Quarantined Together: Acts of Kindness in LA

Shopping Helpers LA

The COVID-19 news cycle hasn’t always shined the best light on younger generations. We’ve seen college students living it up on the beach during Spring break and getting together for big parties despite stay at home orders. Many young adults, however, have been making a tremendous positive impact on their communities. Sisters Kayla Newman and Leeat Hatzav, college students residing in LA, saw immediate needs arise at the start of quarantine restrictions and quickly organized their peers into action.

They recognized the large number of elderly and immunocompromised people in need of shopping assistance, and reached out to their networks to find people willing to help. Seeing that so many were willing to lend a hand, they shared a flyer offering shopping assistance on social media and with local religious and community leaders. That same day, people began calling in seeking assistance. Kayla and Leeat were suddenly taking multitudes of requests by phone and connecting those in need to volunteers through WhatsApp. They quickly put together a website, Shopping Helpers LA, enabling at-risk individuals to fill out an online form for grocery assistance.

Shopping Helpers LA is rapidly spreading. They are already serving in 10 areas from San Fernando Valley to Orange County. Kayla and Leeat are eager to organize help in other cities and even other states. They’re ready to expand into any area where people are ready to volunteer. If you’re able to serve your community in this way, you can sign up here. 

Teachers Staying Connected with Students

Educators all across LA have been finding ways to show love and support to their students during this time.  Some are able to stay in touch with their classes through online video teaching platforms, some have hand-written notes to their students, while some have gone a step even further. Lisa Muthiah, an elementary school teacher, wanted to do something extra special to connect with and encourage her class during this time. 

Armed with a colorful sign, she personally drove by each of her students’ homes to let them know they are missed and in her thoughts right now. She had given families a heads up of her stopping by, and many of her students were ready with signs of their own, or had her stop to chat or take a photo in front of her in her car. It was a meaningful day for Mrs. Muthiah and for all of the families she touched with her actions.

Delivering School Meals to Students’ Doorsteps

Stars is a phenomenal nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to affirming and equipping youth in the Pasadena area for almost two decades. They have a range of programs they offer families throughout the year, but when the Safer at Home act went into place, they stepped up to fill a huge gap in the community. 

The school district began offering drive thru meal pickups each morning within a limited time frame, but Eric Johnson, Stars’ Director of Partnerships and Collaborations, knew that a lot of families wouldn’t be able to make these pickups, whether from a lack of transportation, work, or being sick. He joined heads with partner organizations, including Yoland Travino at PACTL and Geoff Albert at Collaborate PASadena to see how they could help make sure all families in need receive food. Thanks to Stars’ great existing relationship with the district, they were able to start delivering meals, starting with two on their first day, up to a hundred by the end of the week, and are currently distributing up to 900 meals a day thanks to a network of volunteers. 

These meal deliveries are making a profound difference in the daily lives of hundreds of families during quarantine, and speak to the incredible collaboration between the city, nonprofits and churches in Pasadena. There isn’t an immediate need for more drivers at this time, but you can join their email newsletter list to stay informed here. Stars would like to include a special thank you New Abby Church, Knox Presbyterian Church, and Young Life in Pasadena for their tremendous support in rallying volunteers for deliveries.

Masks for the Masses

So many hardworking people have come together to increase the supply of masks during this time. We wish we could recognize all of those who have helped get masks into the hands of healthcare providers, essential workers, and the general public. One person who has made it her mission to help make masks during this time is LA-area resident, Margie Cameron. 

Margie had a supply of fabric built up from years of quilting, and quickly shifted directions to let mask-making take over her living room and fabric supply. Since LA began requiring masks for all residents, she wanted to help with the supply of masks for her community. While she is limited in her supplies and in working with tendinitis, she has been dedicating a majority of her time to make as many masks as she can. Instead of accepting any payment for masks from community members, she has asked recipients to make a donation to two non-profits she volunteers for, Full Circle Thrift and Ten Thousand Villages, who like many others have been negatively affected during this time. With so many in need of masks, she’s backed up on requests, but doing what she can to do her part in this pandemic.