WEST HOLLYWOOD—This month, West Hollywood will continue its tradition of joining hundreds of communities across the United States in a National Day of Service to commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday by giving an opportunity for community members to make a donation drive for people who are experiencing homelessness.
West Hollywood, in collaboration with West Hollywood Elementary and Friends of West Hollywood Elementary (FOWHE), will be collecting monetary and gift card donations to support new socks, blankets, and sleeping bags for the City’s Homeless Initiative, which partners with nonprofit service providers, the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, and Los Angeles County agencies to provide a wide variety of services aimed at decreasing homelessness and supporting community members who are experiencing homelessness.
For 2022, West Hollywood Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service activity reflects the desires of students from West Hollywood Elementary to help those most in-need in the community.
Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, this year’s event will take place as a two-week virtual donation drive instead of an in-person Day of Service event. It will run from Saturday, January 15 to Monday, January 31, 2022. Donations can be made online at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/homeless or donations of physical gift cards or of personal checks made out to ‘City of West Hollywood’ may be mailed to:
West Hollywood Homeless Initiative/MLK Day of Service, West Hollywood City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069.
West Hollywood is encouraging donations to the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center, which has posted a “CARE 4 Youth Essentials” wish list on Amazon at lalgbtcenter.org/care4youth. The City of West Hollywood would have hosted its tenth-annual clothing drive for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center on Highland in January 2022, but as a result of COVID-19 health and safety protocols people are asked for virtual donations of needed supplies that will be distributed to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth who are experiencing homelessness. For more information about the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center visit www.lalgbtcenter.org/social-service-and-housing/youth.
Members of the community can volunteer by visiting www.weho.org/volunteer. For additional details about virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities to address critical needs visit California Volunteers at www.californiavolunteers.ca.gov/get-involved/covid-19 or call (888) 567-SERV; visit Volunteer Match at www.volunteermatch.org; or visit LA Works at www.laworks.com or call (323) 224-6510.
West Hollywood’s Homeless Initiative seeks to address homelessness with a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency, collaborative response. For more information about the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative, including ways to help and resources for those in need visit www.weho.org/homeless or call (323) 848-6590.
For more information about West Hollywood’s 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service contact Larissa Fooks, the WeHo Community Events Coordinator, at (323) 848-6413 or at lfooks@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.
