POETRY NIGHT AND FUNDRAISER FOR OUR UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS
Oct 5
This past month we partnered up with the South Bay organization @eartothestreetsla and @gudneighborsofhawthorne to provide clothes and care packages for our unhoused neighbors in Gardena, Hawthorne, and Inglewood! Our care packages consisted of masks, wipes, lotions, pads, snacks, toothpaste, mouthwash, and more! We also passed out snacks like apple sauce and granola bars along with canned foods with accessible pop-up tops since most folks don’t have access to a can opener. We also had 20 bins worth of clothes, blankets, and shoes.
All the amazing poets who performed at the Poetry Night and Fundraiser.
On Saturday, September 26th, Ear to the Streets hosted a poetry night at Jim Thorpe Park in Hawthorne, CA. The night featured 6 amazing Black poets who poured their hearts out to us and spoke with so much passion and vulnerability. We are so thankful to them for allowing us to witness it. Shoutout to @thomasburgundy, @caleb_stj, @anewbyss, @yennwthapen, @thoughtsbybrii, and @priestlytemple. Please make sure to check them out and support local Black artists! A few of them have books coming out, paintings and artwork for sale and clothing lines.
The poetry night was not only an opportunity to listen to poetry, but also for folxs to drop off donations. The community clearly showed out because we had over 15 bags of clothes, tons of canned food, snacks, and hygiene food. We are so so thankful to everyone that took the time to get these items and donate!
On Thursday, October 1st we hit the streets around 3pm and wrapped up around 8pm. We distributed 150 care packages, water, and clothes to about 6 encampments in Hawthorne, Gardena, Inglewood, and parts of DTLA. This was hand to hand giving, straight to the people. We were able to really connect with them and remind them that they are loved and not forgotten. We are just a few young people making sure our neighbors are okay. We met some amazing people and families that we can’t wait to see again!
We could not have done this without the amazing teams from Ear to the Streets and Gud Neighbors of Hawthorne, all of our amazing donors, our volunteers, and our community!!
BIG THANK YOU to the amazing organizations that contributed:
@projectropa for donating an entire Toyota Tacoma truck full of clothes and shoes
@polospantry and @godspantry_org for all the canned goods
@projectmaskla for donating 150 masks
@waterdropla for donating 14 cases and 50 gallons of water
@hygienehelpla for 20 hygiene kits
and @lets.give, @streetwatchla, and @peoplespantryla for donating funds!
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