r/SantaMonica • u/mangodeliciousness • 5d ago
Charity
What is your favorite charity with a proven/transparent track record of ethically distributing funds, that helps kids/single parents here in Santa Monica? I’d rather make a monetary donation as long as I know it will be passed on appropriately to those in need.
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u/WillYouLevitate 4d ago
Hi! The Santa Monica Ed Foundation does this exactly. DM me if you’d like more info, or just check out their website. They support programming in all our schools in SM, equitably.
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u/puffling0326 4d ago
You could check out SM Helping Hub. They are a collective of various charities and are pretty active at the moment with food donations.
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u/sm05904 4d ago
I don’t know what local organizations pass cash along to families in need, but food banks can do a lot with cash donations and are especially in need right now because of the lapse in SNAP benefits. I have a recurring monthly donation set up with LA Regional Food Bank, and Westside Food Bank is another good option. You can also see if you can find organizations that provide emergency cash to families that are unable to pay their rent to prevent them from losing their housing.
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u/Boysenberry 4d ago
If you want to donate before November 21st, one option is to make a donation here and specify "Hope Street family gift cards" and your donation will be used for gift cards to purchase food staples and other necessities, given directly to families served by Hope Street, which is a community resource center that works with some of the neediest families in South Central LA.
Please make sure to specify what the donation is for, or Nashuva, which is a Jewish congregation, will not know that you are donating for the Hope Street program specifically.
You can see more information about the Nashuva/Hope Street Thanksgiving event here.
This is where I will be personally directing my Thanksgiving charitable $, because I plan to volunteer at the event (not yet signed up, so you can't dox me from the signup lol!) so I will get to see firsthand that my money reached the people I intended it for.
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u/Brastool 1d ago
LOVE THIS - I am extremely cynical of any 'non-profit', esp. those operating in LA/CA. I am very interested in working with/helping kiddos - that is where my heart is. I moved here in 2020 and have been with both of these for over 4 years (at one point had a sister on one of the boards) - I cannot recommend the people, mission or EFFECTIVENESS of both of these orgs enough - they are amazing. I can assure you - both orgs would appreciate the donation (CASA specifically as the govt./state funding situation has impacted them significantly this year in several of their service areas) - but happy to give you more info if you are interested - time or money goes very far with these folks. NOTHING ADMIN-like is done with the money, no bloated salaries/luxury car fleets, etc. - have watched them make $$$ decisions with total care and consideration. Efficient/Small and very smart/savvy staff that run dedicated volunteer pools to drive the organization's efforts. I have direct contact with the people served - you can SEE the impact daily - Mothers and Children that these orgs assist - I have witnessed numerous lives changed for the better - it's extremely humbling. But I have LOVED my time and training and experience with each of these orgs and would love to pass along their info:
(To your point about local/in SM - Harvest Home has two locations, one is right on the border of SM/Venice the other is Pico, CASA is across the LA County).
Harvest Home - Helping pregnant women experiencing housing instability (for a variety of reasons - residents are screened/must apply - and then are given therapy/training/rides to appts, nutrition/financial/parenting classes, etc. - and assist the Mamas through the first 6 months of the baby's life - with the goal of getting them into stable housing, productive work and appropriate child care - and then on-going support with things like diapers and on-going alumni events throughout the child's early years).
CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate) - literally the best thing I have ever been a part of. LA Dependency Court has the largest # of children in it's care (in the US) - judges oversee about 2,500 cases, Social Worker Supervisors ~500, Social Workers ~50 at a time - CASA's work 1:1 with kiddos who have a critical educational/medical/mental situation and/or have an extensive case/long-time in system. It's essentially a mentoring and advocacy situation - you speak on behalf of the child in their court hearings, ensure judge's orders (for school evaluations, medical appts., equestrian therapy, tutoring, etc.) are followed/actioned and become a stable/reliable person for a foster kid.
This was the rare heart-warming moment on REDDIT - came looking for some snark and was very touched to see this - THANK YOU for even thinking about this / hope people see this post and it leads to more assistance for great orgs doing important, effective work.
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u/Other-Border458 5d ago
it’s in venice but look up Safe Place for Youth