Not helpful. Some employees are respectful, others are rude, slightly sadistic, considering they…read moreare working with vulnerable populations.

I was fortunate to win a ticket from Yelp for Union Station Homeless Services' annual fundraiser…read more My ticket allowed me to participate virtually in the Roarin' 2021 Evening for the Station event and silent auction and also included a boxed meal from Porta Via. Union Station Homeless Services is a nonprofit committed to helping individuals and families facing hunger, poverty, and homelessness in the community by providing the tools and resources they need to rebuild their lives. Last year, during the pandemic, they helped over 1,000 people find homes and employment. The day before the fundraiser I stopped by their office to pick up my boxed meal from Porta Via. Porta Via is a casual Italian market, deli, bakery & restaurant located in Pasadena. My meal consisted of roasted vegetable skewers, orecchiette pesto pasta salad, and mixed greens with feta, cranberries with a light vinaigrette. (Grilled Salmon and Grilled Chicken Kabobs were the other options.) Everything was delicious! This year's Evening for the Station was a hybrid event held virtually and in person. The in-person function was held at the University Club Pasadena. Entertainment for the evening featured performances from the Gerry Rothschild Band and a variety dance show by Todd Elliot Entertainment. Union Station's CEO Anne Miskey told us about all the wonderful work the nonprofit does. Gerry Rothschild mentioned that he also volunteers for Union Station Homeless Services and serves lunches every Thursday. There were some technical difficulties with the live feed but, overall, it was a very enjoyable event. The music was good, the dancers were fantastic, and there were some great items available in the silent auction, which I did bid on. Thank you so much Megan & Yelp for the opportunity to enjoy this experience.

Looking for a place to volunteer your time or other useful resources? Well, this place helps…read morehomeless families get on their feet. I helped with a quick renovation project to get the home ready for a family of 11 to come and stay. There's not much else I can say because I was busy working my project, but now that I know about this place, I'd definitely like to help out more in the future if I'm around the Pasadena area!

Door of Hope is an amazing Foundation. True angels, helping families find housing or stay in their…read morecurrent home. They are easy to get ahold of and very responsive. Thank you Door of Hope!

I can't say enough wonderful things about Jesse and his crew. Always warm and welcoming AND…read moregrateful for the things I've been able to donate. They are providing a much needed service for the community as well as for recently emancipated foster youth, an endeavor close to my heart as a former social worker. I will always support and appreciate Journey House!

Correct website - journeyhouseyouth.org Journey House is…read morea vital, multi-service non-profit organization established in 1983 whose sole purpose is to assist emancipated foster youth over eighteen years of age to meet their initial independent living needs, to access adequate and appropriate housing, education, and employment, and to build their self-esteem through personalized attention and positive outreach services.

I waited 40 minutes with an appointment. Don't come here. They over booked. They don't communicate…read morewith you once you are here. They make you sign in even if you have an appointment and take people who have signed in before you without an appointment. They don't communicate that they are overbooked and still take your appointment. I will not come back.

Beautiful organization with a warm home to help pregnant mothers get on their feet in this cold…read moreworld. I dropped off car seats and look forward to making more future mother and baby donations

Great place that provides community resources for over 100 years. Has daily food distribution and…read morehas a lot of fresh groceries. Keep doing what you guys do!

Friends in deed is a sent God Place. They helped me when I…read moreneeded the most. Mrs. Stacey is a professional straightforward warming hand. I am forever thankful to them and the donors.

This is a great place to come volunteer if you're in the Pasadena area. It's located near the…read moreintersection of Pasadena Ave & California Blvd. Parking can be a little difficult since it's all street parking, but if they allow you to park in their driveway, then that's a win for you. My team dedicated a whole morning to cook a meal for the young patients here and their mothers. We decided to go with a Mexican meal because most of the families were Hispanic. We cooked a variety of enchiladas, with sides of rice and beans. And for dessert was a healthy fruit salad that we chopped up by ourselves. They provided us with the kitchen space and tools to do the cooking. Majority of the cooking tools were worn out, so next time I definitely want to donate some new ones to them. There was a kitchen in the front house and a back house, but both were very small. I suggest having a maximum of 6 people in each kitchen at a time, or it will get a little compact and chaotic. We had to take turns because we had a total of 25 people. During our downtime, we got to enjoy the property and interact with the families. I love what the Ronald McDonald House is doing for these families. It brings me absolute joy to volunteer and provide any aid that I can to our community. Our workplace is making this a once a month activity, but I definitely see myself coming back more often than that.

COME VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME, FOOD, EFFORTS or ANYTHING! The…read moreRonald McDonald House receives only 10% of its income needs from McDonalds organization. That is a large gap to fill. They need money, time, efforts or anything else you can give to help. The house shelters families whose kids are sick and receiving treatment at the hospital across the street. It helps families be near their children as they have operations, skin grafts, appendages mended, or cancer treated. Motel, hotels and inns within the area are neither cheap or as close. Call and see if you can fill a need. Run in one of their marathons.. anything.

This community center is INCREDIBLE! Every other week they feed almost 100 people. Their director…read moreVelma de la Rosa is one of the sweetest, kindest and passionate woman I have ever met. Thank you La Casa for all you do to better our community and all the lives you impact.

Love La Casa and the way they serve the surrounding community. They put on a COVID safe food…read moredistribution every month and open their preschool to the community as well. Such a great place!

Monday Night Mission is a group that feed the homeless on Skid Row. They initially started off by…read morefeeding the homeless on Monday nights and now go to feed the homeless Monday through Friday night. Monday Night Mission began as a group formed by Mel T. The group posts via facebook daily when they will meet, the time and place they gather. While they do not ask for donations, they are always readily accepted. The times that I went, a beautiful group of Sikh's brought food to feed the homeless. The group begins by meeting in a parking lot at a Burger King on the corner of Ceasar Chavez and Grand. There, sandwiches are prepared and organized. About an hour later, Mel T. holds a group meeting and offers information and instructions. There are people who are regulars and he appoints them specific duties. Everyone carpools down to Skid Row and parks on the street. Tables are set up and the feeding begins. It's all fairly organized. Afterwards, if there is any food left, the regulars will take a group into the Midnight Mission and distribute the food there. When it's all over, everyone goes back to Burger King (where permission is granted to leave cars there without fear of them being towed away) and there's a quick debriefing and a photo is taken of that night's group. I've met some pretty wonderful people volunteering with this group. I left for personal reasons. Anyone going should be made aware that you're going into skid row late at night, and not everyone will be happy to see you. You might make some connection with the homeless, but only if you're a regular. I want to be able to serve the homeless still, but on a safer level and to a greater capacity then just waiting in the back of a line to be called up to hand someone food for 5 minutes. In January of 2013 there was a drug resistant strain of TB that broke out among the homeless population in downtown Los Angeles. I don't know how the breakout is doing now, but it's good to be aware of what exposure you're up against. Also, Mel T. will let you know that you're going into "the most dangerous part of the country, not far from crack alley, shootings and stabbings are common". You have been warned. I believe in acts of kindness towards others, I believe in not passing judgement, and I also believe in my own safety. My two star rating stands, and while I don't want to discourage anyone ever from volunteering to help the homeless in downtown Los Angeles I do believe that there are better ways.

What a life changing and eye opening experience. I've never volunteered much in my life but…read morerecently I looked into finding a place to do some goodwill and Monday night missions came up in my yelp search. You need to connect with the group on Facebook and let them know you are coming. They meet at 7:30 pm. I met some friendly and interesting people during the sandwich making. Mel had a meeting in the parking lot letting everyone know how it was going to be when we got to Skid Row. There are strict rules to follow for your own safety so please pay attention. I never felt in danger at any time and was quite amazed at the people I saw skid row. They had genuine smiles on their faces, good manners and a lot, not all, appeared healthy looking. Some were young and if you didn't see them on skid row you would never know they were homeless. The people on skid row still have their souls and it was beautiful to witness and I couldn't help but think of the Bible verse "so the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. The people on skid row were not hungry for food or greedy. They're just people that need shelter, a shower and someone to lean on. Monday Night Mission is doing something to make the world a better place and hopefully I'll be a better person after my experience on skid row tonight. Mel can be harsh with his words but I'll take that any day over someone who might not have his passion. He is clearly dedicated and is fighting for a good cause.