Helping kids in the Santa Cruz County area grow up healthy and with opportunities to pursue their dreams.
Founded in memory of 12-year-old Coco Lazenby, Live Like Coco supports kids and families in the Santa Cruz County area. Since 2016, we’ve sponsored forests and libraries, cleaned up beaches and even provided scholarship funding for kids to do art, ride horses and try theater. We’re mostly known for our book giveaways, and since 2023 we’ve focused entirely on literacy. Last year, we gave more than 15,000 books to kids at local public schools, at community giveaways and at little free libraries we’ve placed throughout the community.
We launched a bookmobile this year with your help from last year, rolling it out for free book giveaways at summer school sites, community events and farmers markets.
Each year we give out about 8,000 free new books to students at 18 local public schools. The #1 Request: Graphic novels, especially Dog Man. But buying these books is expensive, even with the discounts given to a nonprofit serving largely Title 1 schools. This fund would allow us to provide a collection that kids really love!
The fact that kids get to pick their own book is the best part of it for them.
Diana Susoy, Library Dragon, Live Oak Elementary
