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.

Thank You from TGS Founder, Tom Bagamane

To our volunteers:

The picture above captures 1 of a 1000 life changing moments experienced this summer by our volunteers and the homeless people they reached out to and helped. It is with a tremendous thanks to the entire TGS community that we were again able to conduct a successful Reach Out Saturday. Our visits to the shelters across the city have become greatly anticipated by the organizations who operate them, the people they serve and, of course, by our energetic and passionate TGS volunteers.  We wish to express our deepest appreciation!  Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. We distributed 1000 backpacks this summer and involved over 250 volunteers. We had a great article written about the event as well in the Los Angeles Times which you can read by clicking here.

Without generous contributors and volunteers, we would never have been able to touch so many lives in such an immediate yet profound way.  Reach Out Saturday is particularly important as it gives us the opportunity to reach many mothers, infants and teenagers.  The growing adolescent homeless population in Los Angeles is truly a disturbing trend, but with the kindness and generosity of people like you we’re making life on the street a little more bearable.  As you know, it’s not just the survival kits we distribute, but the chance to make a genuine human connection that bolsters the spirits of our TGS volunteers and the homeless individuals whom we serve.  The need to be acknowledged and looked compassionately in the eye is a daily essential, too.

This year, we are certainly looking to get the word out more — about both the dire need and about how people like you are joining together with fellow members of the community to make a concrete difference in the lives of those around us.  Our big winter outreach week is scheduled for Dec 5-12th so mark the date in your calendars now. Should you have a story or comment, please visit the blog to help make sure residents of the Greater Los Angeles Area are aware of this unique opportunity.

Again, heartfelt thanks goes out to you and to the entire TGS family for making Reach Out Saturday possible.  With ambitious goals for the holiday season, we ask you to keep The Giving Spirit in your heart.  Should you wish to become involved in an even greater way, please know we welcome all the support we can get! We are looking for folks who want to get involved throughout the year to take on leadership roles in our organization. Even if you can’t get involved more than once or twice a year, please remember to donate what you can – every dollar helps. Contact us at info@thegivingspirit.org or visit the website at www.thegivingspirit.org to volunteer and/or donate.

Yours in caring,

Tom Bagamane

Founder

The Giving Spirit

Pictures of Reach Out Saturday 2010

Here’s a few pictures I took at our June event. There’s one of the morning assembly line at Brentwood Presbyterian, one of volunteer Alec wrapping things up as we were about to hear Tom’s speech, one of the room full of backpacks set to go out that day, and one of the Covenant House where I went to deliver bags. Sorry so few. Enjoy.

Brian

Morning assembly line

Backpacks ready to go

Alec helping us wrap things up

The Covenant House in Hollywood

The Giving Spirit in the L.A. Times

L.A.’s homeless get backpack ‘survival kits’

The Giving Spirit, a nonprofit, distributes 1,000 knapsacks of food and essentials Saturday, with a special effort to reach homeless women and children.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times

June 6, 2010

Cynthia Berry, 19, is pregnant and homeless.

Due in roughly four months, Berry survives by selling incense on the Venice boardwalk.

When she heard someone was giving away backpacks full of food and other supplies at the Westminster dog park on Saturday, she was among the first to show up.

The sturdy black backpacks, which volunteers from the Giving Spirit like to call “survival kits,” contain about three dozen items essential to surviving the streets in Los Angeles County, including a baseball cap, socks, soap, sunglasses, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, sunscreen, lotion, a first aid kit, deodorant and bottled water.

About 225 volunteers packed and distributed 350 backpacks on foot in Venice, downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, North Hollywood and Culver City on Saturday. They delivered about 650 additional backpacks to seven local homeless outreach groups.

Volunteers made a special effort to reach women and children, distributing about 15 diaper bags full of feminine napkins, sippy cups, diapers, diaper-rash cream, baby wipes, baby sun block, children’s vitamins, formula and bottles. In Venice, they partnered with Stand Up For Kids, a Los Angeles nonprofit that serves homeless youth.

At the dog park, Berry claimed a backpack and a free bag lunch and sat down to eat in the shade. She said life on the streets can be hard for a woman, especially one struggling with morning sickness. But she is happy about becoming a mother. She knows she is having a girl and has already picked out a name: Jessi Lynn. Things have been better since she and her husband recently got an old RV to sleep in, she said, although police often rouse them from local parking lots.

Her young friends, who also claimed backpacks, said they have tried to find work, but even minimum-wage employers are looking for workers with more experience. Miguel Pineda, 22, was laid off from his job managing a Starbucks about nine months ago and has been homeless — or “traveling,” as he says — ever since.

“There’s no work out there for a younger person,” said Donovan Hage, 19.

The Giving Spirit is a nondenominational, all-volunteer, Los Angeles-based nonprofit. Since Brentwood entrepreneur Tom Bagamane founded the group in 1999, he said, 5,000 volunteers have distributed about 11,000 bags to Los Angeles County’s homeless.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com // Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Thank You to All Volunteers

Thank you everybody who came out Friday and Saturday to help TGS assemble and distribute bags to the homeless, with emphasis on homeless women, children, teens and families. It was a big success in that we were able to serve another 1,000 individuals, bringing the total number of homeless served by TGS to 11,000! It’s all because of the efforts of everybody coming together that we are able to spread a little friendship and hope.

If anybody would like to share their experiences of this weekend in a paragraph or two please go to our “Volunteers Stories” page here and tell us anything you’d like about your day reaching out to the homeless.

Again, thank you to everybody who donated their time this weekend!

We hope to see you again this December so we can help 1,000 more…

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

TGS Volunteer Stories

It is always uplifting to read the personal experiences of volunteers who have worked with TGS.  Please enjoy a couple of first-hand stories from our volunteers who helped us deliver needed supplies to the homeless. We encourage all volunteers to share their stories by leaving comments to any post. As we come closer to our June event we anticipate there will be many rewarding stories to share.

“My name is Julie Hartz and I am a teacher at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. A group of students and I organized a club at school which benefits this incredible organization. We attended the December event, our first-ever TGS event, and we all walked away better people who are more connected to the world around us. As a teacher and mother, it has been an incredible experience to not only watch my students work their tails off for a purpose bigger than themselves, but to see them touch and interact with those who will benefit as a result of their compassion and commitment. TGS is a hands-on community service opportunity for all students everywhere. My dream is to see TGS develop a chapter on every school campus across southern California. If you are a teacher, student, parent or administrator and would like information as to how we successfully developed TGS at our school, email me at tycam72@msn.com”

Here’s another volunteer:

“My 13 yr. old son and I had the most amazing experience at the Christmas event. We unloaded trucks, packed the bags and hit the streets. The first gentleman we approached who looked very much in need, turned us down and said there were others down the street who needed it more. This was a story we heard several times that day, along with guiding us to others in need “just down the block” or “sitting on the corner.” My son and I came away with the realization that not only are these folks just like us but many are kinder to those around them than some of our more affluent friends. A real eyeopener. The sad story however was a lovely lady who has been sitting on a bus bench at PCH and Sunset for over a month reading her Bible. We attempted to gift her with our bag and blanket and she refused us saying she was just waiting for her ride and couldn’t take all our stuff. That was her reality and how she survives on the street, she is still sitting there, wish we could have helped her.”

And another:

“Hi I’m Francine and I am a current student at Los Osos High School. I’ve always wanted to get out and go do something good for my community but I never knew how. The year, when my former spanish teacher, Mrs. Hartz, told me about The Giving Spirit I joined in a heartbeat. This is exactly how I wanted to give back to my community. I’ve grown up in an affluent community and I never thought about how serious the homeless situation was until I participated in the L.A. event in December. At first I was afraid and then I realized that the homeless are human beings, human beings just as much as you and me. It was depressing to realize that there were so many people with absolutely nothing and we weren’t even seeing the majority of them. Our day was long and demanding but totally worth it. One woman was so grateful for the duffel bag and blanket we gave her that she began to cry. The TGS event in L.A. was a life changing experience, I can’t even describe the feeling. I hope that more people join this cause. We are all so priviledged and I know we can all give something, even if its just a smile or a “hello.”