Tag Archive for: volunteering

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Volunteering and donating

Gobble Gobble Give, Echo Park

The 14th annual Gobble Gobble Give event is looking for volunteers as well as donations of food and/or money. Held on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22, 2012), volunteers cook for and collect donated items for the needy – they’ve actually served over 4,000 meals to homeless at The Echo.

They currently need a few helpers for: Email correspondence, Camera and video operators (in locations like Vegas and San Fran), and travelers to go to one of their new locations. They also need small, medium and large donations (tax deductible!), like money, food, and clothing.

Click here to donate and for more info.

Union Station Homeless Services

While the annual Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park volunteer positions are all currently filled, your monetary donations are needed! For more information and to donate, click here.

One Incredible Family in Playa del Rey

The organization, located in Playa del Rey, will be holding a Homeless Feeding and Banner Creation event on Saturday, November 24. They not only need volunteers, they also need cook turkeys, pies, rolls, juice boxes and waters.

More opportunities

Remember, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be the only day you volunteer. The Los Angeles Mission is in nearby downtown LA, as is The Midnight Mission and many more. You can search for more volunteer opportunities on the LA Works website.

Did we miss anything? Please let us know in the comments below and we’ll be sure to add the information!

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Echo Park beauty salon volunteers makeovers for job-seekers in need

Beauty Box in Echo Park is a great example of the giving spirit of our local businesses. Since 2006, just a few months after opening the store (its original location is where Rock Paper Scissors is now), owners and sisters Vanessa Arce-Mendez and Lydia Guido were inspired to give back to their Los Angeles community by doing what they do best: Beauty!

After the makeover, with Erica (at right). Photo courtesy of Beauty Box

After chatting with a client who was working at Homegirl Industries, they all came up with the idea to donate their time to young teenagers and women who needed a little pick-me-up, inside and outside.

Homegirl Industries, a part of Homeboy Industries, provides at-risk and gang-involved youth with a chance to “contribute” to their communities by getting jobs, experience, and education. Beauty Box gives the girls makeovers, an opportunity for Lydia and Vanessa to help give them a day where they would “just feel good!”

Since Homegirl Industries helps with job placement, Vanessa and Lydia started with volunteering their hair and makeup services once a month to two women from the organization to help them prepare for job interviews. As the shop grew, and they moved to its current location across the street on Sunset Boulevard, they were able to add one more volunteer service with each additional staff member that was hired.

Vanessa wanted to give back, especially to women in Los Angeles, because she was a teen mom. While she had lots of family support, Vanessa knew a lot of girls her age, in her same circumstance, who didn’t have the same support. “I thought, one day when I can,” she said, “I will help other people as soon as I could do it.”

Beauty Box just recently decided to switch things up a bit, and is now going to start volunteering with a client who helps women develop interview skills and get appropriate clothes for job interviews. In addition to volunteering their services for hair, the women will leave with a goodie bag to help them maintain the new look.

Keep up the great work!

Beauty Box Salon & Nails
1498 W Sunset Blvd.
213-250-1515

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