Girl Group's 12 Days of Giving

Girl Group Enterprises celebrates the holidays by taking action and supporting action. We’re highlighting local organizations working toward connection, community and compassion.

THINK. How do you feel connected to your community? How would you like to deepen the connection?

WRITE. Make a list of ways you might engage in what the Punk Rock Marthas call “guerilla philanthropy.” Pick up litter at the bus stop, drop a few coins in the meter of a stranger’s car… the possibilities for doing good are endless.

TALK. Ask a question. Questions are connectors. Ask to learn and to understand.

DO. Donate some cash, some time, some attention. There are year-round opportunities to engage. Start today and stay active through the year.

BE. Use your sense of smell to carve out a moment of peace in the holiday whirl. Cinnamon. Pine. Latkes sizzling in a pan. Even the ever-present Pumpkin Spice. Focus for a moment. Inhale. Breathe.

1. One Voice provides food baskets, toys and books to 2500 families living in poverty (over 12,500 people.) They also help prepare low income students for college admissions by providing support and help with scholarship and enrollment applications. Their family assistance program provides immediate intervention and relief services to low income families in crisis situations and their Once Voice Summer Camp provides low income youth with a week away. You can watch their new video here and check out One Voice http://www.onevoice-la.org for volunteer and giving opportunities. Right now they are looking for lots of FOOD for the big holiday party! Buy a case of pie or a box of yams! If you buy all the yams or all the pie, they’ll celebrate you with a banner! Check out the list at OneVoice-la.org.

1. Help out the kids at Thomas Edison Middle School. Of 1200 student, 96% are on the free lunch program. Estephania Vazquez is the Community School Coordinator for the Los Angeles Education Partnership. Help FUND The COLLEGE CAREER CLUB. Cash will go toward raffle prizes and other incentives to help kids get involved in talking about their futures. Donate via Paypal. If you’d like to know more about the program or learn about volunteer opportunities, get in touch with Estephania at evazquez@laep.org. Check out the Los Angeles Education Partnership if you’d like to hear about other volunteer opportunities. http://www.laep.org/donate/your-time/

1. Punk Rock Marthas is a 501c3 youth volunteer group dedicated to making our world a better place through service, artistic activism and awareness. Recently, Punk Rock Marthas have volunteered to serve dinner to the homeless in Hollywood and delivered 1000 new books to kids across Los Angeles. Founder, Anji Williams say,“We have a concept of guerilla philanthropy,” she says. “We use creativity to do unexpected good deeds for people. The kids have done things like add a few coins to an expired parking meter. It’s great to hear that they are paying attention to their environment and having fun by helping others.” There are no easy solutions to the problems faced by young people in today’s society, but for Anji, providing opportunities and inspiration is a great place to start. “I would love to see this generation being encouraged to be an active part of their communities. They have so much to offer. The kids in my program are taking ownership and becoming an active part of their society. They tell me that they start to feel a connection with the world and that they are eager to make changes. Sadly, all too often, no one had ever told them that they had that power before, much less showed them how to use it. https://twitter.com/punkrockmarthas

1. Enrich LA has built over 115 edible gardens in Los Angeles schools in just a few years and their weekly Garden Ranger Program, provides students with interactive and interdisciplinary garden lessons. enrichla.org/givingtuesdayandeveryday/#membershiplevels

1. CollegePath LA is a community organization of volunteers who help public high school students explore careers, apply to college and thrive once they get there. The organization is currently developing a model project at John Marshall High School, an urban school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Our own, Tanya Ward Goodman has volunteered in their college essay workshops for years and has seen first hand the good work of this organization. www.collegepathla.org/donate.html

1. Doris Cares is a 501(c), volunteer-based organization, dedicated to feeding the hungry. Doris Presley and Jerry Chan can claim close to 40 years experience, between them, in feeding the hungry. What drives both of them is the inability to stand around doing nothing while good food’s being wasted. For inquiries regarding Food Pick-ups, Food Deliveries or Volunteer opportunities: Jerry Chan: (310) 351-4769 or Doris Presley: (310) 672-9961 find out more information at doriscares.org/

1. Las Fotos Project, a project of Community Partners, is a non-profit, community-based photography program whose mission is to bring about positive change for teenage girls facing adversity. Through one-on-one mentoring, photography trainings, and assigned field projects, Las Fotos Project provides a creative outlet for students, encouraging them to express their artistic talents and explore their imagination, while building self-confidence. lasfotosproject.org/support/

1. Access Books provides books to inner-city schools where at least 90 percent of students live at or below the poverty line. Most students at the schools served are children of color and children of immigrants. Since 1999, Access Books has donated more than a million books, and each year, approximately 18,000 pre-kindergarten through middle school-aged children participate in the program.

1. STREET POETS Inc. is a non-profit poetry-based peace-making organization dedicated to the creative process as a force for individual and community transformation. We applaud their mission to empower young people to tell their stories, heal themselves and realize their dreams through the transformational practice of writing. Dedicated to the creation of “deep listening spaces in both larger community and institutional environments and intimate classroom settings,” this organization is doing dynamic important work.

1. Bright Lite is an independent magazine created for girls, ages 8 to 15. Every issue strives to give young girls a place to express their experiences and reflections on a central theme. Bright Lite, strongly believes that it is never too early to start communicating and connecting with one another. Bright Lite has partnered with numerous non-profits in the community including Las Fotos and 826LA.

1. Resisterhood is a non-profit working toward creating positive change in the Greater Los Angeles area and surrounding communities by promoting and facilitating volunteer efforts, philanthropy and fundraising. They’ve served a variety of local organizations including LA Kitchen, Downtown Women’s Center, Heal the Bay and MEND Poverty. Girl Group Enterprises partnered with ResisterhoodLA in a recent feminine hygiene drive. Your donations will help this fine organization keep showing up in the community. A great example of taking steps to create the world you want.

1. Miry’s List is a community of volunteers that uses crowdsourcing and social media to connect people like you, who want to help, with new refugee families with urgent needs to help them start their new lives as our neighbors in Southern California. They start by welcoming each family to their home - typically a barely furnished (or completely unfurnished) apartment - and then work together with a translator to create a list of items they need most urgently. The lists are published as Amazon Wishlists and shared here at miryslist.org so our generous donors can purchase specific items for specific families, who will receive them directly. Each family has unique needs - many with small children, elderly grandparents or members with disabilities. Miry’s List aims to help them all with an open heart and welcoming arms. miryslist.org/donate/

There are so many incredible organizations in the Los Angeles area and beyond. Tomorrow we'll be starting our 12 Days of Giving countdown on social media, let us know who we should have included & share them with us there!

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