Looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Check out our list of holiday volunteer opportunities in Los Angeles.
‘Tis the season to be jolly and thankful, and well-fed and warm. ‘Tis also the season to give to those who may be less fortunate—and more hungry—by taking advantage of the city’s many volunteer opportunities. Start your volunteer work with our list of some of the best places in Los Angeles to feed the needy—and hopefully your altruism will linger well past the holidays. RECOMMENDED: See full coverage of Thanksgiving in Los Angeles
Midnight Mission
Downtown LA’s Midnight Mission is one of the best-run organizations of its kind, offering counseling, education, training and job placement to the city’s homeless population, as well as food, shelter, personal hygiene and medical care. Along with regular meal services and food donation drives, the Mission holds special Thanksgiving and Christmas events. If you’d like to help during a special event, start with a regular dining hall service shift first. Note: Because it’s an all-male facility, Midnight Mission asks that female volunteers come with a companion (male or female).
Union Station Homeless Services
USHS, San Gabriel Valley’s largest social services agency, has hosted “Dinner in the Park” for over four decades. Deemed the biggest potluck in the nation by the LA Times, the volunteer-run dinner helps provide warm holiday meals to more than 7,000 low income, homeless and senior citizens. For details and volunteer information, apply online; and if you’re interested in donating goods, take a look at USHS’ most-wanted list (green beans are in high demand). The agency also offers year-round community meal programs and other services for the area’s homeless population, including emergency shelter, community shower programs, children’s education and recreational activity and adult classes in parenting, money management and nutrition.
One Voice
Santa Monica–based One Voice puts on an annual Holiday Food Program to distribute Christmas food baskets, toys and books to more than 2,500 families living in poverty in the LA area. On the Thursday and Friday before Christmas, more than 2,000 volunteers come together to prep, sort and package food—it’s a festive atmosphere with holiday music and lots of socializing. Saturday, volunteers deliver the food and toys to seven distribution centers, and on Sunday, families arrive to receive the goods and celebrate with volunteers. To be part of the celebration, check One Voice’svolunteer info page and fill out a registration form.
At each of SOVA’s three service centers (West LA, West Hollywood and Van Nuys), Food Pantries are stocked with nutritious canned and packaged foods, breads and fresh produce. Pantries provide a free five-day supply of groceries and hygiene products for each family member in need. Volunteers are needed for everything from packaging and inventory to registering clients and entering data. SOVA offers opportunities for both “occasional” and “core” volunteers—check their site to learn more about both.
The Fred Jordan Mission has provided food, clothing, blankets and other services to the homeless population of inner city Los Angeles for more than 50 years. Its Street Banquet on Skid Row offers a traditional turkey dinner to hundreds of the area’s homeless. FJM also hosts a Christmas Celebration during which volunteers hand out food bags, toys and blankets—as well as sing carols—to more than 12,000 of downtown’s neediest. Volunteer opportunities are also available during Easter, Mother’s Day and Back-to-Shool. Check the Mission’s website and fill out a volunteer form to get involved. Note: The FJM is a religious organization and tends to hand out “food for the soul” (a.k.a. bibles) along with its “food for the body”—in case that sort of thing makes you uncomfy.
Food on Foot
This organization distributes food (chicken, fresh fruits and veggies, granola bars, milk etc.) and gently used clothing, shoes and blankets every week in Hollywood. You can sign up to volunteer anytime, and though it usually costs $25 (providing the funds to feed about five people for a day), for FOF’s bigThanksgiving Day celebration, volunteer cost is $100. Note: Neil Patrick Harris is a benefactor—he won $100,000 for FOF on Jeopardy in 2010—so don’t be surprised if while volunteering you see him don a hairnet and take to the streets.
Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission
Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission offers a host of services, including hot meals, health services and housing to the needy population in San Fernando Valley. Though its annual Thanksgiving Banquet volunteer sign-ups often fill up, you can still help to hand out hot meals, clothing, medicine and hygiene kits on weekdays, as well as volunteering for its breakfast on Saturdays and BBQs every other Sunday. Check the website for a calendar of events.
This organization comes together to prepare meals, which volunteers bring to different shelters in West LA to be handed out by shelter volunteers. If you’re interested in the prep and cooking, but maybe not ready for the interaction side of things, this could be the group for you. Each November, OIF hosts its annual Homeless Feeding, an all-day event including meal prep, assembly and packing, delivery and serving at different shelters, and post-event cleanup. You can either donate your time or drop off key necessities like pre-cooked turkeys, pies, juice boxes, water or delivery vans (you know, if you have one handy).
Help distribute food to LA’s hungry at the LA Regional Food Bank. Volunteers are needed for food sorting, special events and food drives, including the organization’s upcoming Operation Gobble, where volunteers will help to sort, inspect and repackage food for delivery during the holidays. Check the Food Bank website for a list of upcoming Gobble dates and to register.
Los Angeles, CA – Super King Markets are hungry to help this holiday season. The Southern California grocery store chain has teamed up with Union Station Homeless Services to collect food for those in need. The market will be hosting food drives in all six of its stores from November 18 until the end of the year.
“I am excited about this opportunity to help our communities,” said Daniel Barth, General Manager of Super King Markets. “Super King is in the food business. The opportunity to support a great organization like Union Station Homeless Services that focuses on feeding people is a natural partnership for us.
“On the very first day,” continued Barth, “one of our customers donated $80 worth of food. I feel proud that we are engaging our shoppers to help others in such an impactful and intentional way.”
The food collected will be used to prepare holiday meals at Union Station’s “Dinners-in-the-Park,” a holiday feast which feeds more than 7,000 people. In addition to donating food collected, Super King is also a sponsor of the annual event, which is held on Thanksgiving and Christmas in Pasadena’s Central Park each year.
“This amazing community event would not be possible without the support of sponsors like Super King, as well hundreds of volunteers who help us serve food on Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Dana Bean, Director of Development for Union Station.
For Super King shoppers and other friends of the community that want to support Union Station Homeless Services and the Dinners-in-the-Park holiday food drive, here is a list of the most needed items:
Item Needed
Exact Size Needed
Canned Green Beans
6 lbs. 5 oz. (#10 Can)
Mushroom Soup
26 oz. or larger
Cranberry Sauce
6 lbs. 5 oz. (#10 can)
Canned Corn
6 lbs. 5 oz. (#10 can)
Instant Mashed Potatoes
26 oz. or larger
Italian Salad Dressing
16 oz.
Pumpkin Pie
Any Size
Full Size Deep Aluminum Steam Pans with Lids
20.75” x 12.8” x 3.2”
Ground Coffee
Any Size
Items can be dropped of Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4.30pm at 412 S. Raymond Ave. The community is also invited to make a donation at www.unionstationhs.org.
ABOUT UNION STATION HOMELESS SERVICES
Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives. Union Station Homeless Services is part of a premier group of human services agencies in Los Angeles County that are leading the way to ending homelessness in our community. We are the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families. We believe every person deserves a life of dignity and a safe place to call home. With 41 years of experience, we proudly offer a full continuum of eight programs in seven locations; services include street outreach, intake/assessment, care coordination and navigation, meals, shelter, housing, employment development, benefits enrollment, and referrals to medical and mental health services
PASADENA– It’s a deeply beloved tradition in Pasadena: each Thanksgiving and Christmas, more than 850 volunteers of all ages – adorned with hair nets, aprons and plastic gloves – lovingly serve turkey with stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and pie to those less fortunate in Pasadena’s Central Park. The tradition known as Dinner-in-the-Park began in 1972 when a group of local volunteers organized a free holiday meal to feed homeless and poor people in the community.More than four decades later, Union Station Homeless Service continues to organize the annual meal as an expression of compassion and care for those who otherwise might not see such holiday fare.
This year, the tradition continues. Union Station Homeless Services expects to serve more than 4,000 plates of food, along with the help of volunteers, and key community partners, including Goldstar, Home Street Bank, Tsutayo Ichioka & Satsuki Nakao Charitable Foundation, Super King, Longo Toyoto-Scion-Lexus, Sprouts Famers Market, Centerplate, and the Pasadena Convention Center. This wonderful community event provides thousands of holiday meals and hope for all who attend, including homeless men, women, children, seniors, very low-income families, and those with no place to go during the holidays.
“We are so grateful to the caring volunteers who bring warmth and the true spirit of community to Central Park each year, said Marv Gross, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services. “Their efforts to help us feed thousands of people is truly inspirational!”
Volunteer registration for Thanksgiving is now closed, but the agency is still in need of non-perishable food donations. A Wish List of much needed items can be found at https://unionstationhs.org/?p=3570.The community is invited to drop off these supplies (in the indicated sizes) at 412 S. Raymond.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to Health Department regulations, Union Station Homeless Services is no longer able to accept turkey or prepared food donations at the event.
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Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives. Union Station Homeless Services is part of a premier group of human services agencies in Los Angeles County that are leading the way to ending homelessness in our community. We are the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families. We believe every person deserves a life of dignity and a safe place to call home. With 41 years of experience, we proudly offer a full continuum of eight programs in seven locations; services include street outreach, intake/assessment, care coordination and navigation, meals, shelter, housing, employment development, benefits enrollment, and referrals to medical and mental health services.
Union Station Homeless Services will be the lead agency in an expanded effort to eradicate chronic homelessness among veterans, other individuals and families, all across the San Gabriel Valley.
The non-profit agency announced two new initiatives they started in collaboration with 47 other agencies in the region during the fifth annual Homeless Summit held by the San Gabriel Valley Consortium on Homelessness Thursday in Pasadena. The programs were initiated with the help of major funding by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and United Way Los Angeles.
“Here in the San Gabriel Valley, Union Station and its partners are leading the way to implement a nationwide effort,“ said Union Station Homeless Services CEO Rabbi Marvin Gross.
The two initiatives are Coordinated Entry System (CES) and Homeless Family Solutions System (HFSS), databases which hope to equalize the access to resources. Although the programs have already been in use by some agencies in areas of Los Angeles County, this is the first collaborative effort by several agencies in one region.
“What the CES and the HFSS hope to do is to equalize the resources so that the people that will benefit most and need those services most are getting access to those services,” said Gregg Von Fempe, chief program officer with Union Station.
“These two programs will utilize evidence-based best practices including housing first and permanent support of housing,” added Gross.
Using a standardized assessment, homeless individuals and families will be more precisely identified, and those that are the most vulnerable or at-risk will be matched with the appropriate housing opportunities in a now region-wide inventory of housing vacancies through CES and HFSS.
During a pilot project of 100 days over the summer, Union Station assessed 380 homeless individuals and families in the Pasadena area only. Of those, 60 were identified as high-risk and in the end 40 were helped with housing.
One of the responsibilities of Union Station as lead agency in the collaborative is to train providers and staff of the 40-plus agencies.
“We’ve held training for providers and have trained more than 90 staff from the other 47 agencies,” said Von Fempe.
Union Station has added staff to help with the collaboration of the two new programs and some collaborating agencies have added representatives from the L.A. County Department of Social Services working out of their offices.
Von Fempe said they plan to do more outreach and more assessments with this collaboration.
“We have to assess them with a uniform instrument that enables us to understand the medical frailties and the psychological needs as well as any other human need that this person may have,” he said. “From that we assist any way we can. Because in the past, the single largest barrier to subsidize housing according to some was the application process itself, so if we have people that can do that in a streamlined and uniform way, it creates a more unified access to housing.”
Von Femple and Gross, like many in the consortium, believe finding the proper housing is essential to the success of the individuals and families, and for eradicating chronic homelessness.
“When people reclaim their role in the community, they develop what all of us agree is a meaningful role in the community,” said Von Fempe. “Rather than a homeless person, they have a role as a neighbor, as a friend, as someone who contributes to the neighborhood. With our partner agencies, we’re able to adequately reach people and provide them resources.”
Pasadena has seen a drop in homeless numbers recently. In the annual count of the city’s homeless population in January, led by local volunteers and Fuller Theological Seminary’s Institute for Urban Initiatives, the number dropped by 45 percent since 2011, according to officials. The count yielded 666 homeless individuals living in Pasadena, down from 772 the previous year.
“That was the lowest in memory,” said Gross. “We attribute it to our effort. We feel this is making an impact.”
This collaboration includes agencies such as Housing Works, New Directions for Veterans, Volunteers of America, the San Gabriel Valley Consortium on Homelessness, as well as LAHSA and United Way of Greater Los Angeles. For the children and families program, the California Hispanic Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is helping in the east San Gabriel Valley.
“We can’t take all the credit, even on the funding side,” said Chris Ko, program officer with United Way. “It comes through the funders collaborative, of which United Way is a major part; that includes the Hilton Foundation, the Weingart Foundation… I can tell you from our own experience, (collaboration) has allowed us to do bigger things together, like this. With our funding alone we wouldn’t be able to support a program like this, and our hope is that you would find the same result — that coming together and doing things together you can achieve bigger things that you might not have before.”
Ko, a San Gabriel Valley resident, said his hope for the near future would be to be able to assess and help homeless individuals he sees near his city.
“I would be able to administer an assessment and I would be able to put it in somewhere and know that person is seen in the same way that someone would be seen as if they walked through the door in Pasadena,” he said.
For the better part of an hour last week, Muse/ique’s counter-conventional take on the Beatles thrilled an audience at Noor during Union Station Homeless Services’ 15th annual “An Evening for the Station.”
Utilizing gospel singers, guitarists picked from the crowd and adept on-the-fly adjustments, Maestra Rachael Worby took center stage as Muse/ique performed the “Abbey Road” album in front of a sold-out crowd.
A poignant moment — serving as a reminder of what the benefit show was for — came near the end of the evening, when a man who’d been helped by Union Station stood and told his story of falling into homelessness before rising back to success.
“He said, ‘You are looking at the face of homelessness,’” Worby said. “We all need to be reminded that the blessing of a roof is just that: a blessing. It is essential in a community as intimate as ours that we make sure everybody is provided with what we have.”With more than $80,000 raised at the event, Union Station — the San Gabriel Valley’s largest and most comprehensive social service agency assisting homeless men, women and children — will continue to do just that. Union Station CEO Marv Gross called the “Beatles Bash” evening a huge success.“We are extremely grateful to Maestra Rachael Worby and her wonderful performers for a great evening of entertainment, [and] having a sell-out crowd of 380 Union Station supporters was thrilling,” Gross said. “From Abbey Road to Colorado Boulevard, I can’t imagine a better way for people to come together to help the homeless in our community.”Worby and Muse/ique’s performers played both sides of the legendary “Abbey Road” album, even pulling up local resident Jerry Kohl to play lead guitar and George Harrison’s solo on “Here Comes the Sun,” as well as trading guitars on “The End.”“I feel that there was some alchemy in the room that is indescribable,” Worby said. “It was one of those evenings where the brilliance of the human voice and the genius of the Beatles and the amazing audience came together as one.”http://www.outlooknewspapers.com/news-spotlight/pasadena/news-spotlight/union-station-muse/ique-bring-abbey-road-to-colorado-boulevard
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Pasadena, CA – Union Station Homeless Services has received a $100,000 donation from Henry DeNero of Home Space.
DeNero served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Homespace, a provider of Internet real estate and home services, from January 1999 until many of its assets were acquired by LendingTree, Inc. in August 2000. The gift to Union Station Homeless Services results from the sale of the company’s remaining assets.
This very generous gift will help Union Station Homeless Services continue to provide housing, employment and life skills programs to people experiencing homelessness in the San Gabriel Valley.
“Giving this gift is an easy choice,” says Denero. “Union Station has a long history of success, and I know this gift will be used effectively.”
Committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives, Union Station Homeless Services is part of a premier group of human services agencies in Los Angeles County that are leading the way to ending homelessness in our community.
“This is just amazing! We are very grateful,” said Marv Gross, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services. “This gift comes at an exciting time of growth as we expand our efforts to serve more people than ever before.”
Union Station Homeless Services is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest homeless services agency. Since 1973, Union Station has helped rebuild the lives of thousands of people who were once homeless and without hope. The agency provides a full continuum of eight programs in seven locations, and services include street outreach, meals, shelter, care coordination, housing, and employment development.
For more information, the public may call (626) 240-4550 or visit www.unionstationhs.org.
Gregg Von Fempe, Chief Program Officer, has been a clinical social worker for over thirty years with a primary focus on serving the homeless community members with a mental illness. Gregg worked at the Village, MHALA in Long Beach for a number of years before joining USHS. Gregg also was deeply involved with the implementation of the Mental Heath Services Act and helped design and start up many of the Full Service Partnerships in Orange and San Diego Counties. As Union Station’s Chief Program Officer, he is responsible for program design and development and for the supervision of all Union Station’s social services personnel and programs.
Union Station Homeless Services
Our programs are rebuilding lives. We operate seven major programs at six facilities throughout the City of Pasadena, providing a full continuum of care to help our homeless community members become stable and self-sufficient. We carefully craft our programs to give homeless families and individuals everything they need from the time they walk through our doors, until the time they have keys to their own apartment.
If you missed the broadcast live, you can listen here:
Union Station Homeless Services is pleased to announce that it has been certified by California Volunteers as a Service Enterprise. A Service Enterprise is defined as an organization that has shown a strong commitment to leveraging volunteers and their skills to successfully deliver on its social mission.
“We are so thrilled to receive this certification and incredibly grateful to our volunteers and community partners who bring so much compassion and help Union Station Homeless Services meet its bottom line,” says Octavia Sisley, Director of Volunteer and Community Programs. With this certification, Union Station Homeless Services becomes one of the first organizations in California to be recognized as a Service Enterprise by CaliforniaVolunteers, the state service commission in California. Research conducted by the TCC Group, a national program and evaluation firm, found that organizations operating as Service Enterprises outperform peer organizations on all aspects of organizational effectiveness, and are more adaptable, sustainable and capable of scaling their work. Union Station Homeless Services has completed an extensive assessment, training/consulting, and certification process that led to this recognition. By achieving this level of excellence and certification, Union Station Homeless Services is now better equipped to leverage the time and talent of volunteers in building our organizational capacity. “This certification illustrates how our volunteers are an integral part of the Union Station Homeless Services family. Their selfless time and energy have always been critical factors to the overall success of our programs,” says Gwen Hourihan, Volunteer Coordinator. For more information regarding volunteer opportunities with our organization, please visit unionstationhs.org/help/volunteer. For more information regarding the CaliforniaVolunteers Service Enterprise Initiative, please visitwww.CaliforniaVolunteers.org.
What do Animal Defenders International, Urban Harvester and Union Station Homeless Services all have in common?
They’ve all enjoyed a stimulating on-air conversation about our community’s important issues with KOST 103.5 radio personality Kari Steele.
Listen in on Sunday, July 13, 2014, as Union Station Homeless Services Chief Program Officer Gregg Von Fempe discusses homelessness in Los Angeles County and the work of Union Station to end homelessness with Kari Steele, host of The Sunday Journal.
The Sunday Journal is a program on KOST 103.5. Kari Steele hosts the radio program, which provides in-depth interviews with representatives of organizations within our community.
Listen each Sunday at 6:30 a.m. on KOST 103.5 and iHeartRadio.
![Union Station in Pasadena, lead agency for San Gabriel Valley collaboration to end chronic homelessness [Pasadena Star News]](https://unionstationhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/dip-e1416254301226.jpg)
![Union Station, Muse/ique Bring Abbey Road to Colorado Boulevard [Pasadena Outlook]](https://unionstationhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/untitled-419-Edit.jpg)
