11:00am | The Los Angeles Mission nearly always has its hands full, serving about 1,800 meals daily to the homeless and needy along Skid Row in downtown L.A. But on Thanksgiving Day, the place was packed and in need of an extra hand.
About one dozen students from the Communicative Disorders Department at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) helped raise more than $50,000 and spent a few hours making balloon animals for children on Thanksgiving Day to bring a little extra light into the L.A. Mission.
“Our goal the day of the Thanksgiving dinner was to make one balloon character for every child there,” said Betty McMicken, an assistant professor and department volunteer liaison. “It is a great touch and made it more of a festive atmosphere.”
McMicken and fourteen students spend about five hours at the Mission on Thanksgiving, which fed about 3,500 people. The team from CSULB made more than 600 balloon animals for children in attendance.
A few weeks earlier, on November 17, McMicken and twelve students manned phone lines during a radiothon fundraiser run by campus station KKJZ and Go Country 105. The event raised more than $52,000 for the L.A. Mission in anticipation for a busy Thanksgiving.
“This was the best we have done ever,” said McMicken. “On the shift, I worked people were calling with donations of $2.03 (the amount to sponsor one meal) and putting it on their credit card and then people would call in with donations of $1,000. We had a tremendous response this year, perhaps due to people better understanding what is like to be in need, the recession has spawned more awareness.”
Students took calls and donations from 5:00am-7:00pm. McMicken and student volunteers have helped with four consecutive L.A. Mission radiothon fundraisers, which are held each June and November. McMicken says they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“My students have often asked what keeps me volunteering my services and I must admit it is the deep and abiding acts of gratitude which I am so blessed to receive from individuals we are able to help.”
Visit losangelesmission.org to learn more about the non-profit organization.