From donating food to making medical supplies, these nine local businesses are going above and beyond to help the community.
Giving back to the community is important to those who live in Santa Monica and its surrounding areas. During crises like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, people are striving to reach out and make things easier for local residents. In many cases, businesses and charitable organizations are leading the charge to lessen the strain for those who are unable to work during the pandemic. Here are a few companies that are giving back.
The Honest Company
The Honest Company, which was founded by actress Jessica Alba, is a wellness brand with the goal of empowering all types of people. The Honest Company is partnered with the charitable organization Baby2Baby, which provides impoverished children ages 0-12 with things like diapers, clothing, and all other necessities for daily living.
Since the start of COVID-19, the company has committed to donating 3 million diapers, 30,000 packs of wipes, and 20,000 personal care products with Baby2Baby. They already delivered 100,000 diapers and 100,000 wipes in March. These items are currently being distributed to family resource centers, homeless shelters, health clinics, and Head Start centers to families who are being most affected by the outbreak. The company is also matching their employees’ donations of up to $500 per person to a nonprofit of the employee’s choosing.
Image credit: Jordan Fischer
Santa Monica Farmer's Markets
This popular Santa Monica Farmer’s Market has multiple initiatives to help those in need. For example, they have several assistance programs, such as CalFresh and Market Match. CalFresh is a food stamp program that is accepted at all four farmer’s markets in Santa Monica. The program is meant to improve the quality of life for Californians by providing accessible means to healthy and nutritious foods. Market Match is a coupon-based organization that provides free coupons to buy produce and make it easier for Santa Monica residents to eat healthier.
In these unprecedented times, people who receive CalFresh or other vouchers will be able to obtain an extra $10 in vouchers weekly or monthly (as supplies last) at the Virginia Avenue Park/Pico farmer’s markets. (Note: these vouchers can only be used for produce and some nuts.) This has proven to be a great help—especially during the pandemic when people may not be working as much.
Locations: 155-199 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
2640 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90404
2200 Virginia Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Image credit: Westside Food Bank/Twitter
Westside Food Bank
The Westside Food Bank was founded in the early 1980s and is dedicated to ending hunger in Western Los Angeles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Westside Food Bank has been distributing more food than ever. They are currently accepting donations and doing food drives (including virtual ones!).
Location: 1710 22nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90404
SoCalGas
SoCalGas is a Southern California-based gas company with headquarters in Los Angeles. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they donated $10,000 to Feed Culver this past July and $25,000 to Homebody Industries’ Feed Hope Program in June. The donation from SoCalGas will provide 800 meals for those in need and help bring customers to family-owned restaurants, whose sales have been reduced due to the pandemic.
Feed Culver was formed specifically in response to COVID-19 in partnership with the Exchange Club of Culver City Charitable Foundation. The program launched in April and is serving between 70 and 180 meals daily. As of the end of July, this program has served more than 10,000 meals with the help of partners and volunteers.
Byte
Byte is a teeth alignment company in Santa Monica. In their efforts to help the Santa Monica community, Byte has been making and donating masks to protect against the coronavirus. Beyond donating masks, Byte is also allowing the use of their manufacturing facility to create face shields and even ventilator parts.
Location: 3435 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Image credit: acology.com
Acology
Acology is a medical-based store that began primarily for seniors but has since transformed into a place that sells medical, health, rehab, and fitness supplies for all. Due to its medical nature, Acology has started requesting donations. With every donation, the company will donate KN95 masks to local Santa Monica medical workers and first responders. Since there was a shortage at the beginning of the pandemic (and it could possibly happen again should the distributions go back down), it’s important that first responders and medical workers are able to access these supplies at a moment’s notice to keep the community safe and healthy.
Location: 1414 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Boos Boos Los Angeles
Created in Los Angeles, Boos Boos is a company that manufactures and sells masks to the public. An approved government contractor, it produces reusable, washable, non-surgical masks made out of 100% cotton. It currently supplies thousands of masks for government agencies and charitable organizations that facilitate distributions.
Credit: Two Hands Four Paws
Two Hands Four Paws Foundation
The Two Hands Four Paws Foundation (often shortened to 2H4P) is a nonprofit animal rehabilitation center that works to help furry friends recover from surgery, reduce muscle and arthritis pain, and more. From state-of-the-art treadmills and pools to therapies and treatments, it works to provide all pets with a healthy, pain-free life. Two Hands Four Paws has been featured in Huffington Post, Veterinary Practice News, and KTLA for its efforts. The foundation accepts donations, which helps to make these treatments accessible to all families.
Location: 2240 Federal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90064
Chrysalis
Chrysalis’ mission statement is to “change lives through jobs” and aims to help homeless and low-income individuals empower themselves through finding and retaining employment. Due to COVID-19 resulting in many people being out of work, this is more important than ever. Chrysalis has been helping the community for over three decades, helping to secure over 2,500 jobs and assisting more than 71,000 people. From resume training to practice interviews to helping candidates fill out online applications, this organization helps people land a job and prepare to enter the workforce.
Location: 1853 Lincoln Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90404
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