In a downtown Santa Barbara building, two musicians are preparing for a very special performance. It’s pretty high powered entertainment for a local fundraiser.
Between them, the two Santa Barbara residents have sold 75 million records. They’ve also been nominated for 21 Grammys, and won six.
"So much of my life has gone by marked by Unity telethons," said Kenny Loggins. "We're here again!"
Loggins is performing with Michael McDonald on the Santa Barbara Unity Shoppe’s 38th annual telethon. It raises money for the unique store. Those in need can shop for food, clothing, and even toys for their kids, without paying a cent for anything. By the end of the year, it’s expected families will have made 30,000 free shopping trips to the store.
The telethon started in the 1980’s, when Loggins was holding holiday toy drives. He learned from the Unity Shoppe’s Executive Director, Barbara Tellefson, that the toys he was collecting for another group were being taken out of the community for distribution.
"I started by playing a club, and admittance into the club would be a toy," said Loggins. "Around 1 in the morning, Barbara, who I had not met yet, came up to me and asked me if I knew where the toys were going. I told her no, and she told me they were actually being taken out of town, and no one is Santa Barbara proper was benefiting from the work I was doing. That's when we teamed up to make sure what we did in Santa Barbara stayed in Santa Barbara."
That revelation led to Loggins and Tellefson going to KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara. Then General Manager Sandy Benton and station owner Bob Smith embraced the idea of doing a telethon, and the event was born.
Over the telethon’s nearly four decades, it’s raised millions, and helped hundreds of thousands of people. Loggins says it feels good to make a difference and to have friends like fellow music legend Michael McDonald take part.
"People will come up to me who are locals and say thanks for helping with Unity all these years, and that feels good. And I have to say Michael, we have fun doing this," said Loggins.
"Kenny's been kind over over the years to ask me to do it, and I've always been grateful for the ask," said McDonald. "All credit to Kenny. Santa Barbara's been very lucky to have him."
McDonald said he loves playing in his hometown and making a difference in the community.
The telethon is huge for the Unity Shoppe, raising awareness and dollars for the unique organization. This year's goal is to bring in more than $600,000.
"This is our number one fundraiser for the entire year," said Angela Miller-Bevan, who is Executive Director, and CEO of the Unity Shoppe. "It's so important for us, because we provide services for individuals in our community throughout the year."
"Literally they (the people being helped) come and thank us with tears in their eyes," said Miller-Bevan. "Their children get to wake up on Christmas morning with Christmas gifts, and they will be able to have food to get through the holiday season."

The Shoppe has eight programs, ranging from giving gift boxes filled with personal essentials to seniors, to helping those who are unemployed with job training.
Telethon Producer Jeff Martin says the telethon tries to educate the community about nonprofits efforts, as well as raising money for it.
"The beauty of the telethon is that it gives us a platform to share the stories in depth about what the places does every day, all year long," said Martin. "The takeaway from this is we're all in this together, and there are people who just need a little hand up, and that's what Unity does."
The telethon's entertainment lineup includes Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, and Brad Paisley, plus appearances by a number of other celebrities.
The broadcast airs live from 5-8 p.m. Friday on KEYT-TV, Channel 3, the Santa Barbara-based ABC television station serving the Tri-Counties.