We Took Care of our Own...
Our 18th Winter Outreach was yet another incredible gathering of community, with over 2,000 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, coming together to serve the enormous population of unsheltered men, women, and children in Los Angeles.
We Made Magic
Volunteers formed an impressive assembly line, stuffing 2,678 duffle bags with life-sustaining goods. We also assembled kits specifically to serve the needs of women, toddlers, and companion animals, pushing our total to 3,059 survival kits distributed. Another army of volunteers loaded up trucks, vans, and cars to directly serve our people “where they stand.” While it pains us to know that we cannot reach all of LA’s over 60,000 homeless individuals, we hope to touch more and more lives at every opportunity.
The weekend was also a time of learning! Mayor Garcetti spoke of LA’s current state of homelessness, its plans for improvement and his pride in The Giving Spirit’s role in mitigating the effects of poverty on the City. He responded to relevant questions during this historic Town Hall (watch it here!). The Pacific Palisades Task On Homelessness shared their impressive model which has provided permanent housing for 40% of their homeless population (watch that here!).
THANK YOU
We express our deepest gratitude to those who contributed in any and every way: the 2,000 individual volunteers. Thank you for your patience as our all-volunteer leadership dealt with the challenges in staging our event. Please know we are committed to delivering the best experience possible and are constantly learning.
Special shout outs to: our ever-supportive Mayor, Eric Garcetti, City Councilman Mike Bonin, Alisa Orduna, LA’s Homeless Policy Director and the Pacific Palisades Task on Homelessness to lead our Education breakout sessions. And to Image Solutions, for their water bottle pre-assembly, Cub and Boy Scouts of Eagle Rock and B’Nai David, for their sub-assembly, Harvard Westlake, for their women’s kit assembly, and National Charity League - Westside, for their toddler kit assembly. We appreciate every man, woman, and child who came to lend a hand.
Abundant appreciation to all of the generous donors who made this happen. If you are moved by the amount of hope we serve and want to help us close our $13,347 2017 budget gap - please donate now. You only have 11 days left to make a tax-exempt contribution to our work. Remember, a minimum of 95% of every dollar goes back to the lives on our streets.
PS. If you want to see some of the great photos from last weekend, check out our Instagram and Facebook, or search by #thegivingspirit. Enjoy the magic!