Information about charitable giving in and around Los Angeles.
Lending a Hand
Could Your Child Be a Young Hero?
The annual Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes is now open to applicants ages 8 to 18 across the U.S. and Canada. Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the prize honors 25 young leaders who have made a positive difference to people and the environment. Fifteen winners receive $10,000 each to support their service work […]
This Tiny Alpaca Could Make a Big Difference
When alpaca Princess Pumpkin was born, she weighed 5½ pounds and should have been too small to survive. However, Michael James and Amber Cavalier Splier adopted and raised her as a “princess” in their “castle,” eventually letting her venture out in search of friendship with bigger alpacas. They’ve now turned this special alpaca’s story into a children’s […]
4 Ways Community Service Benefits Your Child
For some students, it’s just another box to check, another requirement to fulfill before graduation. For others, community service is a chance to explore possible careers, discover personal talents and interests and connect to their neighborhoods in a deeper and more profound way. Participating in community service can change lives – when students decide to […]
Meet the Founders of Hope in a Suitcase
The idea for Hope in a Suitcase (HIAS) was born out of a chance introduction between L.A. moms Marsha Austen and Rebecca George, who struck up a conversation outside their children’s elementary school one day. Saddened by the plight of the more than 30,000 children separated from family in L.A. County’s foster care system, the […]
Kids for Change: LA Opera Helps Kids Dream Big
The LA Opera Camp for kids offered the perfect meaningful end-of-summer experiences for nearly 80 campers this year. And on Aug. 3, those students got the chance to showcase the performance they’d been practicing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion: “Then I Stood Up: A Civil Rights Cycle.” Over the summer, campers learned about the importance […]
The Sasha Project LA: Art That Helps Heal
In some ways, Sasha Bogosian is like many 11-year-old girls you might meet. “I love unicorns and rainbows. My favorite colors are the rainbow colors. I like going to the movies with my friends. I like having sleepovers, going to museums, playing with my dog,” she tells me enthusiastically when we chat on the phone. […]
The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company Celebrates 26 Years
The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company hosted its 11th Annual Be Unusual Gala in May. The star-studded event paid homage to 26 years of mentoring, educating and enriching the lives of underserved youth across L.A. through theater-based programs in local schools and juvenile detention centers. The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company Executive Director Melissa Denton says the […]
Balancing Motherhood and Caring for Mother Nature
In April, Marissa Christiansen, executive director of Friends of the LA River (FoLAR), was gearing up for the 30th Great LA River Cleanup. She and her team were looking to galvanize 10,000 volunteers to pick up 140 tons of trash along the 51-mile span. But while she was excited to lead FoLAR’s cleanup for another […]
Kidsave and ‘Instant Family’ Creator Team Up for Foster Kids
Every year, more than 250,000 children are placed into the foster-care system. Even more heartbreaking than this National Foster Youth Institute statistic is this one: More than 23,000 of those children will age out of the system with nowhere to go. About 20 percent of them will become instantly homeless after they leave foster care. […]
Family and Community Pull Together to Battle Rare Disease
When I worked for the Dodgers, I oversaw their community relations’ health pillar, a project designed to reach out to those in the L.A. community who are suffering from serious illnesses, to send them gift packages that included paraphernalia signed by their baseball idols and sometimes to give them a baseball experience of a lifetime. […]
Course Offers Special-Needs Moms a Mindful Return to Work
Having a baby is a transformative experience, bringing intense physical changes and engulfing emotional ones due to the pending needs of this new human. The mind races from nesting to nursing to concern over who will care for this bundle of joy once parents return to work. These concerns are heightened when a child is […]
Read While You Wait: Libraries and Barbershops Come Together
What do barbershops and books want? A moment in time with your head. And through Read While You Wait, a community-based children’s literacy program, the Los Angeles Public Library aims to use books to capture what’s inside kids’ heads before they get into the barber’s chair. City librarian John F. Szabo and Sr. Field […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]