New and Improved Bags!
We are constantly looking to improve the contents of the bags, both by talking to people on the street to find out what they need and also looking for the best deals we can find on products.
We’ve added masks and hand sanitizer to the bags, given Covid. And through a wonderful donation, we’ve been able to add feminine hygiene products. So we are now creating bags for females (the colored bags) and males (the neutral bags.)
In winter, we are again buying extra large hoodies to hand out to people who do not have a coat.
Here is a photo of the bags and our updated contents. Every donation helps! Please consider donating or sharing our info with others! Thank you!
Always thankful for help!
We had another enjoyable ‘bag filling day’ with a group who came by to help. Many thanks to Matt, Kylee, Nathan and Monique for helping create bags. The process goes much faster, obviously, when we have more than one person. These wonderful folks were the first to help make both “male” and “female” bags, as well as add masks and other new items. The bags are getting big and plentiful!
Thanks also for all the continued donations. The need is real and overwhelming and your support is invaluable.
New Products in our bags
I’m excited to report we have expanded what is in “the bag.”
First, we are now including three masks, two body wipes and two garbage bags. The first two were impossible to find, at least in bulk, until last month. Now they are more readily available and I could find enough for our product.
Even more important, due to the work of a few supporters of the charity, we are now including feminine hygiene products in bags. When I was first approached about this, I was excited by the idea. But knew it would mean being able to differentiate the bags. In stepped a wonderful friend, Gloria Escobar, who is creating, with friends of hers, large, strong bags that are made with colored fabric. So when we fill the bags, we can do the original cream colored bags for males and the bags of colored fabric for females. This is an awesome development. Thanks Gloria and everyone!
Two kinds of bags!
60 Bags Downtown
My good friend Colleen and her family, Neal and Griffin, were gracious enough to stop by yesterday and help fill bags. What would have taken me almost 4 hours took 50 minutes. They filled almost 100 bags. (When people are filling bags, my job is to keep the product stocked and deal with the enormous amount of detritus created by the boxes involved.)
Thanks Colleen, Griffin and Neal!
Thus, I was able to hand out 60 bags downtown this morning. I bought this nifty cart that enables me to distribute much faster. It likes to flip over when it hits a rock but after a couple of wrecks, I figured it out.
I met a lot of wonderful people this morning. It amazes me how so many people living in tents on the sidewalk can be upbeat and positive. They continue to affect my perspective on life. We can find thanks even in such difficult times.
Thanks for subscribing to the blog! Please help us get the word out. Along with various donations, we have a few people who are contributing monthly. 30 dollars a month will create one bag a month, a huge help.
Our First Media Piece
Brandon Hensley of the Crescenta Valley Weekly wrote a lovely piece about Bags and Grace. Click the link below!
Sunday Delivery
Last Tuesday evening I was driving through Hollywood. I had bags in my truck so stopped at a stretch of tents on the sidewalk just south of Sunset Blvd. As I was handing out bags and talking to some of the guys, I connected with one fellow, Sean, who didn’t even want a bag ("I have plenty," he said… this is a man living in a tent on the street… perspective, right?) We talked for a while and he told me they really needed ice. Our charity is not often able to give much fresh food because we never know day to day if or how many bags we can give out. But when I connect with someone this way and know they will be in a location for a while, then we can provide fresh food along with the contents of each bag. So I promised Sean I would bring ice on Sunday.
Yesterday I was able to get two ice chests full of ice, bags of fresh apples and oranges, a lot of bread, meats, cheeses, peanut butter and jelly, all to make sandwiches, as well as another round of our bags. I went with Rob, one of the members of our board, and we had a good time giving everything out as well as talking to the men and women on this section of sidewalk. Sean was there, smiling and gracious just like before.
It’s only a drop in the bucket. New numbers just came out that the homeless population in LA has grown to 66,000. It’s astounding. Every time I give out bags (we gave out 30 this morning) I turn the corner and see another long stretch of tents. And I’m out of bags.
Please donate if you can. Even 30 dollars will create one bag.
We’re up and running!
Thanks so much for the support so far. We’ve only done a soft launch, yet word is spreading and we have donations coming in, enough to buy a lot more product to create more bags. The photo below is of 50 bags we created this afternoon, along with a shot of the products we currently are using for the bags. These particular bags will go to a group of people I met that live on and near Hollywood Blvd. I had a great experience meeting these folks the other night; I’ll relate it Sunday after I do the delivery.
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50 bags and the contents of each bag