A Far Bigger Picture

Here’s a special note from our Community Listener Grace from Pasadena, California who attended Big Sunday’s Spooky Saturday event. You can find more stories from Spooky Saturday and Big Sunday here.

For a long time now, I’ve had a complicated relationship with hope. I think if most of us are honest, we will admit that we have days — sometimes weeks, months, even years — when hope seems to be nothing more than a Pollyanna stand-in for self-delusion. As we get older, we watch as the dreams we were taught to believe in turn to dust, leaving nothing behind but a shadow that chills us to the core. Stuff happens to us that wasn’t in the original plan; in spite of our best efforts, life refuses to follow our carefully crafted scripts.

The world is full of broken hearts. What’s the point of hope?

I’m not sure I have an answer. But I have a story.

(more…)

Big Sunday’s Spooky Saturday

We love working with Big Sunday!

Last month, we spent an entire Saturday over at Big Sunday headquarters for Spooky Saturday event, an extra special Halloween party for kids and families from HomeSafe and Keen LA. More than 120 volunteers helped during the day with face-painting, family portraits, “trunk or treating,” an amazing haunted house, plus more candy than you could even imagine. Watch the video below for more of an inside look at the day’s happenings.

Learn more about upcoming Big Sunday events at bigsunday.org.

Big Sunday Weekend!

What a weekend!

Yesterday, we spent the day with one our newest partners, Big Sunday—the largest volunteer day-of-service in America. This incredible organization mobilized more than 50,000 people of all ages and all backgrounds who worked together at more than 500 different nonprofit sites in more than 100 different towns and cities across Southern California. All this past weekend. Wow!

How did we help? We sent out 7 Community Listeners—Merlin, Amy, Beth, Sally, Sarah, JB, and Owen—out to more than a dozen project sites in the Los Angeles metro area to capture the day on video. We got to meet some great people (including one of the creators of the TV show, “Friends,” Marta Kauffman) and see everyone coming together to serve their community.

Plus, we got a chance to listen to the hopes of Big Sunday volunteers and learn even more about communities across Los Angeles. You’ll get a chance to see those videos next week.

Check out some of our favorite moments from this weekend, and visit the Big Sunday YouTube Channel to see even more!