Non-Profit Gives Local At-Risk Youth Their 'Best Day Ever'

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The sand at Manhattan Beach was packed with hundreds of smiling faces as the community came together to give at-risk youth the best day of their lives on Saturday.

The P.S. I Love You Foundation held its 21st annual Day at the Beach where volunteers had the opportunity to "adopt" a child for a day and participate in games and events and make lasting connections.

Patricia Jones, the founder of P.S. I Love You, said the day was all about love.

"It's a really interesting word because you're not taught it in school," Jones said. "But we bring it up all the time in the programs that we teach during class time. So today is the day for the community to give back. And for the kids to feel it."

This year's event was postponed, originally set to take place on Sept. 10, due to bad weather the first time around, but that didn't stop 300 kids and 300 adult mentors from coming out in full force to enjoy the day.

Charity Johnson, a mother who brought her two kids who have disabilities to the event, said she was so thankful for the event because it gave her children the opportunity to have fun in a safe environment.

"Having a kid with autism, life is very difficult," Johnson said. " You don't get to go out very much because he's constantly finding the most dangerous thing to do. [Here] I actually felt safe enough to let him out of my sight."

Johnson's son Liam, who has autism, spent most of his day swimming and playing with the sand soaking every dry shirt that was given to him by going back into the ocean for more. Johnson said she loved that the Day at the Beach exists because Liam had the time of his life.

Their family almost didn't attend the event, Johnson said, because it had been a busy week and she was exhausted. While looking fondly at her sons playing in the water, Johnson said she was so glad that she chose to come out.

"There are so many amazing foundations in the world that you just don't know about until someone throws it in your face," Johnson said. "I can't come to the beach with them because they're too much of a handful, so being able to do this with people who are dedicated to making him have a good day is special."

P.S. I Love You staff member Kelly Mulvihill, who previously volunteered for two years before this, said the best part of the Day at the Beach was making connections with kids who she came to love.

In previous years after the event, kids were able to write letters to their mentors and keep in touch and build lasting relationships with the people they met during the day. Mulvihill said that meaningful opportunity means the world to her and other mentors.

"You really do fall in love with who you have adopted for the day," Mulvihill said. "It's an amazing experience. It's amazing what they do for these kids."