Hi All,

I want to forward on the opportunity below to give to a truly amazing organization — The Giving Spirit.  The founder, Tom Bagamane, is a personal friend of mine and his passion for helping the homeless in LA is boundless.  While the organization is required to give $.95 for every donated dollar to the homeless, over the years they have achieved a donation rate of at least $.97 to the dollar.  The vast majority of the work is done through volunteers, which makes it an incredible community project.  In fact, a team at the ad agency I was working at last year donated their time to help build the survival kits that The Giving Spirit provides to over 1,000 homeless in LA.

Take a read below – there is lots of great information.  You might find the profile of today's homeless to be a bit surprising - very much like you and me!

Whether you can donate finances (which would be amazing!), volunteer to put together the survival kits, or simply send them light for an abundant process, I'm positive The Giving Spirit would be forever grateful. 

It's also a great opportunity for corporate organizations to give and/or endorse as a community outreach program for teams to volunteer, so please feel free to pass along the opportunity to any companies you may be involved with.

Take care, and if you have any questions re: The Giving Spirit, please don’t hesitate to ask.

All the best,
Nancy


------ Forwarded Message
From: "tom bagamane" <tbagamane@hotmail.com>
Subject: How can you help 1300 people in 72 hours? A reminder from The Giving Spirit

Dear friends of The Giving Spirit –
 
In two short weeks volunteers from all over the country will gather in LA to personally serve 1350 homeless children, women and men.
 
We hope…
 
As of today, The Giving Spirit (www.thegivingspirit.org) is well short of our goal to raise $90,000 to build and deliver survival kits to 1250 homeless adults and 100 homeless toddlers.  We have raised only $45,000 with just two weeks to go.  We need your help!
 
As LA’s annual homeless population reaches 300,000 – with 88,000 on any given night looking for one of 16,000 beds - we won’t have to look far to find those in desperate need of your kindness and generosity.
 
Know the profile of LA’s homeless? They resemble us more than you think…
 

• Recent estimates of American homelessness indicate that the average age is nine and the fastest growing segment is children under 12.
• Families, typically headed by single moms, represent a growing percentage of LA’s homeless - nightly estimates are up to 43%.
• Women represent approximately 24.5% of the overall homeless population.
• The most frequent source of income before the onset of homelessness is a job.
• 17% of homeless adults report a history of active military service.  This is nearly double the 9% rate for the rest of the county.
• 42% of homeless residents report some type of disability - double the disability rate for LA County.

 
Children, single-moms, veterans, families, the disabled and fellow workers.  Not exactly what you thought, huh?
 
Can you imagine not having clean diapers for your baby, socks to keep your feet warm, water to quench your thirst or have no clue as to where your next meal is coming from? Let us pray we never will. However, here in LA there are tens of thousands of living examples of how real an existence this is for many unfortunate souls. Our kits, filled with over 70 items, gives them sustenance, survival and hope.  
 
For those of you who have already sent your donation in, thank you very, very much. Please forward this on and challenge your company, your friends and your families to join you. If you would like to gift someone a few kits as/or in lieu of a holiday gift, we will send them a card on your behalf (go to - www.thegivingspirit.com/how_you_can_help.html#Give_a_gift.
 
We are mandated to return a minimum of $.95 of every donated dollar directly and personally to the homeless.  Our outreach is only limited by the funds we raise. If your donation is on the way, please let us know the amount of your pledge so we can budget accordingly. We spend everything we raise…every extra dollar spreads your kindnesses…please give generously.
 
Donate online at www.thegivingspirit.org <http://www.thegivingspirit.org/> -- or make out your check to The Giving Spirit and mail it to:
The Giving Spirit, 11908 Montana Ave. #205 LA, CA 90049.
 
December 14th-17th is when it all happens. Please sign-up to volunteer (tgsvolunteer06@sbcglobal.net), and see how your generous gift impacts the lives of 1350 homeless people and the hundreds of volunteers who reach out to the forgotten.  All in 72 hours.
 
In closing, a few words from those same volunteers…
 
We couldn’t find many people at first to give the ten (kits) to.  But as we were driving along San  Julien Street, we found a lady who didn’t have anything. We gave her our first kit and she was so grateful. She hugged me and said “I just asked God to help me out. I think you are His messenger.” To see the look on her face was amazing. A few minutes after that, a different lady asked for some spare change. We told her we had something better than change for her and handed her our second kit. She couldn’t believe we were giving her an entire suitcase of goods. “This is all for me?” She cried. "God bless you." It’s unbelievable to think one bag made such a big difference in her life... Talia N. (age 12)
 
I think that what you, and we as volunteers for The Giving Spirit, do for communities in need is so wonderful and necessary in the lives we collectively touch.  Being involved with this outreach program is the greatest thing I've ever done and I always want to be a part of it. I believe what we do means everything to some of these people and I believe they remember kindness like this all their lives.  Even if some people forget about us by the time their bag runs empty, they know that they were given that bag by someone who took the time to acknowledge their existence and in a sense say, "You are a human being and you matter, regardless of your circumstance.  I care about you." Sentiments like that always stay with me.  Gets me in the heart every time…Lisa R.
 
Peace, Godspeed and Happy Holidays to you and your good families. Thank you for your abundant kindness and generosity.
 
Tom
 
Tom Bagamane
Chairman
The Giving Spirit

Hello All!

As the holiday shopping sprees are winding up (or for some just getting started!), I'd like to highly recommend buying (red).

What's red?  Red is a business idea that supports getting medicine to people with AIDS in Africa.  Did you know that in some locations, 1/3 of the population in Africa is infected with HIV?  One out of every three!  Imagine if that were true in your family, circle of friends or work.  Wow.

How does it work?  Brands like the Gap, Motorola, American Express, Emporio Armani, Converse and Apple are creating and selling (red) products.  And, for every (red) product sold, the companies are giving a portion of the profits directly toward purchasing and distributing medicine for HIV infected people in Africa.

People from Bono to Oprah to Bill & Melinda Gates are involved.  And the work they're doing and the opportunity for life they're giving people is pretty powerful.

Check out the website at: http://www.joinred.com/manifesto.asp

The products are great and, by buying something you'll love, you'll be doing your part in changing the world.  Pretty easy, huh?

For some of you, this might be old news.  If so, I hope it's a great reminder.  For others, it might be totally new.  Please check it out.

Sending you all lots of love and an inspi(red) holiday season!

Nancy