Need Amid Plenty

On this Thanksgiving, Californians have much to be grateful for. Most have jobs, thanks to the economic boom. Many are doing better financially than at any other time in their lives. There is plenty to share.

Charitable giving is up nationally, according to the Chronicle on Philanthropy, and the donations are not limited to those who can write a check for millions. More individuals of all races and ethnicities are contributing money and their time. This week it was announced that $284,000 had been raised to keep open the only free clinic in South-Central Los Angeles.

In East Los Angeles, the girls of Ramona High School, a small, alternative school for students who have been in trouble, are raising money, sometimes a quarter at a time, to pay for books and other school supplies for Afghan girls who have been forced to leave school and flee their country. Taking part in a campaign sponsored by the Foundation for a Feminist Majority, the East L.A. students have adopted a school in a refugee camp in Pakistan.

According to a June study conducted by the University of San Francisco’s Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management, Californians are giving more and volunteering more.

But even with all the prosperity and generosity, donations are dangerously low at area food banks that serve soup kitchens, food pantries and hundreds of local charities. At the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, provisions are off by more than 1 million pounds. In Orange County, supplies are also at record lows at the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Community Development Council’s food bank. The shortages are blamed on supermarket mergers that have reduced the sources for donations, improved technology that has reduced the number of damaged and mislabeled cans and a delay in the distribution of government cheese and other surplus products. The decline is steepening at a time when more people, including many with jobs, need help with food and also with housing. A tight and expensive housing market forces more families and individuals to sleep in cars, double up or seek emergency housing.

Shelter Partnership, a nonprofit organization that provides research, resources and assistance to providers of services for homeless people, has put together a wish list that includes appliances, bedroom furniture, books and magazines, canned goods, dry food, diapers, clothing and shoes, magazines, office equipment and supplies and a van in good working condition. Donations will be distributed to agencies in Los Angeles and Orange County that serve poor families who are new arrivals, women and children who are fleeing domestic violence, runaway teenagers and homeless people.

Education, self-sufficiency, health and youth services are among the top priorities of the agencies funded by the United Way of Los Angeles. Items on their wish lists include food baskets, $100 shopping trips for families, clothing, furniture, appliances, toys and Hanukkah gifts. The donations will be directed toward specific individuals and families. The United Way also needs volunteers throughout the year and has put together a handbook and service directory to help those who are willing to help others.

On Thanksgiving Day, and every day, there are many reasons to be thankful, and opportunities to give.

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To Take Action: (213) 688-2188 or https://www.office@shelterpartnership.org to volunteer or donate items and services. For information about the United Way, 1-888-2HELPLA or https://www.unitedwayla.com.