Information about charitable giving in and around Los Angeles.
Lending a Hand
Helping Out in L.A.
People often ask me how I manage to raise children in a city like L.A. They imply that my hometown is where shallowness abounds while social pressures prevail, where traffic divides communities and, in the absence of a central location, the most vulnerable populations become invisible. When I hear these complaints about the City of Angels, I can’t help but wonder whether the naysayers have ever seen L.A. through the...
Hometown Basketball Hero Steps up to Save Local Christian School
During the last week of June, Angela Evans, founder of Frederick K.C. Price III Christian School in South Los Angeles, was going to announce that the acclaimed inner-city school was closing its doors after 33 years of service to the community. The school is located on the campus of Crenshaw Christian Center and has substantially relied on church financial assistance to sustain its operations. But in a letter to parents...
The Baby Box Co. Aims to Put Babies to Sleep and Take Parents to School
New parents have many questions, and often turn to Google in their quest for answers. L.A.-based The Baby Box Co. and its global Baby Box University aim to supply information on parenting basics – and actual resources to help parents keep their babies comfortable and safe when theyare sleeping – in one handy package. Inspired by a Finnish tradition, longtime friends Michelle Vick and Jennifer Clary created the company. The...
Alex’s Lemonade Stands Against Cancer
It’s that time of year again – when the taste of lemons, sugar and water mixes with hope. But more than a kid hoping to line his pockets with the profits from lemonade sales, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) aims to raise funds to help cure childhood cancer. During ALSF’s annual “Lemonade Days” campaign, which runs June 2-10 this year, families, schools, organizations and businesses host lemonade stands and events...
March of Dimes Los Angeles Selects March for Babies Ambassadors
The Jimenez Family of Bell has been selected as the Ambassador Family for the 2018 March of Dimes Los Angeles March for Babies. One of the largest annual fundraising walks in Los Angeles, March for Babies will bring together an estimated 15,000 people to raise critical funds to help tackle the biggest health threats to moms and babies. Evelia and Hector Jimenez first became involved with March for Babies after...
Qualifying Families Receive Energy-Saving Solar Panels
As a hard-working mom of six kids (and expecting a seventh), Jessica Bolanos knows a thing or two about saving money – and not just for her family. She spreads the wealth-saving love to families across the L.A. area. As a representative for GRID Alternatives, a non-profit solar installer and solar advocacy organization, Bolanos has helped about 400 families in L.A. save thousands of dollars a year on their electric...
Battling Childhood Cancer One Shave at a Time
In late 2002, Greg Doyle’s 4-year-old son was diagnosed with pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare form of lung cancer. Doyle, a lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department, felt helpless. “Being a first responder, I’m used to having problems that I can solve, and I couldn’t solve this one,” Doyle says. “I had to trust people I barely knew to take care of my kid and try to make him better.” ...
Volunteer Coach-Turned Executive Director Leads Club 42
Imagine a 23-year-old – one who has no children – telling you how to raise your kiddos. That’s just what Erin Jones Wesley, executive director of a baseball and recreation nonprofit called The 42 Initiative, has spent a great deal of her time doing these last few years. “At 23, I said [to the leadership team]: ‘Guys, if we really want this program to take off, we really need to...
Sharing the Love of Reading from Cover to Cover
Children’s books have a magical quality. The great ones make you fall in love – with the characters, the story, the setting. Our childhood favorites made our world larger and our connections deeper. They reminded us that we weren’t alone and that endless possibilities were waiting for us. At L.A. Parent, we want every child to experience the magic that lives inside the pages of a special book. That’s why...
Tween Time: A Day of Service for Los Angeles Teens
Some kids might think of Martin Luther Day Jr. Day, which this year falls on Jan. 15, as just another day off from school. Others, however, consider it a “day on” for volunteering. MLK Day, which became a federal holiday in 1983, also was designated a National Day of Service in 1994. While people of all ages can participate, the holiday presents a particularly good opportunity for tweens and teens...
Lilladu Exchange: Preloved Clothing Helps Cerebral Palsy Cause
We’ve all been there. The pants you bought your little one a few months ago are now rising over his ankles because he seemingly grew an inch overnight. The jacket your daughter used to love now elicits tantrums at the mere suggestion of her wearing it. Instead of envisioning your money being flushed down a drain over this unusable (or unwanted) clothing, consider donating to a company that’s aiming to help families living with cerebral palsy. Founded by local moms Lindsey Dumais, Kyla Magnusson,...
Young Heroes: Local Student Wins Gloria Barron Prize
When Ray Wipfli, bottom left, was 10, he left his La Cañada-Flintridge hometown to accompany his mother on an international work trip that would prove life-changing for him. Wanting to connect with the children he would meet in Uganda, Wipfli brought 250 pounds of soccer equipment as gifts. An avid soccer player, he was floored by the outpouring of excitement and gratitude the Ugandans showed him, and that experience transformed...
LA Charity Roundup: More than One Way to Give
Long Beach resident Jonas Corona has been giving back to his community since he was 4, and by the time he turned 6, he had started his own nonprofit, Love in the Mirror. Through Love in the Mirror, Corona, now 14, has helped provide basic necessities and services to more than 50,000 homeless people in Southern California. And politicians and philanthropic giants have honored him for his work. While Corona’s...
Kindness Will Headline Care Fair L.A.
With a mission of cultivating a culture of compassion and inclusivity in our city’s youngest dwellers, a local television journalist and mom has created an event that will focus on fun for the whole family, as well as anti-bullying, mindfulness, fitness and learning differences. “Now, more than ever, it is important to teach our children how to be kind, empathetic and inclusive to all people,” says Donna Tetreault, founder and...
PhilanthroParties Show Teens How to Party for a Cause
Lulu Cerone grew up in the sweltering San Fernando Valley, so as a kid she became a lemonade stand entrepreneur, racking up cash as her thirsty neighbors sought out her homemade juice. Eventually, Lulu’s mother, Lisa, encouraged her to turn her lemonade sale profit to good use – to look around her community and identify a social problem she wanted to help improve. But Cerone found herself transfixed by the...
Books and Babies: A Diaper Problem Leads to a Solution
When Michelle Franke and her husband had their first baby eight months ago, they assumed they had enough diapers to last them for months. But most of the diapers they received from their baby registry were newborn-size, and their son, River August, outgrew them – and the next few sizes – quicker than the couple had imagined. “He is our first, so we had no idea we would end up...
Kids Can Pitch In to Help Shelter Pets
Whether it’s a stray cat, a lost dog or a baby bird that has fallen from the nest, kids love lending a hand to help animals in need. “There’s a movement of kids who want to help animals,” says Pasadena Humane Society President and CEO Julie Bank. “The Pasadena Humane Society gets calls on how kids can get involved, probably a daily thing, and we started to really listen.” The...
Helping Shelter Pets During the Dog Days of Summer
As late-summer heat makes the great indoors (and the AC) look ever more inviting, SoCal programs are working to get homeless pets off the streets and into the arms of their forever families. The Wallis Annenberg PetSpace, which opened earlier this summer, gets creative in forming pet-person connections. The Playa Vista facility (at 12005 Bluff Creek Dr.; www.annenbergpetspace.org) has behaviorists on hand to help match adoptable animals with families –...
Lending a Hand at L.A. Kitchen = Cooking and Family Fun
Here are four reasons to bring your kids to Family Friendly Kitchen Prep at L.A. Kitchen, a nonprofit just north of Downtown that reclaims local food and provides healthy meals to those in need. 1. They’ll have fun (yes, fun) with fruits and vegetables. 2. They’ll learn about food waste. 3. They’ll help families in need. 4. They’ll get to cook without making a mess in your kitchen. The kids –...
Firefighters Bring Dollhouse-Building Skills Into Play
Any parent who has put together a dollhouse or play kitchen knows it can take skill and patience to make sure all the tiny doors and shelves are assembled just right. So when L.A. Parent and the National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) decided to team up to build dollhouses and play kitchens for the kids staying at Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, we knew just who to call – the...
Kid Artists Lending a Hand and Trucking Our Streets Clean
As Los Angeles Sanitation (LASAN) department trucks in South L.A. go about their business this month, they’ll be spreading messages about “Keeping Our Streets Clean, Every Day in Every Way” thanks to 10 students from the Los Angeles Unified School District lending a hand with their talent. Winners of LASAN’s Earth Day L.A. Artwork Contest, the students will have their art displayed on the trucks through mid-June. More than...
Santa Clarita Teacher to Throw Out First Pitch on Dodger Day
Samantha Ford, Saugus Union School District physical education teacher, has been selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the 40th Annual City of Santa Clarita Dodger Day on May 20. Ford was selected because of the shoe drive she organized after noticing some of her students wearing run-down and wrong-sized shoes to class. She has collected hundreds of shoes and gained national attention. The Dodgers take on the...
El Segundo Hockey Kids Ride Tour de Pier for Cancer Cure
Calvin Vachon, 11, is a goal keeper for the Jr. Kings hockey team in El Segundo. His favorite National Hockey League goalie is the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick, but he also hopes to emulate P.K. Subban, who skates on defense for the Nashville Predators and has committed to donate $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Vachon began his own philanthropic journey last year, working with his teammates to...
Big Sunday’s Big Month of Volunteerism Around Los Angeles
Big Sunday decided to have a special event every day in May 2016. The month was such a success that the L.A.-based organization is doing it again this year and calling it a Month of Big Sundays (MOBS). Among MOBS events where families can volunteer are beautification projects at Wilshire Crest Elementary School May 7 and Dymally High School May 21, and a makeover for MyCLUB Youth Center May 20. The no-kill dog sanctuary Beagles & Buddies is offering multiple dates when...
Learning About Rancho History – and Service Dogs!
If your family is headed to one of the monthly Creation Station art workshops or other family events at Rancho Los Cerritos (4600 Virginia Rd., Long Beach; www.rancholoscerritos.org), keep an eye out for Marcia Harris and her canine companion. A longtime volunteer at the rancho, Harris also raises service dogs. Harris began volunteering at the rancho, an historic adobe house and surrounding property dedicated to inspiring curiosity about the past,...
Power Rangers Cast Joins Yoobi to Donate School Supplies
This morning, the cast of Saban’s Power Rangers joined LA based school supplies company Yoobi in donating thousands of supplies to children at 116th Elementary School in Los Angeles. Yoobi, an innovative school, home, and office supplies company that gives back, lead the charge on the donation, kicking it off with an assembly featuring Yoobi’s Chief Giving Officer Justin Wolff, 116th Street Principal Tyra Henderson, and all five Power Rangers...
Local Girl Scouts Bring Seniors Cute Puppies and Kittens
Melanie Marx and Hermela Amanuel, Girl Scouts from Troop 1615, partnered with Michelson Found Animals Adopt & Shop to bring cats and dogs to the Culver City Senior Center in February. The girls were asked to identify an issue they care about and to create a project to help raise awareness in the community. They chose the theme “The Health Benefits of Pets for Senior Citizens.” Through this project, titled ‘Pet-a-Pet...
Painting a Different Picture of Camp
Summer camp is a place for kids to try out fun outdoorsy stuff, make arts and crafts (got lanyards?) and maybe learn a funny song or two. It’s also a place to meet other kids like them. But what if there aren’t many kids like them? At The Painted Turtle camp, kids who have had kidney transplants or are diagnosed with hemophilia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, juvenile arthritis, IBD, cystic...
Honda’s Helpful Campaign Brings Snow to South LA
SoCal Honda received a special request on their Help Me Honda page from a counselor at Wallis Annenberg High School in South Los Angeles, where 95 percent of the kids are economically disadvantaged. Her request? To help them see snow for the first time: “My name is Gloria Zelaya, I am a counselor at Wallis Annenberg High School a small high school in South Central Los Angeles. Every year...
You Can Now Support Special Olympics When Filing Your Taxes
California taxpayers have long had the option to support causes near to their hearts at filing time – and this year a new organization with plenty of heart joins the list. Special Olympics Southern California and Special Olympics Northern California join 19 other nonprofits in the contributions section of this year’s state income tax form. “One of our great champions, Assemblymember Jim Frazier from Oakley, California, has been a longtime...
Moms-to-be Can Do Good and Save on Maternity Jeans
Goodwill Southern California, a nonprofit social enterprise, and A Pea in the Pod, a contemporary maternity retailer, are teaming up to offer a special “donate and get a discount” deal to expectant mothers in the Los Angeles area. Donors are asked to bring in a pair of jeans and other clothing they no longer need to participating A Pea in the Pod stores, and they will get a 25-percent discount coupon...
LBPD Officers Turn Disneyland Ripoff Into Birthday Gift
For many kids turning 5, Disneyland tickets are the perfect birthday gift. Joyce, a teaching aide at a Long Beach elementary school, had Eddie, a kindergartner, in mind when she was moved to a thoughtful act of kindness. After befriending the child on the playground, she learned his mother, Tiffany, was a single mom to four young children. Joyce took to an online app to buy tickets to the Happiest Place on...
Simon Youth Foundation Offering College Scholarships to L.A. Seniors
The Shops at Montebello is once again offering scholarships to help deserving graduating high school seniors pay for college. Simon Youth Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides educational opportunities for at-risk high school students, is looking for qualified applicants who live near The Shops at Montebello and in the surrounding community. Each year, Simon Youth Community Scholarships are awarded in every community across the country that is home to Simon,...
Taking the Stage to Move the World
They learn to dance and they dance to create change. The L.A.-based participants in the nonprofit Move the World, most ages 9 to 21, create and perform original dance works that spotlight causes from the health of our oceans to homelessness among our youth. “I wanted to teach the kids not only to love performing, but for there to be a purpose behind it,” says Move the World Executive Director...
Share The Love This Valentine’s Day for Families
Valentine’s Day is the day to spend with the people you love, but you can also extend your love to those in need of some TLC at Valentine-themed events happening around Southern California. Big Sunday will host its fifth-annual Valentine-making, bingo-playing community dinner from 4-7 p.m. Feb. 12 at 6111 Melrose Ave., L.A. The public is invited to spend a couple of hours creating cards and gift bags for shut-ins...
Give a Little Back This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a time to consider the many things we are thankful for. It is also a time to become aware of those around us who are in need. Family Volunteer Day, a tradition for 25 years, offers opportunities to lend a helping hand in your community. And when parents and kids participate together, kids get to learn about volunteering and how much good a person can do in the...
5 Turkey Trots for Your Thanksgiving Day Exercise
Thanksgiving is known as a day to feast. But before pigging out on turkey, you might want to get a little exercise in – just to balance out your day. Across Southern California, there will be a number of “turkey trot” events Thanksgiving Day where you can work off some calories before adding more on. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, many of these events also raise money for charities. The...
Grief During the Holidays
If your family lost a loved one this year, the approaching holiday season might seem a little less joyful. And how your family approaches it can make a big difference – especially for the children. “Kids are going to take their cues from the adults,” says Lauren Schneider, clinical director of child and adolescent programs at Our House Grief Support Centers in West L.A. and Woodland Hills. Our House provides...
Recycling Clothes With Love
Imagine a world where moms and dads could clothe their children for just $7. In Long Beach, at Green Jean Kids, this is happening every day. Founder and CEO Rebecca Juarez explains that clients bring in 25 pieces of clothing that their kids have outgrown, then select 25 gently used pieces of clothing in their child’s current size from the shop, and they’re out the door for a charge of only $7. Juarez opened Green Jean Kids in 2015 and now serves 600 to 700 families all over Long Beach and the surrounding area, and as far east as the San...
MOMS Club Collects Candy for Troops
Looking to get rid of extra Halloween candy? The MOMS Club of Glendale is collecting Halloween candy to send to our troops as part of Operation Gratitude. Members will be picking up candy from interested families and local businesses throughout the month of October as well as the first two weeks following Halloween. If you have candy to spare, either left over from handing out to trick-or-treaters, from parties, Halloween sales...
Celebrating Some Worthy Kids
At the Union Rescue Mission in Downtown L.A., there is an island built on love. On this island, there are monthly birthday parties on the rooftop. There is a DJ named Boomer who stops playing his upbeat music and has kids and adults turn to one another and remind each other of this love by saying the words out loud: “I love you!” The party guests are all homeless children...
Laptops Equal Success for Students in Foster Care
As a UCLA student without a laptop of her own, Ashley Williams spent many hours waiting to use a computer in the library to complete assignments. “It was frustrating. It was a struggle to get my work done,” says Williams, who entered foster care at age 10. Getting her first laptop at age 20 changed Williams’ life academically and socially. “It lifted a weight off my shoulders. And having that...
South Bay Volunteers Clean Up Elementary School Gardens
More than 100 local volunteers ranging from lawyers and politicians to restaurateurs and thespians got their hands dirty to restore nine elementary school gardens in Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach as part of Beach Cities Health District’s inaugural “Beach Cities Volunteer Day.” Employees from 16 South Bay organizations, including Kaiser Permanente, UCLA Health, the Office of Assemblymember Hadley and Surf City Theater spent a hot August day building garden beds, pulling weeds...
Gun Violence Video Contest for High Schoolers Extended
The Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles and the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C. recently announced that the deadline for the second annual Tony Bourbon Youth Scholarship Video Contest will be extended one month to Aug. 1, 2016. The video contest, open to high school students in Los Angeles County, invites students to submit films/videos on the negative effects of gun violence on youth and the positive actions youth...
Families Connected Program Launches in the South Bay
New Resource for Parents Targets Teen Wellness and Prevention of Substance Use The South Bay is connecting families on a whole new level. Thanks to the successful launch of South Bay Families Connected (SBFC) at Mira Costa High School, called Mira Costa Families Connected (MCHS FC), the free teen wellness and substance use prevention resource is now available to all South Bay schools including Manhattan Beach Middle School. “The Families...
Community News: A Tween With An Open Heart
Noah Bella Michaelis may seem like your ordinary 12-year-old. She loves her pet dog, Finn, and pet tortoise, Escher; enjoys reading and collects miniature figurines. She was born with complex congenital heart disease and has had four open-heart surgeries since birth, but what is really extraordinary about Michaelis is her spirit. This indefatigable sixth grader has raised more than $65,000 for the Hopeful Hearts Foundation – a nonprofit that provides...
A Family Legacy Worth Leaving Behind
It is a day I will never forget – Christmas 2013 in snowy Chicago, and my parents were visiting from Texas. Christmas carols were playing, festive food and decorated cookies were on the table, and I had buttery egg nog in hand and a big smile on my face as I sat to watch my then 2-year-old daughter, Sofia, open her first gift from under our tree. The first package...
Our 2016 Dad Hero: A Full-Throttle Father
In July of 2003, a man crashed his car through a barrier blocking off part of Arizona Avenue for Santa Monica’s bi-weekly farmers market, plowing through the crowd of shoppers and killing 10. Eric Castellanos was working as an Emergency Medical Technician for an ambulance company, and was one of the first responders that day, directing help for the 63 people injured. The California State Assembly later honored him with...
Fresh Films Giving Teen Filmmakers a Shot at Stardom
For any teen who has ever dreamed of making a Hollywood production, this summer that dream can become a reality! Fresh Films is calling all teens (no experience required) to apply for its free summer program presented by SUBWAY® & Best Buy to work on sets here in Los Angeles and seven other major cities across the country to produce new episodes of a kids’ TV show! More than 200 teens will be...
A New Career as a Volunteer
Meet our 2016 Amazing Mom, Julie Weinstein To illustrate the icy cold of the Arctic described in "Eve of the Emperor Penguin" from the "Magic Tree House" series, Julie Weinstein taught her second-grade book-club readers to make their own ice cream. The students learned how a liquid can freeze into a solid – and that book club can be really fun. For a science project on insects, Weinstein brought ladybugs...
WE Day Rewards Local Teens For Giving Back
Sixteen thousand teenagers flocked to the Forum April 7 to see performances from Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Big Sean. However, this wasn’t a concert – at least not an ordinary one. These kids were getting a day off from school as a thank you for their involvement in community service or social activism as part of the year-long WE Schools program. The program was developed by ME to WE,...
Big Sunday Just Got Bigger
Big Sunday really isn’t just a “big Sunday.” It has evolved in recent years into a three-day weekend of lending a hand and volunteer activities that ranks as one of America’s largest regional community-service efforts. This year, Big Sunday is growing again. The organization is turning May into “A Month of Big Sundays,” with volunteer projects taking place every day from May 1 through May 31. The public will be...
The Container Store and Goodwill Want to Help You Kiss Clutter Goodbye
The Container Store is teaming up with Goodwill Southern California to help customers Kiss Clutter Goodbye. Through May 15, The Container Store is encouraging customers to de-clutter, donate and do life organized. The spring campaign includes item-donation weekend events April 23-24 and April 30-May 1 at The Container Store’s locations, as well as a call for monetary donations to Goodwill Southern California through May 15. “In partnership with Goodwill, we’re...
Working On a Dream
Their cell phones are never quiet and seem to vibrate simultaneously. During a recent afternoon, their oldest daughter, Avivah, is trying to coordinate a ride on Lyft from her high school in west Los Angeles to their home in the San Fernando Valley. Matt Asner takes care of the logistics while his wife, Navah Paskowitz, answers a text from their son. They’re frazzled, but definitely in sync. Asner and Paskowitz...
Crayon Collection Hosts Nationwide Crayon Drive
The Crayon Collection is asking teachers, students and parents nationwide to participate in the largest national crayon drive in history on National Crayon Day, March 31. By redistributing discarded crayons to children in underserved schools, participants are also eliminating tons of waste destined for landfills. Proceeds will support the Crayon Collection's distribution of crayons to more than 1,000 Title 1 Schools and Head Start Centers across the country. This relieves...
South Bay Moms Can Work Out – And Give Back
Baby Boot Camp has long relieved moms of an excuse for not working out by letting them bring their kids and baby bumps along for some exercise. Now three locations in the South Bay are giving them some extra incentive as well. This supportive community of moms working out with their kids in tow has partnered with Sweat Angels, which allows businesses to use Facebook check-ins to donate to charity....
UCLA Health Gives Belvedere Middle Fitness Center, Hope
The damning statistics about childhood obesity are not as much fun to report as good news about programs that support physical activity for kids' health. This good news comes courtesy of UCLA Health's Sound Body Sound Mind, which just donated a $50,000 state-of-the-art fitness center to Belvedere Middle School in East Los Angeles. Belvedere is one of seven L.A.-area schools chosen to receive a new fitness center this year. The program...
Pam Lyn King: Coaching From the Heart
Pam Lyn King knows first hand what life is like for a special-needs family. Her younger sister, Kristol, was born with Down syndrome and autism. When Kristol died three years ago at age 20, King felt a profound void that she wasn’t sure how to fill. Landing a new job as an administrative specialist in the communications department of Kaiser Permanente in 2014 opened her heart in ways she didn’t...
LA Kids Get Active for Charity with UNICEF
UNICEF's Kid Power Los Angeles, which launched last month, is a school-based program that uses a fitness band to track students’ physical activity and allows them to earn points that unlock therapeutic food packets for severely malnourished children around the world. The therapeutic food packets contain a specially designed protein and vitamin-rich peanut paste, which allows children who are severely malnourished to be treated in their communities. UNICEF is calling the...
Moms’ Nonprofit Brings Joy to Kids in Crisis
Typically, when moms and their children flee their homes (often in the middle of the night) because of domestic violence, they have to leave their possessions behind. The nonprofit organization Present Now aims to bring comfort and joy to children living in transitional and crisis domestic violence shelters by providing them with fun and useful gifts to replace some of these possessions. Erica Fisher and Melanie Neumann, who each have...
Operation Shower Hosts Shower For Military Moms-To-Be
Television host, sportscaster and military spouse Leeann Tweeden is helping bring joy to 40 Los Angeles-area military moms-to-be when she serves as guest host of a group baby shower in their honor. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 16 in the clubhouse at The Riviera Country Club during the PGA TOUR’s 2016 Northern Trust Open. The moms are active-duty service members or the spouses of deployed members...
Simon Youth Foundation Seeks Scholarship Applicants
By Carolyn Richardson As you wait for your teen's college acceptance letters, you’re probably also worrying about what their college decision means for your pocket book. Thank goodness for scholarship programs to help you bridge the gap. Simon Youth Foundation(SYF) is continuing its annual giving to students earmarking over $1 million for scholarships nationwide. Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarships are for students graduating in the class of 2016 and living...
Foster Youth on Display as PBS Readies SoCal Initiative
Southern California boasts one of the largest foster youth populations in the country, and PBS SoCal is poised to share their stories. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation recently awarded PBS SoCal a $1.7 million grant for a three-year foster youth initiative. The goal of the initiative is to start a dialogue among stakeholders, such as schools, agencies, and community leaders to find creative solutions to the tremendous challenges many foster...
USC Telehealth Offers Free Help For Special-Needs Caregivers
Mary Ann Frattarole thinks it was early 2012 when she started getting desperate calls from parents and caregivers of children and adults with special needs. “I got some heart-wrenching calls from parents that had a special-needs child,” she says, including one mom who also had a husband with a disability for whom she was the only caregiver. “She said, ‘I don’t know how I can make it another day. Can...
Los Angeles Events Honor MLK Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the second holiday of the year (after New Year’s Day) and a chance to learn about history, do some good – and even have a little fun. MLK-related events will begin Jan. 16, even though Martin Luther King, Jr. Day officially falls on Jan. 18. Acclaimed local storyteller Michael D. McCarty will visit Children’s Book World (10580½ W. Pico Blvd., L.A.; www.childrensbookworld.com) at 10:30...
Kid-Founded Charity Lets Siblings Know They Count
When one of your children is diagnosed with a terminal illness, you know your family dynamic will change, but mom of four Catherine Miller could never have imagined the good that would come from such a scary situation. In 2013, her son Cameron, then 13, was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer (a low-grade glioma astrocytoma) on his brain stem. This meant regular hospital visits for chemotherapy for Cameron. For Cameron’s...
She Battled Cancer With a Smile
If Vivian Bui follows her chosen career path of becoming a pediatric oncologist, establishing empathy for her patients should not be a challenge. She knows exactly what cancer patients experience. At 15, Bui has gone through five rounds of chemotherapy and 39 rounds of radiation to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a cancer of the upper throat behind the nose. She began her battle with cancer a year after being diagnosed with...
BARK Dogs Help Children Fetch New Reading Skills
Between 1997 and 2006, Long Beach resident Josie Gavieres raised six puppies to work with Guide Dogs for the Blind. The last dog she raised, Groucho, had an especially sweet temperament, but didn’t qualify for the program. Gavieres decided to take advantage of his gentle disposition in a different way. “I had always wanted to be a first-grade teacher because I think reading is so important,” Gavieres says, “so I...
Club Grants Christmas Wishes to Santa Monica Families
Some children in Santa Monica didn’t wish for toys or luxuries for Christmas. Instead, they wished for basic necessities, like beds. To make the season brighter for these struggling families, board members and volunteers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica delivered beds and other household items to several needy Club families just before the holiday, as part of the Club’s Family Assistance Program. Other presents given to...
How To Get Your Baby’s Eyes Checked – Free
“Ten fingers, ten toes,” are often the words you hear from the delivery room nurse, telling you there are no serious problems with your baby's health. Whew! The baby's crying. The lungs are fine. The nurses go on with their routine physical evaluation, making sure your baby has made it through the birth process in excellent shape. Once your new family is back home, you start to track your baby’s...
CommuniGift Helps Birthday Boys and Girls “Gift Back”
Most children who attend The Salvation Army’s Los Angeles Day Care Center downtown don’t expect a big party and a pile of presents on their birthdays. The center serves low-income children, many with parents who spend long hours working nearby in the Fashion District. So, 4-year-old Henry was shocked and delighted to receive presents courtesy of a secret birthday buddy who decided to “gift forward” some birthday presents through an...
This Holiday Shopping Keeps Vacation Dreams Afloat
Since 2006, Autism on the Seas has organized and staffed vacations (on cruises and at resorts on land) for families with children and adults with a variety of special needs – from autism to Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other types of challenges. Now the organization has launched a nonprofit arm that will help fund these vacations as well. The Autism on the Seas Foundation will award varying amounts of...
A Happy Home For Unwanted Decorations
Planning to change your holiday tree theme this year from candy cane red to icicle blue? Tired of that 10-pack of snowman wrapping paper you bought last year? Ready to retire those strings of retro lights? Richstone Family Center wants to give your unwanted ornaments, decorations and wrapping paper a new home for the holidays. Richstone Family Center in Hawthorne is dedicated to preventing and treating child abuse and trauma;...
Backpack Drive Supports Pasadena Kids In Need
This fall, Flintridge Prep students are hosting a Community Backpack Drive to support the children who are part of Pasadena Families in Transition, an organization within the Pasadena Unified School District. In a recent homeless population count done in the city of Los Angeles, there were 4,727 homeless individuals in the San Gabriel Valley, including many families with young children in the Los Angeles school districts. The goal of the...
Team G Offers Hope and Tennis
Gerald Mathews is head tennis coach at Calabasas High School and owner of Team G tennis, where he works with nationally ranked junior and college players. Hope Gardens Family Center in L.A. is an unlikely spot to find such an elite coach. Part of Union Rescue Mission, the center is a transitional living facility offering shelter and services for mothers and children experiencing homelessness. Mathews’ wife, Cassandra Walker, has been...
Cure Cancer In Costume
The L.A. Cancer Challenge, taking place from 7 a.m.-noon Oct. 25 at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills, isn’t your typical fundraising event. Organized by the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, this 5K/10K Walk/Run really gets into the Halloween spirit. Participants are encouraged to come in costume, so if you aren’t a stellar athlete, you could still win a prize for costume design. (No need to worry about running...
Kids Help Kids With Your Golden Ticket
Community involvement and philanthropy are common dinnertime conversation topics for the Woods family, so it’s no surprise that Lisa and Josh Woods of West Los Angeles fully supported their children’s decision to start their own nonprofit to help less-fortunate kids. Created by 11-year-old twins Ryan and Jack, and their 8-year-old sister, Marley, Your Golden Ticket gives disadvantaged youth an opportunity to experience the excitement of live events such as ball...
Cool Stuff From Kid Entrepreneurs
How did these kids spend their summer? Most likely developing marketing plans, organizing shipping schedules and perfecting designs and product lines. The companies they founded offer amazing products (as gifts, they're fun ideas for kids) and give back to the community. That’s an A+ in our book. In the Pocket Sydney Loew (pictured, left) took the skills she learned in a seventh-grade entrepreneurial course to a new level when she...
Yoobi Kicks Off a Season of School Donations
One week after starting the new school year, children at Jackson Magnet STEM Dual Language Academy in Altadena got a “kick start” on a year of learning Aug. 24 thanks to a donation from school and office supply company Yoobi. After a morning assembly, Yoobi founder Ido Leffler, Chief Giving Officer Justin Wolff and a crew of Yoobi staffers delivered 29 boxes full of free supplies to classrooms, enough for...
Hike It Up Collects School Supplies For Kids In Need
On Aug. 16, more than 1,000 backpacks were stuffed with supplies for local homeless children living in poverty and in shelters. This was another fun community event hosted by the charitable organization Hike It Up (www.hikeitup.org), a Studio City-based nonprofit that seeks to create change in our community. The event brought everybody out on Sunday and made it so easy to help. Kids were welcomed to help as well, or...
Local Fundraiser to Benefit UCLA Intervention Program
The father of a former student at the UCLA Intervention Program, a school focused on helping children with disabilities, has launched a fundraiser to increase awareness and raise money to support the school. Michael T. Ward says he recognizes the immeasurable value of the program to the community, and more specifically to the children and families it serves. In an effort to ensure that the program is around for generations...
12-year-old Seeks Cystic Fibrosis Cure In Style
You could say that 12-year-old Grace Rose Bauer does everything in style, including trying to find a cure for cystic fibrosis. Born in New Orleans and diagnosed with the disease as an infant, she moved with her family to L.A. after Hurricane Katrina. Bauer and her mom, Leah, who is a fashion designer, have hosted an annual fashion event to raise funds for cystic fibrosis awareness and research for the...
NBC4 Helps Clear the Shelters in August
If your family has been considering adopting a pet, now you’ve got one more reason to go ahead. NBC4 is urging viewers to help “Clear the Shelters” as part of a two-week campaign. The station will be working with animal shelters in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, which will offer a flat reduced adoption fee of $20 per pet on Aug. 15. NBC4 will air 30-minute...
A Boy and His Dog Share Love and Therapy
Eight-year-old Daron, of Van Nuys, has a tight knit family. They have been through a lot together. Daron has cerebral palsy and needs a lot of support, but his parents, Hagop and Armine, and his older sister, Ani, are devoted to him. They will do just about anything to make Daron smile. That is why the family applied for an assistance dog for Daron from Canine Companions for Independence. The...
Local Teens Honored for Projects Helping Day Laborers, Schools and Kids In Need
Shira Alcouloumre, 16, of Laguna Beach; Emmi Eisner, 16, of Encino and Riley Gantt, 14, of Sherman Oaks, were just announced as recipients of the 2015 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, a $36,000 award that recognizes teens for their commitment to social good and volunteer service. Alcouloumre began Laguna Friends in Need, a project to support Hispanic day laborers. When a young Alcouloumre complained about having to eat a peach...
The New Kid in Town: Project Giving Kids
Have your children considered volunteering, then hesitated, not knowing where to begin? Project Giving Kids (www.projectgivingkids.org) makes positive parenting easier with age-appropriate volunteer opportunities around Los Angeles. Founded in Boston in 2013 and newly launched in L.A., the service is designed specifically for kids. “Kids can drive the whole process by learning about causes they relate to and choosing fun, rewarding ways to help support those causes,” says founder Molly...