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Homelessness and Hunger

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Homelessness and Hunger

Are you hungry?

LA food bank tonyimageThe power of one is a concept that always intrigues me. How can one person create so much change? How can one idea create something that feeds one million people a year? The thought is humbling, empowering and pure inspiration.

The “one” I am talking about is a man named Tony Collier. He was a cook who saw leftovers going to waste and decided to do something about it. Sound simple enough? As a cook, for a Los Angeles based non-profit, Tony received more donations than he needed.  So, he decided he needed to share his leftovers with other charities that were trying to feed the hungry as well.  Tony had heard about a food bank in Phoenix that had done something similar and decided to bring that model to Los Angeles and founded Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 1973.

From the very beginning the 200 square foot garage quickly filled up and soon had to move into a converted 2,600 square foot dry cleaning facility in Pasadena. By the early 1980’s Tony’s simple idea was distributing more than 3.5 million pounds of food to over 70 different agencies in LA.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt6QJobSbww]

Today, The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes 51 million pounds of food or the equivalent of 42.4 million meals. The LA Food Bank served over 1 million people last year with the help of 32,000 volunteers.

One man’s simple idea is no longer housed in a garage but now resides in a 96,000 square foot facility that distributes the food to over 653 different agencies throughout the LA area. One man, one idea and a legacy of compassion that continues to inspire.

Charity Matters.

  Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Homelessness and Hunger

March Madness

cheerful giversIn our house we take March Madness seriously, no it’s not because of basketball, it’s because all three of my sons have birthdays this month…which of course leads to true March Madness. I am always trying to find ways to remind my boys how fortunate they are and birthdays are always a good opportunity for gratitude.

This year I wanted to find a cause that involved birthdays that the boys could contribute too and I came across the most remarkable cause called Cheerful Givers.Org and the person behind it all, just as amazing.

He name is Robin Steele and in 1994 she was touring a local shelter in her community in Minnesota and discovered that parents often looked for a favorite box of cereal or canned good to give their child as a birthday gift.  Robin couldn’t bear the thought of a child’s birthday passing without any acknowledgement and immediately got to work assembling 12 birthday bags that she dropped of at her local homeless shelter.

The next day Robin received a call from the shelter to share the story of the birthday bag. A woman had come into the shelter looking for some sort of favorite food item to recognize her child’s birthday and panicked when there wasn’t anything. However, when the shelter gave her a birthday bag the woman replied, “The whole way over on the bus I prayed and prayed that there would be something here for me to give my child, but I never dreamed  there would be something so beautiful.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhsEld48tnE&feature=youtu.be]

Robin got to work, enlisted volunteers and began Cheerful Givers. However, three years later  Robin still wondered if she was doing enough. So in 1997 she traveled to India to meet with Mother Teresa. Robin met with her hours before her death and returned with a message that we are all hungry for love.

She was more determined than ever to ensure that her birthday bags, “celebrates those lives that matter and that they are a symbol of unconditional love we have for our anonymous neighbors and their children.”

Today, over 622,045 birthday bags have been distributed and counting. March madness in all its glory. The celebration of birthdays is the celebration of life and Robin Steele reminds us all why it is such a gift.

Charity Matters.

 Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Homelessness and Hunger

What Matters?

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

  Mother Teresa

We all get overwhelmed this time of year with donation request, causes, and so many people and places in need. We can not give to everything, we can not improve everything but we can make a difference in each gesture of love, kindness and compassion to another…..even if it is just one.  It matters.

Charity Matters.

 

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

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Homelessness and Hunger

Caterina’s Club

Last week was Thanksgiving and in my search for feeding the hungry, one name just kept reappearing, Bruno Serato. Call it coincidence but I had received a text from a girlfriend the same day about a non-profit called Caterina’s Club. What do you know? Caterina’s Club is founded by Bruno Serato. I just love it when the magic comes together.

So who is this Bruno Serato? Bruno is a chef and restaurant owner in Orange County, California. He is also a long time supporter of the Boys and Girls Club.  In 2005, after a visit to the Boys and Girls Club Bruno realized that many of those children were living in motels and were not being fed dinner.

Bruno shared this story with his mother, Caterina, who told him he must use his resources to feed these children pasta dinner.  That is how his non-profit Catarina’s Club began. Every night vans from the Boys and Girls Clubs pick up children at surrounding motels, where they live, and deliver them to the Boys and Girls Club for homework help, activities and free pasta dinner.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7ci0ORpuQ]

Today, Bruno has served more than 400,000 free pasta dinners. Bruno has called these children his favorite customers. What he feeds them is more than pasta; it is love, time, compassion and consistency in an often crazy world for these children. Bruno recognized that being fed isn’t always through your stomach but perhaps feeding a child’s spirit is just as important.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Homelessness and Hunger

The changing face of Skid Row

As you know this week we have talked about the amazing history of Skid Row and the Union Rescue Mission, as well as the inspiring story of Reverend Andy Bales. As the CEO of the URM, he has made eradicating homelessness his life’s mission.

How do you take on a problem like ending homelessness? It seems enormous, especially since Los Angeles County is the homeless capital of America with 74,000 men, women and children living on the streets every night. Well, the URM has had tremendous success with their program of getting people off the streets and back on their feet.

They do so much more than provide 1.2 million meals each year. URM begins with reaching out offering food, clothing and emergency services like housing. Women and children are sent to a facility called Hope Gardens where they are safe and far from Skid Row. The next step is the transformation phase where the Mission offers medical, dental and legal support. There is a full-time program that provides counseling, job training, volunteering and recovery from addiction….all with a 66% success rate.

The final phase is the restoration, take a look.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO9tqyfZ55Q&feature=player_embedded]

My experience at the Union Rescue Mission was truly inspiring. I began this journey unsure, nervous and not clear what to expect. I left Union Rescue Mission with a renewed faith in compassion, dignity and the power of one.  The face of homelessness will never look the same again, there is hope on Skid Row.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Homelessness and Hunger

To the rescue, Union Rescue Mission

 As I mentioned the other day that spending any amount of time on Skid Row is a humbling experience and one that I will treasure as a reminder of gratitude and perspective.

There are so many emotions that occur when I see a homeless person. It runs the gamete from pity to sadness to frustration, fear and sometimes even anger but usually ends with confusion. Then I drive on and the emotions are forgotten, because its easier to forget than to try to figure out what to do.

Sadly, I don’t think I’m alone. So when I heard Reverend Andy Bales (CEO of Union Rescue Mission) personal story, I was truly inspired to know that my reactions are not unique. What is unique however, is not Andy’s reaction to homelessness but his action. Take a look.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0b4aW93-o8&feature=plcp]

We are all faced each day with choices but what moved me so deeply about Andy’s story was that when he realized he wasn’t practicing what he preached he went back and took action. Not only did he feed the man who he turned away but he made a commitment to take on homelessness with a passion. He has since fed hundreds of thousands, 735,909 meals last year alone.

Like Lyman Stewart, the first steward of the Union Rescue Mission, Andy Bales has given a face to all of those that we pass. He has made feeding the homeless and breaking the cycle of poverty his life’s work.

The work is paying off, see what happens when one man can inspire a community, create a template that is followed nationally and run an organization that served 1.2 million meals last year on donations.

Reverend Andy is an inspiration and on friday I will share some of the great successes of    this amazing organization. The face of homelessness will never look the same again.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

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Homelessness and Hunger

Union Rescue Mission

A week before vacation I had the privilege to spend some time down on Los Angeles’s Skid Row at the Union Rescue Mission. It was so insightful that its worthy of more than one post.

We all see the homeless everyday and I know that I struggle with what to do? Do I turn a blind eye? Do I give a dollar or perhaps some food? Do I support an organization that does this and has been taking care of the homeless and hungry since 1893? After my time at the Union Rescue Mission, I think the latter option is the answer.

The Union Rescue Mission began during California’s boom at the turn of the last century. Men were coming by the thousands in search of gold and oil hoping to make their fortunes. However, when these people found themselves without a job, food or shelter there was no place to turn, until a man named Lyman Stewart decided to step in.

Lyman had made his fortune in oil and saw the hundreds of hungry and homeless and decided to take action. He had his men start providing food, to over 500 people everyday, with their horse driven wagons on Main Street. By 1907, the URM had purchased a site to continue its work.

When the Great Depression hit, the Mission supplied 42 percent of all free meals provided by private charities in Los Angeles. A staggering amount.

Today, the Mission provides over 1.2 million meals each year to the over 74,000 homeless men, women and children in Los Angeles County.

That legacy and growth of the Mission has been handed down over the generations to many stewards of this incredible organization. On Wednesday, I know you will be inspired by Andy Bales, the current CEO and his passion for breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Homelessness and Hunger

Bake Me Home

In case you haven’t checked your calendar Mother’s Day is less than a week away. When we think of our moms so many images come to mind, but for me one of them is baking cookies….something many of us did with our mothers.

One mom took her cooking with her children and her cookies to the next step.  In 2008, Alison Bushman and her then 7-year-old twin daughters had a conversation about children entrepreneurs. Her girls wondered can kids really make a difference?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEHscf686M]

The twins had already spent hours helping out with a local homeless shelter and wanted to do more. The solution, to give families their recipe, the dry ingredients to make cookies as they left the shelter and moved into a home.

The result is sweet, Bake Me Home‘s mission is dedicated to promoting volunteerism and providing disadvantaged moms and kids with something as simple as cookies that encourage shared family experiences.

The girl’s goal? To make the world sweeter one cookie at a time. How sweet is that? Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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Homelessness and Hunger

Good Shepherd Center

One of the greatest joys of Charity Matters has been the realization that everyone has a cause they care about and want to share. There is nothing I love more than a friend telling me that I have to hear about their favorite organization and this one is no exception. The Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children found me through a friend and now it has found you.

In 1984, at age 60, Sister Julia Mary Farley and Catholic Charities responded to an increasing number of homeless on the streets of downtown Los Angeles.  She suggested using a former convent as an emergency shelter for the most vulnerable of the homeless population, women and children. These women and children became her focus.

Sister Julia’s mission was to offer shelter and hope for these women. She wanted them to rebuild their lives so they could experience a brighter future for their children. Her dream was to create a “Women’s Village” that would provide housing, job training, employment and other supportive services, to achieve independence.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qwq1pmfETAg]

Today, 27 years later Sister Julia’s dream has become a reality for over 1,000 homeless women and children each year. Every night 93 women and 40 children are off the streets because of her. The work she started has been carried on by Sister Rosaline and the staff at the center.  Good Shepherd Center has impacted the lives of over 25,000 homeless women and children by giving them the support they need to achieve self-sufficient lives.

Sister Julia said it best, “I think, to use whatever God has given you to help other people. We’ve got to make the world a better place, got to keep working at it.”

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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Childrens' Causes

Upward Bound House an alternative for homeless children

Did you happen to visit Peet’s Coffee on Christmas Eve?  If you did, you received a gift that truly spread the Christmas spirit. After ordering your drink (regardless of the size) the barista said,”Merry Christmas! Your drink is on the house. If you want to support Upward Bound House, we would be so grateful.”

What was Upward Bound House? I thought I would find out while waiting for my now donated latte. It turns out Upward Bound house is a non-profit that provides transitional housing to keep families together and off the streets.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u89vmBZcjsw]

Upward Bound House has a 95% success rate of getting families back on their feet and independently living on their own again. So, a little post holiday good will and cheer and a big hats off to Peet’s Coffee for showing us all that Charity Matters a latte!

Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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Homelessness and Hunger

USA Harvest: Stan Curtis, feeding the hungry in the U.S.

As Thanksgiving approaches and the food drives continue, we all pitch in to do our part. For some of us its donating food or money but for Stan Curtis of Kentucky it was solving a bigger problem, hunger in America.

In 1986, Stan was out to dinner and noticed a tray of green beans being thrown out from a buffet and replaced. He inquired with the manager, who explained they had to be thrown out. Stan thought that there had to be a better use for his green beans than to waste them.

Stan had grown up in an orphanage and knew what it was like to be hungry. He had become successful through hard work and was determined to make a difference. He gathered a few friends together to “raise food not funds.” Their mission was to simply take food from people who had surplus and deliver it to shelters that had needed it.

Today, 25 years later Kentucky Harvest is now USA Harvest, which is the largest volunteer food distribution organization in our country. They have no staff, only volunteers and have delivered more than 11 billion pounds of food. USA Harvest serves more than 2 million meals a day to the hungry in our country.

Stan says, ” Regardless of who you are or where you come from most people want to stand for something.” Stan Curtis stands for millions. That is Charity that matters.

Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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Homelessness and Hunger

Thanksgiving Food Drives

This week our school is beginning its annual food drive, as are schools and churches all over this country. It is a ritual and right of passage as traditional as stuffing and gravy.

While we all go to our full cupboards and pull out  dusty cans of whatever we may have lying around, drop it in the donation box and move along with our day. We often forget to connect the dots of our actions and those that we are helping. We are doing good, we are feeding someone and we are reaching out to those in need.

Perhaps, this holiday we can see a face to hunger and a face to poverty. Just for a moment. Perhaps, have a conversation about the reality of hunger, for thousands of Americans each day, with our children. Maybe, make a plan to feed the hungry on a day other than Thanksgiving.

Realizing that we are touching someone’s life, connecting the person to the cause is Charity that matters.

Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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