Look To The Stars News: Donal Logue

Celebrities Support The Los Angeles Mission On Christmas Eve

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:30:00 -0000

Christmas Eve is a time for presents and Holiday cheer, and Skid Row was no different than any other neighborhood Thursday as the Los Angeles Mission served food and gifts to thousands of guests.

Thanks to donations from JAKKS Pacific and Disney as well as from other companies and individuals, children walked or toddled away with toys, games and other Christmas gifts. Everyone was given a new jacket thanks to One Warm Coat and Aéropostale.

Stars that helped at the Los Angeles Mission on Thursday included Kate Linder, Bonnie Hunt, Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), Roxy Olin (Brothers and Sisters), Carolyn Hennesy (Cougartown), Stephanie Pratt (The Hills), Boo Boo Stewart (Twilight Eclipse), Donal Logue (The Patriot), Gilles Marini (Sex and the City), Victor Webster (Melrose Place), Rick Yune (Ninja Assassin), and Jeremy London (Rain from Stars).

“We love Christmas at the Los Angeles Mission,” said Herb Smith, President of the Los Angeles Mission. “Just to see the joy in the eyes of the children is enough, but the appreciation of parents is gratifying as well. With high unemployment and economic distress, children’s desires are often overlooked as stretched dollars go to food and essentials. This event helps those families a lot.”

The holidays are a time of blessings, and with the blessings of many supporters the Mission was able to provide about 3,000 thousand Christmas dinners to the homeless, hand out thousands of toys to hundreds of children, and provide Christmas cheer to both guests and volunteers.

“JAKKS Pacific is proud to again support the efforts of the LA Mission this holiday season by providing our JAKKS Cares Crew of volunteers and a donation of toys for their Christmas Eve event,” said Genna Rosenberg, SVP of Corporate Communications, Investor Relations & Philanthropy. “There are so many people in need, more than ever before, and the work of the LA Mission is vital to our community. Through our partnership with LA Mission, we hope to bring the gift of a smile to many children’s faces on Christmas Eve.”

In addition to the gifts, Santa greeted the children, and there was snow flurries flying on the main street of Skid Row. New Leash on Life “Lend a Paw” dogs were on hand to visit with the Mission’s guests. The therapy dogs were at one time “homeless” themselves – having been rescued and trained to provide services to people in need.

The Los Angeles Mission highlighted a new way to donate to the organization. Text2Give allows cell phone users to text the word gift to 40579, and make a one-time donation of $5.00 to the Mission. Users can make up to 5 donations a month.

Thursday’s menu included roast chicken, tasty glazed ham and asparagus roll, 3-cheese macaroni, mixed vegetables, dinner rolls, butter and jelly. Dessert was pie.

Christmas Eve morning started early for the staff and volunteers and the Mission. There were last minute gift donations to wrap, and the big dinner to prepare. Starting at about 6:00 AM Fifth Street from Wall Street to San Pedro was closed to vehicular traffic and the street set up started.

“Many service providers to the homeless in Los Angeles are seeing increases in the number of people coming for help,” said Smith. “We track a number of indicators, and one of those is the number of meals we serve. We are providing about 8-10 percent more meals now than we were a year ago – nearly 600,000 meals in all. More people are coming for food boxes as well – people who may have a place to live, but their income isn’t enough to pay rent and utilities and provide sufficient food. We provide more than a meal – food is obviously important, but we want to assist in those on the street by helping them restore their lives to something better. The Los Angeles Mission is doing everything it can to help – but our resources are reduced as well.”

“Our donors make it possible to help this community,” Smith continued. “But we know a difficult economy makes it hard to make the decision to give money to a charity. We thank those who have continued to support the work here on Skid Row.”

Many who came to Wednesday’s event live in temporary housing in the Skid Row area, others in shelters, and many came from the streets. All are greeted by staff and volunteers with love and served a hearty meal and given holiday treats. As they waited to be seated and served, the guests enjoyed holiday music from a number of local musical groups.

Stars To Feed The Homeless On Christmas Eve

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:30:00 -0000

A host of stars will be at the Los Angeles Mission on Christmas Eve to help spread good will for the holiday season.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will join Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), Roxy Olin (Brothers and Sisters), Carolyn Hennesy (Cougartown), Stephanie Pratt (The Hills), Boo Boo Stewart (Twilight Eclipse), Donal Logue (The Patriot), Gilles Marini (Sex and the City), Victor Webster (Melrose Place), Rick Yune (Ninja Assassin), Jeremy London (Rain from Stars), and of course Santa at the Mission to feed the homeless.

Tough economic times hit the poor and homeless in countless ways – and at Christmas time the impact can be heartbreaking. Not enough money for necessities means not enough for toys for the children either.

The Los Angeles Mission Christmas Eve Event will provide some relief for families and children with generous donations of thousands of toys and other gifts that will be distributed that day – including thousands of coats for men, women and children. Hundreds of volunteers from the entertainment industry, political leaders and others will bring the joy of the season to Skid Row.

The event starts at 11am on December 24 on the corner of Fifth and Wall Street in LA.

Celebrities Help To Feed The Homeless For Thanksgiving

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0000

A host of stars and famous faces turned out in Los Angeles on Wednesday to give the homeless a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings.

California unemployment hit 12.5 percent in October, the US Department of Agriculture says more people are “food insecure” than ever before and more homeless than ever are eating meals at the Los Angeles Mission.

At the annual Thanksgiving event at the Los Angeles Mission on Wednesday, Nov. 25, food insecurity was apparent as thousands came for a festive holiday meal with all the trimmings. Each year for the past 17 years, the Mission has served Thanksgiving dinner for people who could use a meal. This year more people than ever before are in need of this free dinner.

Meals were served by Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, who along with his wife Anne, hosted the event for the fifth year in a row. They were joined by hundreds of volunteers from the entertainment industry, government, local businesses, and community members.

Kirk and Anne Douglas are the founders of the Anne Douglas Center at the Los Angeles Mission. The Anne Douglas Center provides a place of respite for women who want to learn the skills necessary to a successful transition from life on the street.

“My wife has been trying to help the women that have been forced onto the streets, and she is determined to give them a better life through the Anne Douglas Center where they have programs that improve and rebuild their lives,” said actor Kirk Douglas. “We gladly come to serve men and women at Thanksgiving time to give them a good meal and strengthen their desire for a brighter future.”

“We’ve served 580-thousand meals in the last 12 months, an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous year,” said Herb Smith, President of the Los Angeles Mission. Everyone knows the Los Angeles Mission has celebrities come down and serve meals for the holidays, but we are more than just meals. The Mission works daily to save the lives and then restore the dignity of hundreds of homeless and poor men, women and children."

The Wednesday event was the culmination of thousands of hours of volunteer and staff preparation. Food was prepared in advance, and then early Wednesday the kitchen went into get-it-all-ready frenzy. More than a ton of turkey, 750 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes, 90 gallons of country gravy, 800 pounds of mixed vegetables, 400 pounds of cranberry relish, 3,500 dinner rolls and 440 pumpkin pies were prepared and delivered to the hungry guests.

Celebrities who turned out included Kate Linder, Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), Andrea Bowen (Desperate Housewives), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), Nora Zehetner (Greys Anatomy), Donal Logue (Patriot), Booboo Stewart (The Twilight Saga – Eclipse), Naya Rivera (Glee), Carolyn Hennesy (Cougartown), Carmine Giovinazzo (CSI-NY), Jeremy London (Rain from Stars), Erin Cummings (Dollhouse), Julia Jones (The Twilight Saga – Eclipse), Zuleikha Robinson (Lost), Tania Gunadi (Aaron Stone), Olesya Rulin (High School Musical), Taylor Spreitler (Days of Our Lives), Katherine Boecher (The Spy Next Door), Lucas Behnken (Everwood), Debby Ryan (The Suite Life on Deck), Lauren Storm (I Love You Beth Cooper), Kenyon Glover (The Chicago 8), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congress Members Maxine Waters and David Dreier, Police Chief Charlie Beck, Sheriff Lee Baca, and others.

At 6am, Fifth Street from Wall Street to San Pedro was closed to vehicular traffic, tents were set up, chairs and tables prepared, and the entire scene was decorated for the festivities.

The foot washing tent is a big draw for the Mission’s homeless guests. Often the homeless have foot problems that go undetected. Physicians, nurses and volunteers from the Los Angeles Christian Health Centers (formerly the Los Angeles Mission Community Clinic) provided this special treat. Clinic officials offer examinations and evaluations, and even do minor procedures that make guests more comfortable.

California State University Long Beach students and faculty members from the department of Communication Disorders at provided speech and Language screenings for children and adults at Wednesday’s event.

Donations from a variety of businesses and organizations made the event possible. The Morongo Tribe of Mission Indians donated turkey, Bonerts Slice of Pie and Jessie Lord Pie Company the dessert, water came from the High Performance H2O Company and the Gideons brought bibles. There was candy for everyone, donated by students at the Suzanne Middle School in Walnut. The students collected Halloween candy, and bagged it up for distribution. 5,000 bags totaling nearly 1,000 pounds of candy were donated.

For more than70 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served the people of Skid Row, providing emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing, as well as professional medical and dental services. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs including education, job training/placement, transitional housing and counseling. For additional information about the Los Angeles Mission go to www.losangelesmission.org.

Look To The Stars News: Donal Logue

Celebrities Support The Los Angeles Mission On Christmas Eve

Related past articles

Stars To Feed The Homeless On Christmas Eve

Related past articles

Celebrities Help To Feed The Homeless For Thanksgiving

Related past articles