FV @ The Los Angeles Food Bank
As the recession has deeply impacted our economy, the demand for food assistance in local communities has skyrocketed. In need of food and aid, the Los Angeles Food Bank has partnered with charities and agencies to help alleviate hunger within our neighborhood and receive more than 39 million pounds of food and products to distribute. With the help of volunteers the LA Foodbank has been able to increase the distribution of food to families and individuals struggling to ease their hunger during these grueling times.
On Saturday March 13, 2010, Funk Volume had the privilege of volunteering at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Every week, the Food Bank receives thousands of food packages mounting up to 700,000 meals a week from local restaurant suppliers, packers, processors, and brokers that need to be sorted, cleaned, repackaged and distributed to families and individuals in need through charities. In order to assist this gleaning process, we were assigned to open, prepare and package canned foods for families and seniors in need. With the help of volunteers like us, close to 1 million people receive healthy meals each year.
One out of eight people in Los Angeles is at hungers risk and over 400,000 children in Los Angeles face hunger and with the increase of population within L.A. it will only become more difficult to help those in need. However, even with these difficult times, we should learn to embrace the act of volunteering and see it as a time of hope to build awareness within immediate communities. Making a difference within a community depends on the volunteer work of people like you and I and Funk Volume encourages you to make that change! Whether it’s visiting an elderly home, cleaning your neighborhood, or packaging food for those in need, take a hold of these opportunities and as Ghandi once put it, be the change you want to see in the world.
Funk Volume in the Community volunteers at a different organization each month. If you would like to join us, then join our Facebook group.
Turn it up,
Natalie
natalie@myfunkvolume.com
Funk Volume volunteers @ VCHC
Funk Volume in the Community has done it again. For our September event the Funk Volume team offered our volunteer services to the Venice Music Festival hosted by the Venice Community Housing Corporation. Although Funk Volume is a musically oriented organization, we are always happy to offer volunteer support to other worthy and noble associations which may or may not be involved with the instrumental and lyrically charged world.
The Venice Community Housing Corporation (VCHC) is one such worthy non-profit organization. The goal of the VCHC is to encourage the economic, social and racial diversity of the Venice community by maximizing affordable housing opportunities and offering other support programs and services to assist the low income population of Venice. It is nice to read and hear about the optimistic goals of non-profit organizations, however it was a pleasure to see that the VCHC really backs up their mission statement with effective programs and tangible results. Over the course of the day a number of former homeless families were courageous enough to get on the microphone and share their stories of struggle and perseverance, and how the VCHC was a vital part of their personal success in finding homes, jobs, and educational opportunities.
The Funk Volume team really exemplified the volunteer spirit at this event, showing that in the name of helping those less fortunate no task remains too much identified with the proletariat, as most of our work was done behind the scenes and out of the limelight. So thank you to everyone who came out and helped a worthy cause and thank you to the VCHC for their hard work and righteous ambitions. Remember, Funk Volume has a community service event every month so there is ample opportunity if anyone ever feels like giving back, and it’s always fun with us because there is always some funk with it.
Turn It Up!
Myke
myke@myfunkvolume.com
FV Volunteers at JUICE
On August 20th, Funk Volume was fortunate enough to participate in a gathering of musical and cultural exploration. The J.U.I.C.E program, Justice by Uniting in Creative Energy, a “weekly hip hop arts program that seeks to develop youth leadership and technical skills,” held their annual Danger Room Classic. The “Danger Room,” is in reference to the actual room where the B-Boy and MC battles actually went down. J.U.I.C.E is a non-profit program that meets weekly to support at-risk youth and promote personal growth and expression through the musical mediums.
The Funk Volume team helped in creating a positive hip hop atmosphere where B-Boys and Girls of all ages and cultural backgrounds felt free to express themselves through break dancing, music, and the art graffiti. The actual Danger Room was blown up by a number of break dancers that were in full effect and ready to show of their skills in the Bonnie and Clyde competition, which pitted couples against each other in a battle of break dancing creativity. Also in attendance were a number of DJs who provided ample beats and music ensuring a continuous stream of B-Boy classics.
Outside the building, there was an area set up for the sole purpose of graffiti. J.U.I.C.E is nice enough to provide a sizeable canvas (a couple walls) and even a number of spray cans to hand out to the would be and up and coming graffiti artists, who outside the walls of the program are vilified for their art, but inside the J.U.I.C.E walls are embraced and encouraged. Funk Volume was proud and happy to be able to offer their volunteer services to such a program and is looking forward to the next community service event.
If you would like to join FV in a day of community service, join our Facebook group.
Turn it up,
Myke
myke@myfunkvolume.com
