Four-year-old Santa Monica resident, Matthew Prager and  his twin brothers, 8-year-old Alex and Jacob, insert money into the  Dolphin for Change at the Santa Monica Pier on Friday, March18, 2011.

Matthew learned about homelessness for the first time in his pre-school class. He decided there and then that he wanted to do something to help. After brainstorming with his parents, he came up with the idea of selling hot chocolate to raise money. When his twin brothers Alex and Jacob heard about Matthew’s idea, they wanted to get in on the action. They added the idea of selling brownies and rice crispy treats.

Last weekend, they prepared homemade  rice krispies, brownies and hot chocolate and, together with their parents, sold their items outside the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market and Palisades Farmer’s Market. Over the course of the weekend, they sold all of their goods and raised $90.


Started in 1993, the Dolphin Change Program, a project of the Bayside District Corporation, has been a way for the Santa Monica community and visitors to give responsibly to established social service organizations that help the homeless. With the help of the Marion Dorn Estate, last year’s Dolphin grants totaled $50,000 dollars