by Sydney Mathews | Jul 17, 2020 | Feature, General, News
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.
by Elisa Klein | Jul 8, 2020 | Feature, General, News
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!
by Elisa Klein | Jul 8, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. With school campuses and arts institutions shuttered since March, cultural and educational organizations everywhere have swiftly transformed their service models for virtual spaces. In the case of creative learning center Inner-City Arts, that has meant engaging its young people in virtual classrooms through its long-standing relationship with Los Angeles Unified School District, as well as sharing instructional and cultural enrichment content online through its new, self-paced Art Space programming. Now, Inner-City Arts is collaborating with Instagram on a new initiative called #spreadheART to highlight stories of people across the globe creating art during this time.
“Create Wherever You Are” is one project for self-expression. Oreganizers say, “Grab some chalk and a friend (whom you are social distancing with) to do our next #visualart mini project, “Sidewalk Self-Portrait!”
The campaign launched Thursday, May 28 on Instagram (@InnerCityArts) with a collage of short videos highlighting celebrated global artists and students making art while sheltered in place, including NYC artist and author Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk), Italian street artist Alice Pasquini (@alicepasquini), Australian muralist George Rose (@george_rose), NYC illustrator Grace Miceli (@artbabygirl), Ghanian musician Lord Paper (@lordpaper_), LA actor and Emmy nominee Richard Cabral (@richardcabralofficial), and Indian street artists
Do & Khatra (@dostreetart, @bykhatra). Four Inner-City Arts students from its “Work Of Art” employment program join to give an inspiring glimpse into how they are spreading positivity through their creations.
“The transformative power of creativity and caring relationships have always been critical to the well-being of the young people we have served since 1989, and even more so right now,” shared Inner-City Arts Co-Artistic Director, Michael Sample. “We are very grateful to Instagram and these generous artists from around the world for helping us create this initiative for our global community. It’s an opportunity for us to inspire each other, and encourage one another with heartfelt, creative messages that can spread healing and hope during this time.”
The true call to action for #spreadheART is to connect everyday people wherever they are through the making and sharing of art. Communities from all over the map will be encouraged to “Create Art. Share Heart. Inspire the World” with their own artistic messages. To give the public more insight into the spirit of the campaign, the kickoff will be marked by an Instagram Live conversation at 4pm PT with artists Lord Paper, George Rose, and Inner-City Arts student Samantha Nieves, hosted by Marissa Herrera, Inner-City Arts Associate Producer of The Rosenthal Theatre.
“During Covid-19, we’ve seen people using Instagram in creative ways to express themselves and stay connected—from hosting Instagram Live dance classes to posting visual artwork depicting their life in quarantine” says Carolyn Merrell, Global Head of Policy Programs, Instagram. “Our partnership with Inner-City Arts is designed to help celebrate how people are using art to come together during this time, and foster a sense of community and hope as we move into a new phase of recovery.”
In June, user-generated #spreadheART creations will be selected for a curated public art exhibition that will be projected outside Inner-City Arts’ Skid Row campus and other iconic Los Angeles landmarks.
ABOUT INNER-CITY ARTS
Founded in 1989, Inner-City Arts is a learning oasis in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. Under the guidance of professional teaching artists, Inner-City Arts’ students are immersed in a safe and supportive environment where they may engage in a variety of visual and performing art forms in a studio setting. Services include core classes during the instructional day for grade K-8 students, after school and weekend workshops for teens and creativity based professional development training for educators. Children who attend Inner-City Arts develop skills that are highly valued in the 21st century workforce such as collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. WWW.INNER-CITYARTS.ORG
We are encouraging anyone to capture their creativity with a photo or video (dance, sing, play music, draw, paint, write) and share a message of love, hope, or healing with hashtag #spreadheART. Find the campaign on Instagram at @innercityarts.
Those seeking to support Inner-City Arts’ efforts to help youth and families with creative arts learning can get involved and make a donation of any size.
by Elisa Klein | Jul 7, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Echo Park, CA. A crew from the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) began removing the House of Spirits signage and transporting it to the nonprofit’s facilities for safekeeping and repair. The need to work quickly became clear after the theft of portions of the House of Spirits sign and escalating threats to the sign, which is attached to a building that was irreparably damaged by fire in December 2018. The sign was donated to the Museum in order to preserve this iconic landmark, however, the Museum intends to return the sign to its neighborhood as soon as a suitable new home can be found for it. MONA is located in Glendale, CA, a little more than 5 miles from where the House of Spirits sign was installed in Echo Park.
(Due to the State of California’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Museum of Neon Art is closed until further notice. Meanwhile, you can still enjoy MONA’s free downloadable neighborhood walking guides and family guide.)
For the last 39 years, the Museum has dedicated itself to educating, preserving, and exhibiting neon, kinetic, and electric art and signage.
The collection contains iconic signage from the Chinese Theatre, Brown Derby, and Circus of Books, among others. The Museum hosts neon tours throughout Los Angeles, offers neon bending classes, and protects and re-lights neon signage.
The iconic 1958 Googie-style pole sign and dimensional fascia signage (rooftop sign) that beckoned to thirsty Echo Park residents are one-of-a-kind neon artworks designed by the Mueller Brothers. The idyllic cottage with a pink roof once puffed animated smoke clouds out of its chimney. Though the rooftop sign was placed on site in 1958, MONA has found evidence in the wiring and construction of the sign that the sign may have been repurposed from another business and may date to the 1930’s or 40’s. During this period many sign companies would lease signs to businesses. The Museum also has reason to believe that, originally, the house glowed from the inside with an incandescent bulb.
The sign represents the history of a changing neighborhood and city. The Museum of Neon Art wants to preserve this unique and historically significant sign to share it with future generations and teach about the rich history of Echo Park, its family businesses, and the communities they served. It also wants to pay tribute to the masterful neon artists and designers who created this playful and ingenious display. The Museum is in the process of collecting stories about the business and the community it served because MONA believes these stories are as valuable as the sign that they are connected to. The Museum will share updates with the community about the discoveries we make in the restoration process. MONA will also offer special programming for Echo Park residents while the sign is on our premises.
From MONA:
Frequently, signs like these are abandoned or destroyed when a building is sold. MONA is committed to safely stewarding this sign into a new era so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come. The sign is a complex and fragile work of art that needs special care. We hope that, through collaboration with local neighborhood groups and businesses, MONA can re-light the sign to its former glory. Individuals who have stories or information about this sign, know a business or organization in Echo Park that they believe would be able to safely display and power the sign, or would like to contribute to the cause through fundraising can reach out to the Museum of Neon Art at [email protected].
If you want more neon in your life, consider visiting our online gift store for custom neon face masks and other treats!
Be sure to follow MONA on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates. Stay safe, everyone!
by Elisa Klein | Jun 14, 2020 | News
Los Angeles, CA. The California Department of Justice Charitable Trusts has issued new guidelines during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and State’s shelter-in-place order.
Right now charitable organizations are called upon more than ever to meet the critical needs of communities. In California, Attorney General Becerra (pictured above) is conducting outreach to nonprofits with the new information.
Here are a few of the modified details:
Unless prohibited by the nonprofit’s emergency bylaws, the following actions can be taken to conduct the corporation’s ordinary business operations and affairs during an emergency: Directors may participate in the board meeting through telephone conference calls, video conference calls, or through electronic transmission provided that each director can communicate with other directors concurrently and has means of participating in all matters before the board.
Directors of public benefit corporations can take action without a board meeting if all directors consent in writing and the quorum requirement is met. (Corp. Code, § 5211, subd. (b).) The written consent of the directors must be kept with the minutes of the proceedings of the board. (Id.) Note that directors cannot vote by proxy.
Many nonprofit organizations have endowment funds, which are donor-restricted funds that are intended to be invested and used in perpetuity to support the nonprofit’s charitable programs. Endowments are subject to the requirements of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA). Nonprofits need to be cautious on how much they spend from their endowment funds. Spending more than 7 percent of the fair market value of an endowment fund may create a presumption of imprudence. While your organization may be tempted to look to endowments as a means of addressing unanticipated costs and budget shortfalls, before your organization decides to invade principal or borrow against the principal, which is not permitted, the board should contact the donors to inquire whether they are willing to release or modify restrictions to allow for more spending authority.
For more information, here’s a link with all the information:
https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/charities/publications/charities-covid19-governance.pdf
by Elisa Klein | Jun 9, 2020 | News
Los Angeles, CA. #UnitedforLA and #ChipinLAOn are the social hashtags for the United Way of Greater LA as it promotes its Pandemic Relief Fund. Leaders say thousands of workers in L.A. County are losing wages and jobs due to the pandemic and thousands more do not qualify for government assistance. The Pandemic Relief Fund is providing immediate assistance and daily necessities to people living on the streets, people at risk of homelessness, students, individuals, and families.
The fund also offers financial assistance to low-income entrepreneurs such as food truck vendors, day-laborers, and domestic workers.
From United Way of Greater Los Angeles:
We’re experts in fighting and preventing homelessness and poverty.
Across Los Angeles County, 52,765 residents are experiencing homelessness, 5 out of 10 students are graduating poorly prepared for college or careers, and 1.63M are living in poverty.
We’re attacking these issues at their roots, championing for systemic change and supporting more than 100 community-based organizations. It takes a village but Los Angeles is the strongest one we know.
We can’t do it without you. Your donations and support made it possible to house 45,000 people, to provide 30,000 high school students with real-life work experience, and place nearly 1,300 veterans in stable employment.
https://pandemicrelief.unitedwayla.org/
#UnitedforLA #ChipinLA
