Los Angeles, California. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced that the LA organization Homeboy Industries is the recipient of the 2020 Humanitarian Prize on August 3rd. This gives the nonprofit 2.5 million dollars to use as it wishes.
Homeboy Industries has worked to help rehabilitate men and women who have been affected by gang violence or have been previously incarcerated.
According to Homeboy’s website: “Each year over 10,000 former gang members from across Los Angeles come through Homeboy Industries’ doors in an effort to make a positive change. They are welcomed into a community of mutual kinship, love, and a wide variety of services ranging from tattoo removal to anger management and parenting classes.”
Here’s a video about the honor:
As of August 2020, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded 36.5 million to various nonprofit organizations.
President and CEO of the Conrad Hilton Foundation, Peter Laugharn spoke on the decision to choose Homeboy Industries.
“The Jury’s selection of Homeboy Industries as the recipient of the 2020 Hilton Humanitarian Prize speaks to the power of standing with people who have been systemically marginalized, creating space for them to heal and invest in their future, with the intention of ending the socio-economic inequities that impact communities. A tremendous example of ground-breaking humanitarian work right here in Los Angeles, its community-led approach has spawned and supported a global network of over 300 organizations. Homeboy Industries embodies the spirit of the Prize and the work of the Foundation — focusing on equity, resilience, and dignity — in an inspiring way.”
To help Homeboy Industries you can donate directly on its website, or you can buy merchandise, food, supplies, and more that will contribute to the organization.
From Conrad N. Hilton Foundation:
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a family foundation established in 1944 by the man who started Hilton Hotels. We provide funds to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of individuals living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage throughout the world.
Los Angeles, CA. The Saban Community Clinic, with five sites located throughout Los Angeles, has worked hard in ensuring that its patients receive accessible healthcare during the global pandemic of COVID-19.
“We all need to unite and we all need to make sure that we’re there for each other mentally,” said Josue Portillo, Lead Front Desk Specialist from the Saban Beverly Health Center. Portillo discussed the difficulties that the staff has faced in keeping their doors open for vulnerable communities in Los Angeles, as well as the state of the regular services provided by the clinic.
The priority for Saban Community Clinic is to keep as much of their services open for those in need with as little risk as possible. Portillo talked about how they switched from “face-to-face contact” for regular appointments and results to “100% phone conversations” with patients when COVID-19 cases first began to emerge in California.
Saban Community Clinic today prioritizes all contact with patients to be over the phone. However, in the cases where blood work or any other type of screening is needed and approved by a patient’s doctor over the phone, Portillo and the Beverly Clinic’s staff will sanitize all areas patients may come in contact with before and after they come into the clinic.
Communication and Marketing Specialist Valeria De Luna commented on how important it is to keep “preventative services” open during the pandemic “regardless of how long this takes,” which includes screenings for STIs and pre-scheduled vaccinations for children. “That’s the biggest thing for us is making sure that we keep our community healthy from other things as well,” De Luna said, “and just making sure that those needs are addressed.”
The Free Shower Program is a regular service provided by the Saban Clinic to help individuals struggling with homelessness to receive access to a shower, a free toiletry kit, as well as other beneficial services provided by the clinic.
The program will continue to be open for these patients during the pandemic under strict limitations, which Portillo said was a bit difficult to enforce in comparison to their other services. “We are trying to provide the same services and keep our doors open for them because we know that they are very vulnerable in the community,” said Portillo.
“In the beginning,” Portillo said, “We worked hard for them to understand that we were limiting the amount of people in the building.” The Beverly Clinic currently only allows two unhouse patients participating in the program to come into the building at a time. They will be put into a room where they can charge their phone or organize their belongings for half an hour, fifteen minutes to take a shower in the facility, and then ten minutes to gather their belongings and leave the building so the staff can “sanitize the whole area before the next patient comes in.”
There are also tents outside of the entrances that provides shade and some care (seen in the picture above) while the unhouse patients wait their turn for the shower program.
De Luna commented on how their unhouse patients often do not have easy access to information on the Coronavirus or mobile devices to do a phone/video conference before going into one of the clinics in Los Angeles.
“There are all these different things that our patients have barriers to and so we really have to understand that our patients are coming from a really different perspective,” De Luna said, “we are really being that source for our community and providing them that outlet for them as well here.”
Portillo continues to help answer questions and concerns from individuals who have limited access to essential information on the pandemic and take care of patients who have to come into the clinic.
“All of our staff members’ encouragement for each other has really allowed us to push each other and support each other and make sure that these things can continue on a daily basis,” Portillo concluded.
If you would like to help Saban Community Clinic to continue providing these important services to the Los Angeles community during this difficult time, click here to donate to their emergency fund.
Click here for more videos about the clinic’s work during the pandemic.
From Saban Community Clinic:
The Saban Community Clinic was founded on the principle that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Our clinics provide Whole Person Care to everyone regardless of income or immigration status. This includes medical, behavioral health and dental care.
For over 50 years, we have been redefining community health through a systemic approach that creates a lasting impact on individual lives and creates healthier communities. We have been awarded the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition Level 3, a model that puts the patient first.
Los Angeles, CA. Facing a global pandemic, Project Angel Food needed to rise to the occasion. Richard Ayoub, the executive director of Project Angel Food explains the COVID-19 “forced rapid growth. We had no time to do it, we just had to do it.” The nonprofit was created in 1989 amidst the HIV pandemic as a small kitchen to deliver meals and fight malnutrition in the HIV/AIDS community. Today, the project boasts an 8000 square feet organization serving many other life-threatening illnesses. It was ready to help alleviate suffering from COVID-19.
Staffers say Project Angel Food targets some of the most vulnerable and isolated communities where 62% of its clients are over the age of sixty and 50% are living alone.
In the kitchen, staffers introduced plexiglass, contact-free deliveries, and over 13,000 facemasks to volunteers and clients. “If you build the project, the money will come and clients will come. Within five months, we had 7000 donations! Twice as many as last year because people care about other human beings.” Ayoub added.
Richard Ayoub stepped away from the entertainment business to lead this project. As he put it, “I received the call. And I answered it.” He believes that his organization was born for this pandemic, as it was created “in response to the AIDS crisis when we started sending love in the form of food. Now we’re in the middle of another pandemic so we’re continuing our mission,” Ayoub said. “Everyone is trying to get back into the office, and I never left my office” he added.
Richard Ayoub, executive director of Project Angel Food.
Every year, Project Angel Food turns its parking lot to a gala fundraiser called Angel Awards. This fundraiser has hosted a number of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Adam Lambert. Last year, the nonprofit raised a record $900,000, far exceeding its target goal of $700,000. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, administrators resorted to a telethon on television. When comparing online donations to the telethon Ayoub explained, “If you talk to a human and make the call, you have a story and a connection and you get to tell that story and get that fulfillment in your heart. We forget that the donors have their own stories.” The livestream of the show can be found on KTLA’s Facebook page and Project Angel Food’s website…and it’s still possible to donate by texting LOVE20 to 50155.
As social distancing guidelines strengthen, Project Angel Food started noticing “their clients feeling more isolated and in need of an extra human touch” Ayoub said. Especially “our clients with COVID-19 are the ones who feel ostracized and it reminds us of the people who have AIDS”, he added. In response, Project Angel Food started a new program called Telephone Angeles where volunteers call the clients to check on their medical and mental health. Keeping volunteers and clients both engaged in the process. Ayoub himself is part of the program, “I was on the phone for about 45 minutes with one client,” he said. “He told me about his problems walking and his wife’s Parkinson’s disease, his wife is also a client”.
Food tray by Project Angel Food.
With all fundraisers canceled for the year, donations were critical for the 30-year organization to continue serving healthy meals to 2,100+ people a day with critical illnesses who are even more vulnerable because of COVID-19. The clients pay nothing for these medically-tailored meals and Project Angel Food is on track to deliver 1.4 million meals in 2020.
From Project Angel Food:
Project Angel Food is the loving neighbor who knows that food is medicine, food is love, and food nourishes the soul. We believe no one fighting critical illness should go hungry, which is why we personally deliver, with care and compassion, free medically-tailored meals, handmade with healthy ingredients to those in our community who are hungry and alone.
Los Angeles, CA. Reading to Kids is a grassroots organization based in Los Angeles that pairs underserved children with volunteers in monthly reading clubs to promote a love of reading and success for their futures. Reading in person like the photo above was common before the pandemic. Reading to Kids primarily serves children from Title 1 schools where up to 95% qualify for free lunches. Their mission to spread the love of reading to children was briefly interrupted by COVID-19, however, the organization has found it’s online footing through Zoom.
Charlie Orchard, the managing director of Reading to Kids, is one of two employees serving eight schools and managing hundreds of volunteers. He believes that they overcame their initial challenge of delivering online reading clubs, the remaining challenge “is not unique to our nonprofit”, Orchard said. “The challenge we have now is maintaining enough funding so we can continue our reading clubs. Fundraisers may not have enough money because of the economy. In March and April, I wasn’t sure what I could tell my funders but now I have a story to tell my funders that Zoom reading clubs work!” he said.
That story is one of success as the number of students participating from July 2019 to July 2020 reading club has dropped by merely seven people from 235 to 228 students as reported by Orchard. The organization runs its fundraising projects from October to December every year. Orchard anticipates that fundraising may be harder this year due to the current COVID-19 induced economic recession. On the bright side he notes, “We might find new funders because they will look at who can still provide services to kids.”
Reading to Kids brochure
Since the non-profit’s shift to Zoom in May, they’ve limited the number of volunteers to people who’ve volunteered before. Because they wanted their volunteers to be screened personally and not have to train new volunteers in the time being. They’ve temporarily stopped parental training due to concerns over having enough devices in their homes. Orchard thinks that “20% to 30% of students” won’t be able to join Zoom reading clubs due to the lack of an internet connection.
When asked about the most important trait of his organization, Orchard replied “They should know that adaptability is important for everybody and Reading to Kids can adapt and we hope people will support us in how we adapt to share the love of reading with children. We’re still here.”
Orchard believes that the shift to online learning has shown that the “technological divide is real”. One positive that could emerge from this, is higher technological access to underserved children and children of color which may lead to more people of color in technological fields in the future, Orchard hopefully said.
From Reading to Kids:
This outstanding group of volunteers is a grassroots organization dedicated to inspiring underserved children with a love of reading, thereby enriching their lives and opportunities for success in the future.
Los Angeles, CA. Random Acts is a global non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that has, since late March, committed itself to partner with other non-profit organizations in order to raise funds for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. One program from earlier this year included Feeding Our Nurses (seen above) where Random Acts partnered with Feed Hero Nurses to donate a six-inch Subway sandwich to frontline medical workers for every Subway purchase over $15 made on Postmates.
The non-profit organization was able to successfully initiate Feeding Our Nurses due to the establishment of The Random Acts Support Program where readers nominate an organization from their community affected by the pandemic.
More recently, Regional Random Acts Representative Holly Olsen contacted a team of teachers and social workers located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who are working to support students enrolled in Sanford Middle School. Sanford’s Care Team is advocating to help these families through the donations of toys, board games, and other recreational activities during the difficult aftermath of the George Floyd protests and COVID-19 quarantine.
Olsen was determined to help these students and shopped in several local Minneapolis stores for a variety of toys middle-schoolers can enjoy during the summer. Eventually, Olsen was able to donate a large amount of recreational merchandise for Sanford’s Care Team, who would then give these items to families enrolled in the public school.
Members of Sanford Middle School’s care team pose with board games going to Minneapolis families in need.
The global non-profit organization continues to promote positive causes related to the COVID-19 pandemic through blog posts on its social media and website.
If you know an organization providing support for those affected by COVID-19 that could use more help and attention, fill out this form, which will be submitted to representatives of Random Acts and may be promoted through its support program. Additionally, if you have the means to donate to Random Acts Support Program, which goes to charitable causes mentioned above and more, click here to donate to the organization.
From Random Acts:
Random Acts inspires many amazing things around the world every day — from small acts of kindness, such as inspiring someone to buy a stranger a cup of coffee, to much bigger acts of kindness like building a school in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.
All of these acts of kindness contribute to a bigger story, a message that Random Acts embodies and promotes — that you too can conquer the world one random act of kindness at a time.
Los Angeles, CA. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (on right) donned their masks and gloves to lend a hand at the Homeboy Industries. The Bakery & Café teams said they were, “thrilled to have them work alongside us to #FeedHOPE. Harry and Meghan were volunteering in East Los Angeles on June 23rd. Meghan and Harry helped prepare food for Homeboy Industries’ Feed Hope project, which has been serving free meals to seniors and youth who have become food insecure amid the pandemic.
Staffers called Harry and Meghan down to earth.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pose with the whole crew. Credit: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Homeboy Industries, launched in East L.A. in 1988, is now the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. The program sees thousands of people each year for programs from job training to substance abuse assistance. In addition to the bakery and downtown cafe, Homeboy Industries also runs a diner at City Hall, operates a catering service, and produces a line of retail products.
Markle first learned about the program as a teenager, when she met Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle while attending Immaculate Heart High School. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were just ‘Harry and Meghan’ to the homies,” Boyle says. “They rolled up their sleeves and deeply engaged with our workers in the Bakery and Café.”
Homeboy Industries is located at 1370 East 18th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021.
From Homeboy Industries:
What does Homeboy Industries do? We help formerly gang involved and the previously incarcerated, by offering hope, training and job skills. Our goal: To help former gang members redirect their lives and become contributing members of their families and our community. Homeboy Industries is the largest and most successful gang intervention, rehab, and reentry program in the world and has become a model for other organizations and cities.
How long has Homeboy Industries been around? Homeboy was started by Father Greg Boyle in 1988 to answer the need for employment and educational opportunities among youth. It began in the Dolores Mission Parish in Boyle Heights (East Los Angeles). Today, Homeboy is located in gang-neutral downtown Los Angeles.
What are Homeboy Industries’ Social Enterprises? Social enterprises are businesses that apply commercial strategies to improve the well-being of individuals rather than creating enterprises for profit. Homeboy is an organization with many true social enterprises where trainees are paid to learn job skills and take advantage of comprehensive services. By offering former gang members a place to work, Homeboy provides a place for them to learn soft skills, like administration and customer service, and also vocational skills from solar panel installation to pastry baking or catering. These jobs in Homeboy’s social enterprises, often the first “legit” employment our clients have ever held, give our clients confidence and self-esteem while enabling them to provide for their families.
The jobs our clients have through our social enterprises offer them alternatives to re-incarceration or a return to their former gang lives.
Homeboy’s Social Enterprises include: Homeboy Bakery (storefront, wholesale, and online at homeboyfoods.com.) Homeboy Silkscreen & Embroidery Homegirl Café Homegirl Catering Homeboy Merchandise Farmers Markets Homeboy Diner at Los Angeles City Hall Homeboy Electronics Recycling
What services are offered at Homeboy? Case Management Tattoo Removal Workforce Development / Employment Services Mental Health Services – individual therapy, substance abuse counseling, and group classes Legal Services Education – including academic, life skills, wellness and enrichment classes,and a partnership with LearningWorks Charter High School. Solar Panel Training and Certification
All of Homeboy’s services, offered free of charge, are designed to equip our clients to successfully turn their lives around. Participants in the 18-month program are offered case management and comprehensive wrap-around services while at Homeboy. All of our services (with the exception of case management and individual therapy) are free and open to community clients as well.
How does someone apply for help at Homeboy Industries? Each individual seeking support has to come to our headquarters and walk in the front door. We aim to hire those with the MOST barriers to employment; youth recently released from juvenile camps and halls, or adults from prison, those with visible tattoos and those who are trying to leave their gang. There is a process to joining our program that can take several visits, but the first step is coming into our headquarters so we can meet you!
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