If you are a parent in Santa Barbara, you're sure to know Laura Sobell. She has been teaching Baby Times classes through SBCC's Adult Ed for more than 30 years. She was a part of the team that developed the WEB: Welcome Every Baby Newborn Home Visiting Program (http://welcomeverybaby.org), for which she has been making home visits for the past 8 years. She also has a website (http://calmbaby.com) where she shares her knowledge, tips, and advice. Her videos (now a DVD) and book have been used by parents for years. It is not an exaggeration to say that Laura's passion has touched thousands of parents and babies in our community.

Laura was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, although she has medical insurance, she needs help to cover her medical bills. A medical fund has been created to accept donations from the community: www.laurasobellmedicalfund.com.

We feel that she has done so much for this community that it's time to help her.
The China Pavilion (Chapala and Anapamu) has offered to donate 15% of their December 1st pre-tax proceeds to her fund. Dine in or take out – lunch or dinner, just mention Laura’s name to get the donation.

Here is her biography from her website:

For over 30 years, Laura Sobell has been teaching mothers how to care for their newborns. As a therapist with Montessori teaching credential and a master's degree in counseling psychology, she is recognized as Santa Barbara's foremost authority on Baby Care and Development having taught classes for parents and their infants through Santa Barbara City College Adult Education. She's known for years what TIME and NEWSWEEK magazines have recently published - that the most important years of your child's life are before the age of three.

In 1992, Sobell was voted "Local Hero" for her work with high-risk infants. She has spent the last 30 years teaching infants and mothers through Santa Barbara Adult Education. Laura has also worked with Santa Barbara Early Start programs for over 12 years, with Infant Mental Health services for over 15 years. At the present time Laura is working as a Developmental Infant Therapist in the Santa Barbara Welcome Every Baby Program (WEB).

The WEB Program is a home visiting program that Laura helped to develop in 2001. It has been primarily funded by First Five Santa Barbara and is one of the many programs of Santa Barbara County Education Office. The WEB program is a one of a kind universal home visiting program available to every family with a new baby(aged 0-9 months) living in Santa Barbara County.

Laura has also written a book entitled SAVE YOUR BABY... THROW OUT YOUR EQUIPMENT.. Sobell has seen for over 30 years what modern science just recently stated - "How the infant's body is held and played with has a direct effect on the body's and brain's development and processing abilities."