For most, the holidays are the time when you are surrounded by your loved ones, in the coziness of your home with your egg nog, figgy pudding and presents. And it’s times like these when you’re really grateful for all that you have. That’s why it’s around this time when I’m usually struck by the need to help the less fortunate. I know I should be like that without the reminder, but I’m usually a stingy bastard the other days of the year.

Anyhoo, L.A. Citybeat wrote about an organization called the Giving Spirit that made my Grinch heart grow three sizes!

Rather than volunteering at a soup kitchen, why not do it the Giving Spirit way and deliver “survival kits” directly to the homeless on the streets, under overpasses and in city parks? Talk to them and wish them a “Happy Holidays.” In other words, treat them like human beings rather than the usual way they are treated: with a downward gaze and quickly walking away.

TGS needs volunteers to show up today at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church to help assemble the survival kits containing essentials like blankets, food, water, sunscreen, thermal underwear, soap, and umbrellas. On Saturday morning, volunteers meet at the church, pack their cars and then set out for a predetermined area to distribute the bags.

From L.A. Citybeat:

[TGS chairman Tom] Bagamane also hopes you’ll hang out for a bit with the people you find and get to know them. ‘The homeless people in this city will astound you,’ he says. ‘The education [they’ve had], the number of veterans on the street, the number of women, the number of battered children… It will break your heart.’

If you miss this opportunity, there are still other ways you can help out.

Brentwood Presbyterian Church
12000 San Vicente Boulevard
Brentwood, California
Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Info, donations, and volunteering: Thegivingspirit.org.