Los Angeles, CA. All Peoples Community Center Executive Director Saundra Bryant talks about the difficulties young children are facing in a virtual academic setting and how the center has adjusted its programs to fit the state’s current public health guidelines. Annually, All Peoples hosts a “Back to School” night for youth. This year, to help with the adjustment to remote learning, staff distributed Back to School “remote learning” supply bags. 300 youth received school supplies for the upcoming school year, as seen above.
Bryant explains, “It’s trying to adjust to a new learning curve.” All Peoples Community Center primarily focuses on helping the local youth’s education and wellbeings with the center’s events and activities like extended child daycare, after-school programs, and summer camp.
Bryant notes that children between grades 1-4 had an especially difficult time with distant learning in comparison to other age groups. The staff has found over time that this age group is more focused and easier to help within scheduled one-on-one virtual tutoring sessions.
The organization had to make significant adjustments this year to provide opportunities to kids without risking the spread of the coronavirus in large groups. The staff started to understand the issues surrounding distance learning from contacting parents and the youth of the center’s after-school programs in the first months of the pandemic.
Bryant listed a number of issues exemplified by the parents that include a lack of access to reliable internet and not having responsive, functional equipment needed for virtual learning.
Additionally, while some households are able to function within a stay-at-home environment, other larger households aren’t able to afford the same luxuries.
There can often be multiple people in one household who all need to use their one or two computers for meetings and work at the same time. This can create difficulty for everyone in the household in maintaining a regular routine for school and work fairly.
There are a number of virtual tutors that reach out to specific areas of the center’s youth like beginner art lessons led by Teens Youth Coordinator Erick “Sen” Moreno who has a Youtube channel where he posts his art lessons online like the one seen below:
Bryant’s staff has come up with a variety of ways to keep kids of all age groups engaged in a virtual setting by adding in fun activities that emphasize the main lessons and have talked about starting a book club as well.
The community center hasn’t completely shut down as the 20,000-square-foot building allows for the staff and a select few children to practice social distancing effectively.
“In some cases, we’re able to actually have students to come in for the tutoring sessions,” Bryant said, “that’s been more effective for some of our youth.”
The other reason the community center has stayed open is due to the active participation in certain campaigns with other nonprofits like the Angeleno Campaign which provided thousands of prepaid cards for struggling families, assistance in the ERAS application process for those unable to apply at home, and a weekly food distribution program.
All Peoples will continue to make important decisions for events and programs as the holiday season approaches.
“Normally we would do a Thanksgiving dinner where we would feed between 800-1,000 people,” Bryant said, “we are going to cancel that and we talked about doing a major food giveaway instead.”
Bryant listed an additional concern for the community in February 2021 where several unemployed LA residents could become homeless as a result of the expiration of LA County’s Temporary Eviction Moratorium for Residential Tenants.
“The other major concern that we are focused on is really about the education of our young people,” Bryant explained, “we know that our schools aren’t able to open safely, so what we’re looking at is our young people will have lost a year to a year-and-a-half of education.
“We’re already in a community where there is a concern about the education that our young people are receiving and the support that they need to be able to compete and now they’re a year-and-a-half behind.”
All Peoples Community Center will continue to keep the center open under strict social distancing for the youth who prefer a classroom learning environment and assisting individuals in the community for certain social services and programs.
The center launched the All Peoples Senior Food Delivery Service in October and are currently delivering to more than 40 seniors a week.
The center is labeled by the city’s mayor as an essential services provider and has subsequently seen a large increase of families needing assistance with food and other living essentials. Their donation page is here if you have the means to assist the center to continue operations during this unprecedented time.
From All Peoples Community Center:
Our mission is to provide social services and programs that empower individuals and promote community respect and self-determination for all.
All Peoples Community Center has become a comprehensive community center, delivering a myriad of social and educational services and activities. Our services and activities are driven by the purpose of:
Helping Children Succeed at Each Stage in their Development
Strengthening and Supporting Individuals and Families and Building Community
Preventing Violence and Crime, in the Community and in the Home
Addressing the Root Causes of Gang Involvement
Providing Job Training and Creating Job Opportunities
Los Angeles, CA.“Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact” is the theme for World Aids Day. This year, there will be no in-person gathering where supporters unite, as seen above, but there will the first-ever nationwide AIDS Memorial Quilt display. Each year, sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt travel to communities throughout the country for in-person displays. In 2020, that is simply not possible due to Covid-19. Organizers explain, “While nothing can replace the beauty of seeing the Quilt in-person, our hope is that this first-ever, 50-state AIDS Memorial Quilt virtual exhibition, helps use the power and beauty of the Quilt to help our nation heal and remember during these difficult times.”
The National AIDS Memorial has worked together with Quilt partners from across the country to create this exhibition which includes digital images from thousands of hand-sewn Quilt panels, each visually telling the story of loved ones lost to AIDS.
The exhibition is curated by state, allowing visitors to how people came together through one devastating pandemic to create a living memorial as a way to express their love, grief, pain and hope. Each display is hosted by a Quiltmaker, community organization or business and includes touching narratives that connect each display to the lives memorialized and their work around HIV/AIDS. The exhibition is free to the public through March 31, 2021.
On Dec. 1ST, World AIDS, there will be a virtual conversation with leading health voices about health justice, social activism, remembrance, hope and resilience.
Learn more World AIDS Day 2020 – A National Conversation. Click for updates https://bit.ly/35rSllV
Thank you to our Quilt partners for hosting this statewide display. Click on the organization name to visit its display or scroll down to view all the Quilt displays. Each Quilt display has the corresponding block numbers and the thumbnail images can be enlarged by clicking on them for a closer look at the details of the panels. A curated story is provided by each Quilt host, linking to their organization website to learn more about their work in the community. See the full list of displays by state and territory.
Los Angeles, CA. From providing medical care to only 12 patients in a borrowed dental clinic on Lincoln Boulevard to operating 13 different locations and serving nearly 28,000 patients, Venice Family Clinic has come a long way in the past 50 years. To celebrate all the work they’ve accomplished, Venice Family Clinic invited their biggest supporters to a virtual celebration hosted by Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg in October.
Without the work of the Venice Family Clinic, 28,000 people could go without the healthcare and resources they need to live safe and healthy lives.
The clinic provides primary health care along with a number of extensive services including substance abuse treatment programs, domestic violence programs, early head start programs for mothers and their newborn children, and more. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic has pivoted to providing telemedicine services for 50% of their appointments in order to limit the number of people who come into the clinic. Michelle Stuffmann, Communications Director, says how the clinic and its’ team are “trying to make sure that we are doing everything we can to keep both our patients and our workers healthy and safe.”
Venice Family Clinic celebrates 50th anniversary with virtual festivities (Picture by Venice Family Clinic)
The celebration showcased who the clinic is and what the clinic does while also raising donations in honor of the clinic. “The kick-off was tremendously successful, we had a generous donor who put up a million dollars to inspire matching gifts, and I am thrilled to say that we met that match”, Stuffmann shares. In addition to their virtual kick-off party, the clinic also hosted a week of action inspiring volunteers and supporters to perform acts of kindness for their community. Participants gave donations, purchased items off of the clinic’s amazon wishlist, put together care packages for patients experiencing homelessness, and more, all in service of the clinic and its’ patients.
Venice Family Clinic distributing fresh produce at Culver City location (Picture taken from Venice Family Clinic)
Venice Family Clinic recently started doing small distributions of fresh produce, a project which has grown immensely in the face of the pandemic. As a result of the community’s growing need, the clinic has expanded its food distribution to every Tuesday at their location in Santa Monica, and every other Thursday at their health center in Culver City. Stuffmann says there is no need to sign up, “we are in the community, by the community, for the community, so whether or not you are our patient or not, if you need help, just come to the distribution and we will give you food.” The clinic provides produce to 18,000 people a week and just recently made a partnership with UCLA dining services to provide full meals to 10,000 patients a week.
Los Angeles, CA. Valley Socials started in the San Fernando Valley. It is a unique social skills program for the special needs population. Program outings (pictured above before the pandemic) not only teach social skills but consumer skills and how to conduct confident business transactions. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, fundraising has become more challenging; the nonprofit is facing a funding crisis. Leaders fear families may need to pay for the enrichments. Janet Marie, the creator of the organization, says Valley Socials might have to be turned into a business instead of a non-profit, “I won’t stop working with the kids, but if we don’t get any donations soon, I might have to Valley Socials into a business.”
Social Valley friends at the museum before COVID-19
Currently, students are still meeting in parks and malls. They’re using safety measures and enjoying some social life activities. But, since the pandemic started, donations have stopped and it affects how the organization can continue to take the kids into activities. Janet drives kids to the activities and helps with snacks and other needs, but it is hard for her to keep going all by herself, especially because her daughter, Pauline, is a special needs teenager who needs all the support her mom can give.
Pauline was the reason Janet decided to start the Valley Socials. Janet saw all the improvements Pauline was making and wanted to give the same opportunities and hope to parents and kids in the same situation.
A day at the fire station with their community!
In addition to donations, Valley Socials is also looking for volunteers to help with meetings and having a bonding experience with special needs kids, teenagers, and adults.
If you’d like to donate, there’s more information on the Valley Socials website. The organization is also very active on social media.
From Valley Socials:
Our program provides lasting results because we don’t simply work with a participant’s strengths or compensate for a weakness, but we tackle the root cause of the issues by supervising social groups and having them actively participate in social activities.
“The Special Needs population is exploding due to the rise of diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and better assessments today. One in 59 children will be diagnosed with ASD. About 20% (or higher) students receive Special Education services in the USA. There are approximately 3.5 million Americans with special needs in America.”
Los Angeles, CA. Local nonprofits are in need of volunteers and now you can volunteer without leaving your home. Check out some COVID-safe ways to help your local community. Volunteer Match is a great place to find opportunities that are curated by interest. The organization has thirty categories including the following: Advocacy and Human Rights, Seniors, Arts and Culture, Health and Medicine, Environment, LGBTQ+, Crisis Support, and Homeless/Housing.
Types of virtual volunteering include the following:
Website design or support
Data entry
Email marketing or management
Fundraising phone calls and outreach
Social media promotion and management
App development
Volunteer tracking
Copywriting, blogging, or editing
Graphic design, photography
Marketing or branding assistance
Video creation
Virtual assistance, staff support
Nonprofits are also in need of funding. One way to help is by organizing a grassroots fundraiser for your favorite nonprofit. Unique fundraising options include: virtually teaching an art class, giving a makeup tutorial, hosting a cooking class, or any other skills you may have and would like to share. You can publicly host them via video conference, inviting your friends, family, and whoever else wants to join. You would ask for donations in return for your skill sharing. This way you can enjoy doing what you love; all while supporting a great cause.
Host a virtual cooking session as a way to stay connected as a community.
VolunteerMatch offers thousands of volunteer options. There is both a local need and you can also help remotely across the country, in some of the hardest-hit areas by offering assistance with things like tutoring kids who are struggling to learn at home.
Volunteerism is an essential part of our country’s social fabric and is perhaps most vital during times of crisis. And unlike familiar crises, the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the very nature of how people can connect with and help each other.
Los Angeles, CA. Bill Kramer, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced that the new institution has exceeded its pre-opening fundraising campaign goal of $388 million. Shophia Loren and Laura Dern (center) pose with museum leaders for a photo at the construction site. This total encompasses capital gifts, endowments, funding for education programs, and other special gifts. A donation from LAIKA moved the museum over the finish line, closing out a campaign that was launched in 2012. The campaign is headed by chair Bob Iger and co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a museum currently being build by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. It’s set to open on April 30, 2021, and will be the nation’s first large-scale museum entirely dedicated to the art, science, craft, business, and history of film.
The permanent and rotating exhibits will provide an immersive experience for visitors to explore the cultural and creative contributions that Hollywood and the film industry have made around the world.
For the fundraising campaign goal more than 13,000 donors contributed to the Campaign for the Academy Museum, with gifts coming from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government entities. Cheryl and Haim Saban made the largest contribution with a transformative $50 million gift for which the Saban Building (formerly a May Company department store) was named.
Campaign chair Bob Iger said, “This is a great day for the Academy Museum and the entire world of film. Thanks to the wonderful generosity of a broad community of donors, and to the commitment of co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks, we have proudly achieved our goal. The way ahead is clear, as we move at full speed toward an unforgettable grand opening in April 2021.”
“Closing this fundraising campaign is an important and exciting milestone for the Academy Museum,” said Bill Kramer. “We are deeply grateful to our campaign leadership and to our Trustees, donors, and partners who have made important commitments to the campaign. Their support is helping to make the Academy’s long-held dream of building the world’s premier film museum a reality.”
Ted Sarandos, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Academy Museum, said, “Thanks to the strong leadership of Bob Iger, the enlightened support of the Academy’s Board of Governors, and the dedication of the Academy Museum’s Board and staff, this new institution is now poised to deliver on its promise as the world’s premier museum of film. To all the donors who have stepped up to make this happen, on behalf of the Board I offer our heartfelt gratitude.”
Newly named at the Academy Museum is the LAIKA Gallery, dedicated to special collections, which will debut with The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection. This exhibition will showcase the world’s foremost collection of pre-cinema artifacts. Metro Goldwyn Mayer is providing support for the museum’s core exhibition, Stories of Cinema.
Eric and Melina Esrailian led a campaign effort to develop a program to provide access and opportunity to under-represented communities. Drs. Kathy Fields and Garry Rayant have contributed to the museum’s general education fund in honor of Sid Ganis and Nancy Hult Ganis.
New donors to the Pillar Campaign, co-chaired by museum trustees Laura Dern and Kimberly Steward, which names the support columns in the Saban Building, include Julia and Ken Gouw in honor of Miyoshi Umeki, the Oneida Indian Nation, New York in honor of Native American musician and advocate Buffy Sainte-Marie as well as Kimberly Steward and K Period Media in honor of Hattie McDaniel.
When it opens, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be the world’s premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum will offer exceptional exhibitions and programs that illuminate the world of cinema. They will be immersive and dynamic and will tell the many stories of the movies—their art, technology, artists, history, and social impact—through a variety of diverse and engaging voices. The Academy Museum will tell complete stories of moviemaking—celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical or uncomfortable.
Designed by Pritzker Prize—winning architect Renzo Piano, the Academy Museum’s six floors feature exhibition spaces, education and special event spaces, a conservation studio, a café, and a museum store. In addition, the museum’s 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and 288-seat Ted Mann Theater will present a year-round calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, family programs, and symposia. Programs will include retrospectives and thematic series that illuminate the artistic and cultural contributions of an international selection of movie artists.
Every decision made at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures reflects a carefully crafted set of guiding principles that begins with the Mission Statement. These extend into the design of its exhibitions, the development of its public and educational programs, the creation of its publications, the hiring and growth of its staff, and the development of its board of trustees and committees.
These supporters join other generous philanthropists who have made leadership gifts to the museum, including: Cheryl and Haim Saban (Saban Building), The David Geffen Foundation (David Geffen Theater), Rolex (Rolex Gallery), Dalian Wanda Group (the Wanda Gallery), Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation in honor of Sid Ganis, Dolby Laboratories/Family of Ray Dolby (Dolby Family Terrace), The Walt Disney Company (Walt Disney Company Piazza), Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg (Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery), Steven Spielberg (Spielberg Family Gallery), Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Shirley Temple Black and Family (Shirley Temple Education Studio), East West Bank (East West Bank Gallery), Gale Anne Hurd (Hurd Gallery), Bob Iger and Willow Bay (Bob Iger and Willow Bay Terrace), NBCUniversal, Netflix (Netflix Terrace), Participant, Cecilia DeMille Presley (Cecil B. DeMille Founders Room), PwC, Richard Roth, Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman (Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Terrace), The Simms/Mann Family Foundation (Ted Mann Theater), Jeff Skoll, Wendy Stark of The Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, Barbra Streisand (Barbra Streisand Bridge), Steve Tisch (Steve Tisch Terrace), Warner Bros. Entertainment (Warner Bros. Gallery), Wasserman Foundation (Wasserman Bridge), and Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events LLC/Compass Group USA, Inc. Additionally, the Academy Museum’s Digital Engagement Platform is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. A post-opening campaign to raise new endowment, programming, operating, and capital funds is being planned.
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