Neighborhood Spotlight: Paramount City Non-Profit: Paramount Care Foundation – Project Hope

In a community hit hard by COVID-19 is a beacon of hope. Every Friday eager volunteers don their masks, with smiles beaming from their eyes, and prep to serve hundreds. What began as a small community foodbank and pop-up shop has met the pandemic head on, expanding 5 times its usual service of 70 people to a client base of more than 350 people. In Paramount City, the Paramount Care Foundation hosts Project Hope on their campus (an extension of the Nonprofit as an authorized agency of the Los Angeles County Food Bank) and serves 35Ibs of food to each household along with access to household items such as clothes and books. 

Although other features of their Foundation such as the After School Program, Summer Day Camp, ESL Class, and more were shut down due to the pandemic, Project Hope has been able to run undeterred and even increase in capacity to serve the growing need of the community admits the crisis. We connected with Mike Mckown, Director of Project Hope, and asked him a few questions about the program.

With your experience working with Project Hope and the community, would you say Paramount City is in a place of hope or not hopeful in this pandemic season?

Mike: I would say it’s a mix. Paramount is a covid hotspot: the highest infection rate in the area and sadly higher death rate per capita and if you look at a map, you’ll see its hit very hard. One main reason is there is a lot of overcrowding in the area making it easy for families to get each other sick. Some clients it’s their first time using a foodbank. And initially during the lockdown people were afraid to get food from the store, then it became an economic issue. For a lot of people, it’s their first experience. 

How many people do you serve?

Mike: Prior to Covid we served 70-80 people. When covid began we were serving more and more people. In November we saw 300-350 people weekly. Now at the beginning of the year we have been serving around 200 people and we have 5-7 new clients every week.

How did COVID-19 impact Project Hope? 

Mike: We learned how to do things more efficiently. We can feed a lot more people now. 

What does the food service look like on a Friday morning?

Mike: Because of the COVID-19 regulations we have to have everything boxed or bagged. Right now, we’re handing out the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s emergency kit box which we get from our main donor. And we supplement that with 1-2 bags of additional groceries provided by our other agencies we partner with. All in all, it’s about 35lbs of food per household. We’re also planning to give out some special food items for Easter on Good Friday April 2nd, that will be about 40-50lbs of food per household on Good Friday.  

Do you need more donations?

Mike: We have been given a lot of resources and grants. We can actually serve a lot more people. 

And you said you have a Pop-Up shop?

Mike: Yes, we’ve actually had to pause donations for that because we are overflowing with items. We didn’t originally open the Pop-Up shop back up in the pandemic but then we had clients coming in and saying they need clothes for their kids. So, we opened that back up and we’ve had a lot of great feedback on it, especially things for the kids like children’s books. We’ve had to change a lot of things because of Covid regulations. We used to have it set up with clothes on a rack and things laid out on a table or blanket and people would have fun going through it. But now we have everything individually wrapped. And our rule is ‘You touch it, you take it.’ Everything’s free.

It’s apparent you have had a lot of growth in need and serving that need. Do you have enough volunteers?

Mike: We have a lot, some from the community and a lot from the Emmanuel Church. I asked if the volunteers wanted to do a rotation schedule and they said No we want to be there every Friday. But we always welcome more volunteers.

Sounds like the volunteers are receiving just as much as the clients by getting an opportunity to do something in their week that is purposeful and fulfilling.

Mike: Oh yes, we have been able to work undeterred by masks. We get no complaints from clients or volunteers about masks. We have a very high compliancy rate in Paramount and the people are very happy when they come, and our volunteers love their work.

Whether you’re in need of food or desire to make a difference, or even just get out of the house, Project Hope is an excellent resource. Standing apart from the food service, at separate booths, there is a table for the clients if they wish to seek additional resources as well as a table for those who would like prayer. If any of these service opportunities interest you, please contact Mike McKown at mike.mckown@erc.la and if you’re in need of support please visit Project Hope every Friday 8-10am at 8206 Alondra Bl. Paramount, CA.