
Born and raised in Santa Maria, and a graduate from both Santa Maria High and nearby Cal Poly, Sara Macdonald didn’t need to travel far to find her purpose in life.
After an early career as a local preschool teacher, Macdonald transitioned to helping underserved adults and families, especially those experiencing homelessness.
“My activism started in the 1990s through my church — St. Peter’s Episcopal in the heart of Santa Maria,” Macdonald said. “Volunteers like myself worked to help the area’s hungry and unhoused.” Those early efforts planted the seeds for what would eventually become Good Samaritan Shelter, now one of the Central Coast’s largest and most successful homeless service providers.
“I hear the voices of the unheard, and I try to speak for them in my various volunteer roles with community service organizations,” Macdonald continued. She’s active in the Central Coast Chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign and is the current President of the Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley. Her political involvement began with Barack Obama’s first election campaign. “I wanted to stand up for those of us that are not wealthy, and live my democratic values,” she said.
A cancer survivor, Macdonald also serves on the Board of Directors of CenCal Health, the Medi-Cal plan that works with local providers to deliver health care to one in three Santa Barbara County residents. “I don’t have a car, so I walk everywhere and can really see what is lacking in our community,” she said. “Noticing the looks on people’s faces when they are in need, I think to myself ‘CenCal Health has services that would help them.’ ”
In 2019, The Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley named Macdonald Volunteer of the Year. In 2022, she was selected by the Santa Barbara County Action Network to receive their Giving Back Award.
When asked what these awards mean to her, Macdonald said: “They mean everything! As a person with a low income, I can still give back to my community. It doesn’t require money. You just roll up your sleeves and do the work. Giving time is what is most valuable.”
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