{ Holidays And Special Events }
At last year’s Thanksgiving meal, thousands got a hot, delicious Thanksgiving dinner served by hundreds of volunteers – including many from the entertainment industry and local political leaders. In fact, nearly 3,000 meals were served by the likes of Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, who along with his wife Anne hosted the event for the fourth year in a row. The Douglas’ recently celebrated the renovation of the Anne Douglas Center for Women at the Los Angeles Mission. The Anne Douglas Center provides a place for women to change their lives and learn the skills necessary to a successful transition, going from life on the streets to a promising future. “The Los Angeles Mission has continued to witness an increase in the number of men, women, and children coming for help over the last few months. And that has resulted in more meals being served each day of the week, along with additional overnight accommodations and other vital services. At the same time the economy is impacting charitable giving, which means the Mission is doing more with less,” explained Mission President Herbert L. Smith. “Although we’re doing more with less, we’re still on the corner of 5th and Wall Streets giving out hope.”
Wednesday morning, event day, started well before dawn for the staff and volunteers of the Los Angeles Mission with final cooking and other food preparations. At six A.M., Fifth Street from Wall Street to San Pedro was closed to vehicular traffic, tents were set up, chairs and tables prepared, and the entire scene was decorated for the festivities. The midmorning rain meant that everything had to be moved indoors including decorations and food service. Physicians, nurses, and volunteers from the Los Angeles Christian Health Centers (formerly the Los Angeles Mission Community Clinic) reached out to the homeless community as well, offering foot washing and exams, as well as dental screenings in an oversized tent – despite the rain. Dozens of homeless men, women, and children were given this special treat. Clinic officials say they find that the Mission’s homeless guests often have foot problems that go undetected, and they can offer examinations and evaluations, and even do minor procedures that make them more comfortable. Ten students and three faculty members of the department of Communication
Disorders at CSU Long Beach also provided speech and Language screenings for children and adults at Wednesday’s event. Thousands Come to Los Angeles Mission Event for Food, Fellowship our gracious Thanksgiving Event hosts – Anne and Kirk Douglas take a moment away from their busy hosting duties.
THE BLESSINGS POURED DOWN!
Wells Fargo bank officials and volunteers joined in serving meals, as well as a generous donation. “At a time of deepening financial difficulties, it is significant that a major corporation like Wells Fargo continues to support charities like the Los Angeles Mission,” said Mission President Herbert L. Smith. “This donation is an indicator of the support that corporations can give to the community even when times are difficult.” Donations from a variety of other businesses and organizations made the blessings pour down. “We also appreciated the efforts of Coca-Cola for the soft drinks, the Morongo Tribe of Mission Indians, who donated turkey, Bonerts Slice of Pie and Ralphs for the dessert, Sara Lee for the dinner rolls and the Gideons for bringing Bibles to give to our friends and neighbors,” said Smith. In addition, there was candy for everyone, donated by students at the Suzanne Middle School in Walnut. The students collected Halloween candy, and bagged it up for distribution, with some 5,000 bags totaling more than 1,000 pounds of candy being donated. The Thanksgiving event at the Los Angeles Mission was an amazing site to behold as multiple diverse groups from across the spectrum of Los Angeles, united together showing the true meaning of thanks, and witnessing the blessings pour down as lives were impacted and not even the rain could dampen their spirits.