Valley Teen Gives Up Taylor Swift Ticket To Help Homeless

LOS ANGELES, CA — It’s the hottest ticket in town, but 17-year-old Rachael Rosenberg is giving up her Taylor Swift SoFi Stadium concert ticket to raise money for care packages for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County.

Up until 7 p.m. Friday, Rachael is accepting bids by email, and her ticket to Saturday’s concert will go to the highest bidder. The tax-deductible proceeds will go to Bundles of Kindness, the nonprofit Rachael created when she was 13.

The sacrifice isn’t something that surprises those who know Rachael. Even before she founded a nonprofit serving the homeless for her Bat Mitzvah project, she helped sort donations at a food pantry as a toddler and prepared and delivered Thanksgiving dinners to the homeless when she was 9, said her mother Deborah Rosenberg.

“Rachel has had, even as a young child, a longstanding interest in the homeless,” said Deborah Rosenberg.

For Rachel, the drive to help the people she sees struggling to survive in her own community comes with a sense of urgency.

“When I was 13 in 2018, I created Bundles of Kindness because I saw a serious need in the community,” she said. “We must not look the other way! People who are struggling with homelessness must be seen and must receive the help they need. After all, every single day people who are homeless die in Los Angeles.”

Rachael started out with a goal of creating 100 bundles, but she was quickly overwhelmed by the community support her cause garnered.

“I’ll never forget the first time a couple thousand pairs of socks ended up on our front porch,” said Deborah Rosenberg.

“Before I knew it, there were so many boxes, my family and I knew that Bundles of Kindness needed its own storage space,” added Rachel. “Fortunately, I have found donated storage space.”

With support from Hamakom Rabbis Stewart Vogel and Richard Camras, City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, corporate donors and countless volunteers, 1,200 care packs have gone out to people struggling with homelessness, Rachael said.

The care packages include blankets, hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, t-shirts, socks, underwear, flip flops, toiletries, facial wipes, dental hygiene products, menstrual products, sunscreen, individually wrapped shelf-stable food, water, juice, and information about community resources. Pet supplies, jackets, sweatshirts, and shoes are also available for those who need them.

“I distribute care packages through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, food pantries, safe parking programs, mobile showers, shelters, and directly to people who are living on the street,” she said. “Each time I hand a care package to someone in need, I take the time to acknowledge them as a person.”

That acknowledgment is so important, she said.

“The most difficult thing for me to do is to watch others walk past someone in need as if they are a ghost,” she said. “Sometimes the biggest gift that can be given to someone living on the street is a simple smile or a greeting.” The connection can be profound for volunteers such as Racheal too.

Through Bundles of Kindness, Rachael met a pregnant woman living in a motel with no supplies for the baby she would soon have. Rachael was able to rally support and deliver her diapers, onesies and other necessary supplies for a mother and newborn.

One day last winter, Rachael came across a man who fell asleep and awoke soaked from the sprinklers.

“He was shivering and cold and hungry, and his hands were completely red,” recalled Deborah Rosenberg. “So she took socks out of a care package and put them on his hands, and that’s when she started to include gloves.”

Rachael hopes to see her nonprofit expand to help more people experiencing homelessness while creating additional opportunities for people to help.

Bundles of Kindness is seeking volunteers, interns, and donations via the nonprofit’s Amazon Wish List. Churches, synagogues, or community organizations are all urged to volunteer, and opportunities to help are posted to Rachael’s Facebook page and Instagram. Volunteers as well as people bidding on her Taylor Swift ticket can email support@bundlesofkindness.org.

“So many people who are homeless struggle with the ability to advocate for themselves. I’m here to say that people who are homeless are first and foremost people,” Rachael said. “Let’s treat them as people and remember that they are just like us. They just need help.”