Whole Foods Brentwood Raised $3,800 for TGS

Celebrating Whole Foods' Generosity

This Spring, Whole Foods Brentwood continued their tremendous support for The Giving Spirit by making us the beneficiary of their “5% Days” program.  On April 27, 5% of the stores revenues were donated to TGS.  Our organization was given prominent signage at the front of the store.  TGS was also happy to spread the word, encouraging our volunteers to shop that day and nearly doubling the store’s previous best “5% Days” turn-out.  The result is what you see pictured here: an incredibly successful partnership and a generous $3,897.90 donation to TGS.  We look forward to putting it to good use!

19,000 Homeless Children and Women in L.A. Need Your Help

Make An Instant Impact On Our City- Los Angeles has the largest population of homeless children and women in the country. Nearly 40% of all the homeless in LA, numbering over 19,000 are women and children under the age of 18. Not only are they the most vulnerable to every predator on the streets, they are the fastest growing segment of homelessness in the US.

Do you want to give them hope, sustenance and relief from the heat of a LA summer? Then join us, Friday and Saturday June 10th and 11th for The Giving Spirit’s (TGS) Annual Reach Out Saturday –  focused on seeking out and providing aid to homeless children and women. Gather together with folks from all over the city to assemble 1250 backpacks filled to the brim with all the essentials anyone would need seeking shelter from the savage summer sun. This is an ideal event for families and children of all ages to make a difference together while learning the truth about poverty and homelessness in LA.

After assembling the packs we will deliver them to over half a dozen TGS non-profit partners who provide tireless and selfless aid to our clients 365 days a year. Many of our shelter partners are specifically dedicated to helping women, children and families, these amazing organizations include: Covenant House, Downtown Women’s Center, Jeff Griffith Youth Center, San Fernando Valley, Rescue Mission, Stand Up for Kids and My Friend’s Place.  Spend quality time with our clients getting to know their stories and allowing them to reconnect to a world that has long since forgotten them.

Shelters are overflowing with families and young children. A substantial majority of LA’s 5000 homeless families are headed by a single mother. 45-50% of children in those families are below the age of 6. And the most horrific statistic – 13 homeless youths die on average every day in America.  Help us bring comfort, smiles and respite from the harsh realities of the streets to 1250 souls. Bring your kids, your friends, your school mates. Just come.

We only have 100 volunteers registered with a goal of 400. Spread the word!

Click here to register now. 

Shop at Whole Foods Brentwood April 27 to Raise Funds for the Homeless

Exciting news!

Whole Foods Brentwood will donate 5% of all sales on
Wednesday, April 27 to The Giving Spirit.

Whole Foods Brentwood is located at 11737 San Vicente Boulevard

We have been selected by Whole Foods Market in Brentwood to be the recipient of the store’s community giving day
known as 5% Day. On April 27, the store will donate 5% of sales from purchases to The Giving Spirit.

On April 27 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. customers who shop at this Whole Foods will support The Giving Spirit’s efforts to help improve the lives of the homeless in Los Angeles. Let’s get the word out for everyone we know to shop at Whole Foods Brentwood next Wednesday.

Also, please share the event on Facebook with all of your friends.
http://www.facebook.com/TheGivingSpirit?sk=events

The Giving Spirit www.thegivingspirit.org is an all-volunteer, Los
Angeles-based non-profit organization that unites students and
concerned citizens with local individuals and families who are
homeless. Twice a year volunteers gather in Brentwood to assemble
survival kits filled with vital essentials. The kits are specifically
designed to help people experiencing homelessness survive their harsh
realities. Volunteers have the unique opportunity to distribute the
kits directly to those who need them most. Over the past eleven
years, 6,000 volunteers have delivered a total of more than 13,000 kits
to souls on the street.

On the Pulse: March 2011 Newsletter

On The Pulse: News from The Giving Spirit
March 24, 2011

SAVE THE DATE FOR JUNE’S REACH-OUT SATURDAY
Mark your calendar for June 10 and 11 and be a part of The Giving Spirit’s growing spring outreach program, Reach-out Saturday. This event focuses on serving homeless women and children throughout Los Angeles County. Last June, more than 250 volunteers distributed 1,000 survival kits at area shelters and on the streets, and their efforts inspired this Los Angeles Times article. This year, we’ve raised our goal to 1,250 women and children served. Online registration is required and will begin April 4 at www.thegivingspirit.org. For more information or to donate, contact info@thegivingspirit.org.

DECEMBER EVENT DRAWS ALMOST 1,250 VOLUNTEERS, REACHES 2,640 HOMELESS ANGELENOS
Everyone is feeling the effects of the economy and The Giving Spirit is no exception, but thanks to the unwavering dedication of our supporters, the 11th annual Winter Outreach was a great success, closing a fundraising gap in the final stretch that allowed us to reach our goal of distributing a record-breaking 2,640 survival kits to our homeless neighbors across the city. Close to 1,250 volunteers – another record – took part throughout the week. Check out Noel Kleinman’s excellent video that captures our volunteers’ efforts in time lapse, and see the photos below for an idea of just how much those efforts mean to the community we serve. In the end, 2010 fundraising netted $193,000 in cash and $38,000 in in-kind donations. Our sincerest thanks go to all who contributed their time, money and other resources to make this possible.

SEEKING A CPA AND BOOKKEEPER
The Giving Spirit is in need of financial services, either donated or at a nominal fee. Among other things this would greatly enhance our ability to raise funds through grants, as large foundations sometimes require a CPA to have reviewed and written an opinion on our financial statements — all to ensure that we are a sound organization. If you, or someone you know, is in a position to help us in this area, please contact candace@thegivingspirit.org.

FAST FACT
As we approach our June Reach-Out to homeless women and children, consider this: Since 2007, there has been a 30% increase in the number of families in sheltered housing, making families the fastest growing segment of homelessness. Adults who become homeless with children are overwhelming women and most are under the age of 31. Roughly four in five homeless families live in shelters, and more than half of the children in homeless shelters are below the age of six. Sources: 2009 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Count Report and 2009 Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.

STAY  IN TOUCH

On The Pulse is just one way to stay informed about The Giving Spirit. We encourage you to ” friend” us on Facebook if you haven’t already. Subscribe to our blog for news about us and information on trends impacting the homeless community, and links to homelessness in the news. We hope to see you in June!

Giving Spirit Week 2010 Slideshow

A beautiful and very high quality slideshow of our winter event. Many thanks to Jonathan Moore for putting this together and giving us such a fantastic snapshot of what we do. Please share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. www.jonathanmoorephoto.com; www.jjmoorephoto.com

A Homeless Man Serves The Homeless in Los Angeles

This week The L.A. times featured Ray Polk, a one-man social agency, offering food, clothes, and counseling to his fellow denizens of the streets of Los Angeles, and, he has also created a memorial to those who have died.

Liberty For All?

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Excerpt  from “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Engraved on a bronze tablet within the pedestal on which stands the Statue of Liberty.

 

Veterans 50 Percent More Likely To Be Homeless, Study Shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/10/homeless-veterans-report-hud_n_821433.html

A new report released today confirms what many Americans have long known: veterans make up a disproportionate amount of the nation’s homeless population.

The federal government’s first-ever comprehensive Veteran Homelessness study shows that veterans are 50 percent more likely to become homeless than other Americans. Additionally, minority veterans have an even greater chance of ending up on the streets or in homeless shelters.

As part of the national strategy against homelessness, President Obama’s administration has set the ambitious goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015.

The study, published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), uses data compiled from the 2009 nationwide homeless assessment to better understand the homeless veteran population.

A total of 75,609 veterans were found to be homeless on the January 2009 night that the count was conducted. More than half (57 percent) of them were staying in homeless shelters or transitional living facilities, while the remaining 43 percent were sleeping on the street.

Over the course of the year, from October 2008 to September 2009, 136,334 veterans stayed at a homeless shelter or transitional facility at least one night.

That figure means that a staggering one of every 168 American veterans experienced homelessness during that 12-month period.
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According to the HUD,

“This report offers a much clearer picture about what it means to be a veteran living on our streets or in our shelters,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Understanding the nature and scope of veteran homelessness is critical to meeting President Obama’s goal of ending veterans’ homelessness within five years.”

Tom Bagamane to sit on UCLA Volunteer Center Panel

Students at UCLA will be attending a panel discussion and community service fair this week designed to introduce students to ways in which they can make a difference in their communities as a volunteer. TGS founder Tom Bagamane will be one of the experts sitting on that panel discussing with students ways in which they can be of assistance to L.A.’s enormous, and growing, homeless population of over 60,000.

The event is called, “The Power of One, Making a Difference in Our Communities” An exploration of the exciting possibilities and opportunities of a Volunteer.

This is a great opportunity for TGS to reach the many students who are looking for ways to give their time and efforts to improve our communities.

Last December we had many UCLA alumni volunteers helping us during Giving Spirit Week 2010. TGS is now working closer with UCLA and the student community to share our common objectives of positively impacting the community of Los Angeles.

Tom Bagamane and The Giving Spirit are honored to participate in this event and we hope that our relationship with UCLA will produce many future benefits for L.A.’s homeless, for this organization, and for our communities.

Join Us – The Giving Spirit Volunteer Thank You Reception

Thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of our homeless neighbors.

 

Join us to share the stories of your experiences during the December 2010 event with those who can most appreciate them – other ‘Giving Spirit’ volunteers!

• When: Sunday, February 13 from 03:00 PM to 5:00 PM

• Where: Napa Valley Grille 1100 Glendon Ave. #100 Los Angeles, CA 9002

Please attend as we celebrate our accomplishments and plan for the future of The Giving Spirit.

The Napa Valley Grill has graciously offered to host our reception.
Please visit their website: www.napavalleygrille.com

Light hor d’ouvres will be served.
A cash bar will be available.
Valet Parking is available.

P.S.: We would love to have a digital copy of any photos from the event. Feel free to burn a CD and hand it to a volunteer at the reception table.