Register now for Giving Spirit Week 2010

Our 11th ANNUAL GIVING SPIRIT WEEK, DECEMBER 5-12th, 2010

Please join us in our 11th year as we build and distribute kits filled with items critical for survival to our homeless brothers and sisters across Greater Los Angeles.

Please Register Here:

http://thegivingspiritdecember2010.eventbrite.com/

Early registration ensures that you are able to choose the day and time best suitable for your schedule, it also helps us manage all of our volunteer activities for that week. All are welcome – adults and children, family and friends.

Don’t miss this life changing event.

See what the LA Times wrote about our work. Click here to read the article.

www.thegivingspirit.org

www.facebook.com/TheGivingSpirit

On the Pulse: News from The Giving Spirit

Save the Date for Our 11th Winter Outreach: Dec. 5-12

The Giving Spirit’s big winter outreach week is set for December 5-12. Please join our volunteers as we build 2,500 kits filled with items critical for survival and distribute them directly to our homeless neighbors across Greater Los Angeles. This is a great pre-holiday activity that touches the lives of our volunteers as deeply as it does the community we serve. And as we source our kit items, we need your donations as well. Please give what you can – every dollar helps. Contact us at info@thegivingspirit.org or visit www.thegivingspirit.org to volunteer and/or donate. Online registration is required and will be available soon. See you in December!

June’s Reach-Out Saturday a Great Success

More than 250 dedicated volunteers participated in The Giving Spirit’s Reach-Out Saturday this June 5. Thanks to their tremendous efforts, we were able to distribute 1,000 survival kits at shelters across the city and on the street. Reach-Out Saturday puts a special focus on serving mothers, infants and teens – whose numbers among the homeless are alarmingly on the rise. For more on the impact of this event, and the human connections it inspired between our volunteers and the homeless people they reached on a sunny Saturday in June, check out this great article in the Los Angeles Times.

Fast Fact

Here’s a sobering stat: Between 2007 and 2009, the number of families in homeless shelters has risen sharply from 131,000 to 170,000. This is according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as reported in The New York Times.

Don’t Miss This Flick: “Lost Angels” Opens October 2

We caught the world premiere of Lost Angels, Thomas Napper’s remarkable documentary about L.A.’s skid row, at the Los Angeles Film Festival this June. While there, we had the honor to meet several of the “cast” of this unflinching film, including one woman, “Detroit,” who told us that a Giving Spirit survival kit was one of the catalysts that ultimately helped her get off the streets. Hers is just one of the unforgettable stories in Lost Angels, which opens at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex on October 2.

Stay in Touch

If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to “ like” The Giving Spirit on Facebook and join the cause, a new Facebook tool that allows you to participate in and track fundraising efforts. Subscribe to our blog to stay abreast of Giving Spirit news and societal trends impacting the homeless community. And finally, we hope our new On the Pulse e-newsletter is a welcome addition to your in-box.  We promise to keep these updates brief and informative.

TGS Volunteer Stories Part 2

In getting prepared for our Reach Out Saturday Event I thought it would be good to share a few more stories from our volunteers from past events.

Don’t forget, that we are now asking volunteers to register for our event coming up this June 4th and 5th. All volunteers must register individually so that we can keep track of all people. Please follow the link to sign up: http://thegivingspiritreachoutsaturday2010.eventbrite.com/

We hope to see you there.

Volunteer Stories:

My children and I were a part of The Giving Spirit Christmas event in Brentwood. What started out as an evening helping some friends turned into three days of making new friends from all walks of life. We were touched by Tom, his family and friends who started The Giving Spirit with an idea and made it into a reality. Strangers from every corner of Los Angeles came together and worked in harmony for three long days to accomplish the same thing. To go and reach out to the homeless population without judgement was an eye opener. Each person we met had a story to tell. And we realized that this could happen to anyone. The following is a poem a homeless gentleman in Santa Monica wrote for my daughter when she handed him his bag.

Believe it or Not by Royce Hummer

I don’t have the season cheer this year-My soul has disappered. Wanted to write a Christmas poem, But all I’m getting is the same Renegade stuff-I truly believe there are superior Beings-I think we are in the final chapter. I won’t write about a jolly man in a red suit-I wish you could see the Real Sociality-Not very civilized. Nobody with much joy in their hearts, People who proclaim to bellieve in God than act Like the Devil. Greed and Power are tools of satan weather Jesus was born on this date or not-it does not matter it’s the thought behind the gift that counts-Nobody alive knows the true story of the world you must choose to believe or not.

Thank you Giving Spirit for sharing your visions with us. We look forward to next time.

Second volunteer story:

This is my first year and it won’t be my last. I came into this with skepticism and prejudments about the homeless. Whether some of these humans have done things that have caused them to be in this situation, they are still humans with regret, fear, and dispare.

One of the women that my boyfriend approached was very hostile and I figured it was because she did not know what he wanted. I told him to let me approach her. When she saw me and my son coming up with the bag, she realized that my boyfriend just wanted to show his kindness. I suspect men had approached her before with terrible suggestions. Her demeanor went from scared and mean to appreciation and the need to talk.

She had broken up with a boyfriend and her family was from the high desert, which she couldn’t reach. She was cold and immediately covered herself with the blanket. Since it was my first experience with approaching someone, I told her I just wanted to give her a gift and wished her a Merry Christmas then left. My boyfriend talked to her only a little because he felt compelled to follow me. I regret not spending more time with her but now know what to do next time.

A very enlightening weekend and one I will never forget. I loved seeing my children be a part of this as well. I was so proud to see them work so hard but did not complain. Even at a young age, they realized they were a part of something bigger than them. This is what the season is all about. Thank you Tom, Tim, and Gregg for bringing me into a wonderful experience that will forever be a part of my Christmas experience.

Third volunteer story:

Hi All, a belated follow up to an extraordinary day. My wife Kim and I participated December 14th by distributing 12 duffels and approximately
25 blankets to homeless friends that we found at the bluff park area above Santa Monica pier. I think a lot of the volunteers headed to 6th and Alameda that day but the homeless gentleman that was at the church assisting with loading the vehicles suggested we head down towards San Vincente and Ocean. We saw a few folks with duffels they had received the day before but had no problem finding others in need. The weather was due to turn crummy the next day so the blankets were well received and appreciated. One or two declined the offerings but most were excited and several enjoyed talking for a bit. Everyone has a unique name and story…Tom’s right, it is something less than six degrees. We met a gentleman in just his third week on the streets. He was out of work from the construction industry and seemed to be in pretty good physical shape. His main concern, ironically, was finding a safe place to sleep at night. He said he was relieved whenever he’s awaked during the night if it is a police officer. Another older gentleman that we had given a duffel to was smiling and chewing away when we passed by him a second time that day. To be sure it was a day that we will remember throughout the year. Thanks for the great present. We will stay in touch. Take care, Dave Ganoung and Kim Foster.

Save the Date: June 4 and 5, 2010

Well it’s that time of year again where we pool our efforts for our Reach Out Saturday. On Friday June 4th we’ll be gathering at Brentwood Presbyterian Church (12000 San Vicente Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049) to assemble our summer packs. On Saturday June 5th we’ll be heading out to the streets to give out our survival packs to the homeless in the Los Angeles area.

Register Now! (click on or copy the link below into your browser), and be prepared for a rewarding day of service to others. 

http://thegivingspiritreachoutsaturday2010.eventbrite.com/

Each person needs to sign up individually so that we can keep an accurate count of volunteers.

See the flier attached below for more detailed information. The details are also on our website: http://www.thegivingspirit.org/

Become a Volunteer

Save the Date