Giving Back on Giving Tuesday: Six Local Non-Profits Serving Our Community
By: Lisc La
Tags: Givingtuesday, Giving Back, Los Angeles, Community Development, Nonprofit

What began in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday has become a global movement. This Giving Tuesday, December 1, we encourage you to donate what you can to Los Angeles nonprofits makinGg an impact in our communities.

2020 has been a challenging year — between a global pandemic, civic unrest, economic recession, and a vitriolic election season — our communities are facing unfathomable hardships. The impact of COVID-19 on the nonprofit community is unprecedented; it’s affected the sustainability of every organization who has had to find new ways to provide their services while revenues shrink and expenses increase. But during every crisis, we always find those who rise to the occasion to provide support in any way they can. We’ve seen non-profits across the country answer the call for aid and mobilize to meet the rapidly growing needs of their communities. From distributing meals to and securing housing for vulnerable populations, to groups providing mental health and technical support services during the transition to distance work and learning, non-profits have stepped up in a major way to bolster local government efforts and fill in the gaps in services that are critical during this time.

While some organizations have been fortunate to secure financial aid to maintain or expand their operations amidst the pandemic, many more have been operating on reduced funding and being forced to choose which of their programs or staff to cut.

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is a national non-profit organization and community development financial institution that supports cities and rural areas throughout the country through a number of programs and initiatives aimed at building thriving and more equitable communities. In 2020, LISC LA has provided a number of programs to ensure equitable economic relief is accessible to our most vulnerable neighbors.

In our largest program to date, LISC LA partnered with the City and County of Los Angeles to administer the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund, a $100 million program to provide grants to microentrepreneurs, small businesses, non-profits and sidewalk vendors in the LA region.

A number of non-profits that received grants have shared their pandemic experience with us, with many noting the need for more funding beyond the grant they received. We know the virus will continue to be a threat well into 2021, making this Giving Tuesday more important than ever. Please consider donating to a local non-profit that is going above and beyond to keep their doors open and provide services during these challenging times. Here are a few that inspire us:

Armory Center for the Arts

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The Armory Center for the Arts is a donor-supported nonprofit that is a national leader in contemporary art exhibitions and community arts education. Their team of critically acclaimed artists work to produce innovative public programs, teach communities the power of art and its social justice impact, and emphasize a mission of cultural equity and inclusion. By working with incarcerated teens to create vibrant murals inside juvenile detentions camps, training K-12 teachers how to design and integrate visual and kinesthetic-based lesson plans, and offering free art lessons for vulnerable community members, the Armory Center spreads the power and love for art across Los Angeles. However, in being a donor-supported institution and having to cancel in-person activities, they face financial difficulties with limited solutions. Fortunately, a grant from the LA Regional COVID Fund has given some relief for the Armory Center to continue programming, allowing them to invest more in their digital learning resources, such as engaging virtual courses and digital literacy training opportunities for their staff. In addition, the Armory Center was able to purchase PPE and sanitizing products to ensure their staff and constituents remain safe, allowing them to reopen their galleries following public health guidelines. With your support, the Armory Center can continue growing their impact on arts in diverse communities.

Lake Avenue Community Foundation

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Perla Moreno is the Stars Wellness Coordinator for the Lake Avenue Community Foundation, now known as Stars. She manages the Stars to Go food distribution program, a weekly effort to provide fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy protein sources, and additional ingredients to their local communities, 91% of which are immigrant families from Latin America. Since the pandemic began, this program has become even more important for providing food for families who are facing job loss or reduction in income. The Stars to Go program has persevered through the difficulties brought on by COVID-19, distributing approximately 2.5 tons of fresh food a week to 55 families, or roughly 270 individuals, since April. Yet these difficulties have becoming increasingly challenging — the program relies on a team of 10–15 weekly volunteers and 3 program staff members can only dedicate a few additional hours a week, while the uptick in COVID-19 cases has made these free food distribution services more essential than ever. A grant from the LA Regional COVID Fund has allowed them to continue their Stars to Go program. With your support, they’ll have more financial security and staff capacity to keep their food provisions consistent for the families in need.

The Achievable Foundation

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The Achievable Foundation is a patient-centered health and medical care service provider that’s been treating low-income families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 24 years. The foundation provides an on-site health center, emergency support programs, 50+ camp scholarships for children with autism from low-income families, health resources and insights, and many more services to help their patients. Similar to many working in the health care industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has added an overwhelming amount of stress, exhaustion, risk, and uncertainty to The Achievable Foundation. They have frontline health care workers who are working onsite to care for patients while being put at a higher risk for exposure to COVID-19. To support these essential workers, the foundation was awarded a grant through the LA Regional COVID Fund to provide hazard pay for 25 employees, salary support for two temporary medical assistants, and support for extra psychiatrist salary costs associated with increased work in this time. It will also help the foundation advance their distance learning and telework abilities, reimbursing staff members for their home internet expenses and providing telehealth services to patients. Your support can help The Achievable Foundation serve more families and individuals impacted during this time.

WomenShelter of Long Beach

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WomenShelter of Long Beach is a domestic abuse treatment center that has helped thousands of victims and their children since being founded 43 years ago. They provide safe housing and supportive services, including emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, support groups, social services support, and legal and health advocacy. This supportive housing facility was one of the first of its kind in Southern California when it was founded, and it has maintained its commitment to eliminating domestic violence through compassionate intervention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more important in offering safety to victims of abuse. Adapting to the pandemic’s new circumstances has been challenging for WomenShelter. However, a grant through the LA Regional COVID Fund has made this transition easier. With the grant, the center has been able to provide remote counseling services with technology that keeps client files secure and allows for confidential sessions, give grocery store gift cards, assistant with utility bills, provide PPE and deep cleaning/sanitizing services to the domestic violence resource center and two other shelters housing homeless victims, and maintain their 24/7 staffing and supplies. Your support of WomenShelter will provide the resources to keep up their immensely important work and continue helping Long Beach families in need for years to come.

EnCorps Inc.

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EnCorps STEM Teacher Program is California’s solution to address declining student achievement in STEM and the state’s teacher shortage. Since 2007, EnCorps has employed 1,102 Fellows, made up of STEM professionals who transition to teaching as a second career, to help over 35,000 students in need annually. These Fellows, who consist of many teachers of color and military veterans, typically work in high poverty schools in the urban areas of Los Angeles and other cities throughout the state. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, EnCorps has had to drastically change their instruction methods but, thanks to a grant from the LA Regional COVID Fund, they have adapted. The grant has supported virtual tutoring services for Los Angeles underserved middle school students and they’ve been able to recruit and train new tutors and improve their program oversight and evaluation, as well. With your support, EnCorps can continue to tackle one of California’s most important education issues and produce future STEM leaders from diverse backgrounds.

OLASTEO

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For OLASTEO, they believe creating empowering experiences for students can serve as a catalyst for social change. The non-profit serves the Watts community in South Los Angeles, inspiring students to expand their world view and give back to their communities. Aaron Friedman, President and co-founder of OLASTEO, has spent the last five years curating interactive workshops, immersive trips, and powerful speakers for their youth scholars. Given the challenges of COVID-19, Friedman worked to expand their virtual programming through their very first OLASTEO Speaker Series. Friedman says the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund grant OLASTEO received will help fund the series for the next nine months, featuring ten impactful speakers for the community. The grant additionally helped them fund their recent Summer Virtual Experience, a two-day event with virtual guest-speakers and educational sessions. Your support will bolster their operations and marketing efforts to directly expand their organization’s presence in Los Angeles.