It’s a match! Thank you all who sent our matching grant appeal over the top.  The friends who put up $4,000 with the hope of raising $8,000 are blown away.  Ninety-six individuals and faith groups, from Santa Clarita to Newport Beach, from Inglewood to Claremont responded, turning $4,000 into $13,110.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you! Your generous response encourages us in this time of decreased institutional funding and increasing hardship. Together, we can continue to provide food, prevent eviction, and purchase equipment for children with special needs.  (Yesterday word came of triplets so tiny their vulnerable immune systems require all-new clothing, car seats, and bassinets.)  Together, we can encourage our neighbors to hope. How did this happen? Because “AIN does what we can’t.” –a caring Network member Because our network makes a difference: “I’m a Clinical Social Worker at LAC+USC Medical Center and I’ve experienced first-hand how beneficial Angel Interfaith Network is to the county (y’all helped one of my patients as recently as last week, providing some rental assistance for a gentleman very much in need). . . .So enclosed is a li’l token of my sincere gratitude.  I know it’s not much, but it’s from the heart . . . thank you for all of your generosity and the support you provide to the neediest among us.  It is a genuine pleasure to get to work with your fantastic agency . . . . .” You took the ball and ran with it!  And you understood that these are still difficult times, and we need to sustain our momentum, so-- Two churches sent their regular contributions early San Marino Community Church is making auction baskets for our annual fundraiser and donating the use of their hall for a benefit tea on May 23rd Another church is planning a local restaurant night A small group is offering a tamale making class to benefit AIN A number of you became Sustaining Angels One of you is throwing a benefit birthday party for a friend But AIN “does not live by bread alone,” so you also responded by volunteering: Malcolm, Belinda and Marcia are helping in the office for awhile. Carol is delivering baby baskets. James “de-bugged” our computer network If you’d like to join this “band of Angels,” call Ann Mills at 626-799-2858 or e-mail ann@angelinterfaith.net. In the multitude of people working to keep the fabric of our community together, AIN has a unique stitch to offer:  We mend.  One family at a time.  And we accomplish this with many sets of hands and hearts working as one, as God has called and gifted each one of us.
Tea Around the Year Sunday, May 23rd, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at San Marino Community Church we will be hosting a benefit tea. Volunteer hostesses set a table reflecting their favorite holiday or season, prepare tea and treats that fit their theme, and invite some friends to share it with them. There will be a special table for girls ages 5-12 with treats and a craft. Come and enjoy the lovely table settings and seasonal treats. Suggested donation $40 for adults, $30 for children.  If you would like to host a table or receive an invitation please contact Carol Jung, cajymj@aol.com or Karen Bading, KVBading@earthlink.net or call Karen at 626-799-7659.
Learn to make Tamales! On April 17th (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) the Bonsai group of Calvary Presbyterian is sponsoring "Learn to Make Tamales" fundraiser benefiting Angel Interfaith Network. We have some experts lined up to give all students a true hands-on experience. You will learn to make the dough, form the corn-wrapped dumplings and make a savory red chili sauce. You will go home with tamales ready to steam. Space is limited to ensure a quality experience for attendees. Only 11 spots remain. A $50 donation benefiting AIN is suggested. The class will take place at Calvary (1050 Fremont Ave., So. Pasadena). To register, or for more information email Janna_Philpot@yahoo.com.
H1N1 in Decline as Holiday Season Begins With the beginning of the holiday season, welcome news of recent declines locally and nationally in H1N1 flu cases is being felt at L.A. County + USC Medical Center. This comes after concerns peaked in late October over the capacity of the 600 bed facility to respond to serious overcrowding resulting in part from the pandemic. It was also a time when heightened demand for the H1N1 vaccine among high risk groups locally exceeded supplies. Stricter visitation guidelines remain in place at the hospital, including restrictions on visits to inpatient care units by children under 16 unless approved by a nurse or physician caring for the patient.  One reason for continued heightened concern is that common seasonal flu normally peaks in January or February. In October the County Board of Supervisors, alarmed by reports of overcrowding, directed LAC + USC to transfer as many patients as necessary to ensure that the ER maintained an average of no more than 13 patients, waiting no more than 11 hours for admission.  Supervisor Gloria Molina initiated a call for the transfers, saying that public safety was at stake.  The hospital responded by diverting patients to Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey as well as to St. Vincent Medical Center, among the area private hospitals that honors Medi-Cal under contract with LAC + USC.  Recent progress toward reopening Martin Luther King Medical Center points to better prospects in the years ahead and less demand on L.A. County + USC Medical Center. Paul Holtom, Associate Professor of Medicine and Orthopaedics on the USC Health Sciences campus, urged people to get the seasonal flu vaccine and to take sensible precautions.  He also had some sound holiday advice.  “If you’re sick, with a high fever, send a nice note to the family but don’t go and infect everyone else.”
Señor Fish an AIN Oasis While Los Angeles baked in temperatures over the century mark and nearby mountains went up in smoke, new and old friends of Angel Interfaith Network found a welcome oasis at the Señor Fish Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, August 30th.  The romantic ballads of Chuy Perez opened the benefit concert, offering a fitting welcome for early arrivals followed by tasty light refreshments.  Later, the women of In Lak Ech offered their meso-American poetry accompanied by drums and flutes.  The infectious rhythms of Sonsoles had LAC + USC social workers and others on their feet dancing later on.  Topping it all off, near the end of the evening was the spirited southern Veracruz son jaracho music of Las Cafeteras.  These were just highlights of a rich and varied lineup of artists inside. Welcome breezes and a fountain in the outdoor patio lured a number of guests outside during the evening to enjoy the artwork on display by the Lilliflor Collective Studios. Credit for organizing the successful event goes to AIN Assistant Network Coordinator Raquel Salinas.  She drew upon her broad contacts in the activist arts community of Los Angeles to showcase a number of artists who generously donated their talent for the sake of Angel Interfaith Network and the patient families we serve.  Also donating her time was the gracious, award-winning Master of Ceremonies, Kikey Castillo.  Jose Ramirez made the valuable contribution of his art for use in online and print publicity materials and was in the audience as well.  Over a hundred guests enjoyed the festivities over the course of the evening, including a number of students and others interested in volunteering for AIN.  Our heartfelt thanks to all the musicians, artists, volunteers and to Señor Fish Restaurant for contributing to the success of the evening. If  L.A. heat, fires or other distractions caused you to miss the opportunity to attend the Tardeada / Benefit Concert this year, Raquel says she would like to make this an annual event.  Let’s encourage that!
Raquel Salinas (AIN) and MC Kikey Castillo	Gloria Estrada and La Santa Cecilia
La Santa Cecilia	Marisol with La Santa Cecilia
Oso of La Santa Cecilia	Oso and Hugo, La Santa Cecilia
Online AIN Discoveries Have you discovered the new Facebook page for Angel Interfaith Network yet?  Take this opportunity to find it here and become a fan.  We have aspiring Eagle Scout Kevin Tan of Troop # 7 (South Pasadena), pictured here, to thank for helping us to discover the possibilities of social networking as we seek to attract young volunteers.  Assigned the ambitious project of designing and launching a “youth volunteer program” for AIN, Kevin helped us discover how useful a Facebook page could be in communicating with a new audience.  His timing was perfect. At the same time the board of Angel Interfaith Network was engaged in listening, learning and sharing experiences as it considered how our organization could adapt to changing times.  How do we better serve patient families, communicate our story to supporters and thrive in a rapidly changing and challenging environment?  They tell us that “baby boomers” volunteer in order to change the status quo, while “Generation X” wants to develop professionally and acquire skills through volunteer work.  “Millenials” and younger are another story altogether!  It’s not surprising that preferred styles of communication differ as well. We decided that Facebook was the perfect vehicle to reintroduce our supporters to GoodSearch and GoodShop.  Over the past year GoodSearch and GoodShop have been a modest source of income for AIN.  The Yahoo-based search engine contributes to AIN every time a user naming “Angel Interfaith Network” as its charity of choice uses it to conduct online searches or to shop online.  We’re hoping that our new Facebook constituency is one ready to adapt its online activity to benefit AIN and the patients of LAC + USC Medical Center.  Click here to learn more about GoodSearch and GoodShop and how easy it is to use.    Another recent experience inspired a longtime AIN supporter to envision a program he calls “Desktop Angels.”  We needed to find a bunkbed in a hurry for the family of a young girl with leukemia forced to move in with family in a distant end of the county.  The volunteer put out word to contacts to search online through Craigslist and other sites to find out what was available.  In no time, the bunkbed was obtained and costs associated with it were covered.  We know there are others out there ready and willing to conduct similar searches when a need arises.  Call us at 626-799-2858 if this form of volunteer service interests you.  You can earn your wings as a “Desktop Angel” right at home! Now in its 21st year of service to patients and families of L.A. County + USC Medical Center, AIN looks to you to help us to successfully negotiate the promises and perils of the 21st century!
Extreme Poverty in L.A. If Skid Row of downtown Los Angeles is a tragic “ground zero” for a local escalation in poverty and homelessness, can L.A. County + USC Medical Center be far behind? In “A Profile of L.A.’s Poor in Turbulent Times” (January, 2009) United Way reports that the number of “extreme poor” in L.A. County roughly matches the total population of Washington D.C. and is greater than the total populations of Seattle, Las Vegas or Miami.  “Extreme poverty” translates as those earning below 50% of the federal poverty level.  That represented some 583,000 people in L.A. County in 2007, and a staggering 10% of the population in East Los Angeles. The Midnight Mission, Los Angeles Mission and Union Rescue Mission all reported a sharp increase in the number of families seeking their services in a story for the Los Angeles Downtown News last November.  According to Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, families are one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population in L.A. County.  The 2007 Homeless Count conducted by the agency found a total of 13,618 families on the streets of greater Los Angeles.  Results from the count conducted last month will not be available until summer, but anecdotal evidence suggests a sizable increase in the number of homeless families.  All of that helps to put Angel Interfaith Network service data for 2008 in some perspective.  With only slightly more resources available to us during the year, AIN made 1,096 service deliveries to more than 679 families and at least 1,312 individuals.  In dollars, that represented $116,148 worth of in-kind goods distributed out of the $$133,083 received during the year.  Patient families we serve from the L.A. County + USC Healthcare Network and those referred by community partners make up only a slice from the overall L.A. County population living in “extreme poverty.”  With your help, we direct critical support and pastoral care to situations of acute need.  As the economic climate grows more challenging in 2009, we are determined to meet those challenges with timely, concrete demonstration that there is a community that cares.
Although the official "opening" of the NEW LAC + USC Medical Center was postponed from 10/17 to 11/7, there was a festive welcome and tour for L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina on Saturday, October 4th. Click here to see photos. Pictured at right are Flora Molayem, LAC + USC Department of Social Work, Pete Delgado - CEO LAC + USC Helthcare Network, Gloria Molina, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
laundry baskets, bassinets, cribs, sleepers, baby wipes, wash cloths, towels, twin beds