David Roberts is trying to save a program for kids in Carpinteria.

Coastland, which provides students an opportunity to make gifts and earn scholarship proceeds from the profits, is in danger of closing its doors at the end of the school year.

The parent organization, the Pro Deo Foundation, plans to stop funding the Carpinteria retail store after June.

Roberts, Coastland’s executive director, said he is looking for an angel investor to fund the program for a couple of years.

“We have enough history and success in the program that I think we could sell it to a foundation and funders, but it takes time,” he said.

Roberts moved from Seattle in 2018 to start the program in Carpinteria.

It launched the next year and served about 60 students from Carpinteria High and Carpinteria Middle schools.

Students make gifts, such as candles, soap, necklaces, bracelets, magnets and other gifts. About 15% of the sales goes back to the organization, Roberts said, and the rest toward college scholarships.

The students make the items after school in a 2,000-square-foot building at 5036 Carpinteria Ave., underwritten by Pro Deo, a Christian private operating foundation based in Newport Beach.

Roberts said the program does not evangelize, but that if students have questions, he is there to answer them.

“I love that we find a place for kids who don’t have a lot of other places in town,” he said. “They are learning skills that they are not getting in school.”

Roberts wants to continue the work in Carpinteria but needs someone to come forward and provide funding and the space. The Pro Deo Foundation has been providing the overhead, insurance and salary funding.

Before moving to Carpinteria, Roberts was a pastor at a Seattle church. Even though the money is going away, he’d like to stay on and continue the mission here.

“We believe the store is a good thing for the community because we sell lower-priced goods because we are not profit-driven,” he said.

Roberts is resigned to the fact that the business may come to an end if no one comes forward. There’s already a “For Lease” sign outside.

The store has meaning to the community.

“I cannot think of a more worthwhile program for middle school and high school kids,” said Caryn Chavez, a customer.

She said the program makes students feel welcome, teaches them life skills and provides a healthy social environment.

“I’d love nothing more than to see them get the help they need to avoid closing and ending the program,” Chavez said. “Many members of the community continually comment about how wonderful this program is.

“Coastland is much more than an incredible shop with lovely handmade items. It is a positive pathway for the future of these young adults.”

Roberts urges anyone interested to contact him.

“This program meets a need that in a way is unique and different from most other places in Carpinteria,” he said. “To lose that would be to lose an opportunity for these kids they would not have elsewhere.”