West Hollywood City Will Engage Community In Martin Luther King Jr. Day Of Service

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

January 7, 2021

In January 2021, the City of West Hollywood will continue its tradition of joining hundreds of communities across the country in a National Day of Service to commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday by providing an opportunity for community members to make an impact locally with a donation drive for people who are experiencing homelessness.

The City of West Hollywood, in partnership with West Hollywood Elementary and Friends of West Hollywood Elementary (FOWHE), will be collecting monetary and gift card donations to support new socks, blankets, and sleeping bags for the City’s West Hollywood Homeless Initiative, which partners closely with nonprofit service providers, the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, and Los Angeles County agencies to provide a wide variety of services aimed at reducing homelessness and supporting community members who are experiencing homelessness.

This year’s City of West Hollywood Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service activity reflects the desire of students from West Hollywood Elementary to help those most in need in the community.

Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, this year’s City of West Hollywood Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service will take place as a virtual donation drive instead of an in-person Day of Service event. It will run from Saturday, January 16, 2021 to Sunday, January 31, 2021. Donations can be made online at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/homeless or donations of physical gift cards or of personal checks made out to ‘City of West Hollywood’ may be mailed to:

West Hollywood Homeless Initiative/MLK Day of Service

West Hollywood City Hall

8300 Santa Monica Boulevard

West Hollywood, CA 90069

The City of West Hollywood Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is part of a larger service learning project with West Hollywood Elementary and FOWHE that will also include virtual classroom visits from members of the City Council of the City of West Hollywood on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, as well as the school’s “Lifting Our Voices” art contest, which aims to encourage students to reflect upon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, philosophy, and the impact of the Civil Rights movement, through their own artistic expression. All artwork submittals will be shared digitally with the community and the winning artwork will be displayed on a fence art banner sponsored by the City of West Hollywood during Black History Month in February 2021.

The City is, additionally, encouraging donations to the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center, which has posted a “CARE 4 Youth Essentials” wish list on Amazon at lalgbtcenter.org/care4youth. The City of West Hollywood would have hosted its ninth annual clothing drive for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center on Highland in January 2021, but due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, this year the City is instead encouraging virtual donations of needed supplies that will be distributed to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth who are experiencing homelessness. For more information about the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center, please visit www.lalgbtcenter.org/social-service-and-housing/youth.

The City of West Hollywood encourages community members who seek to make a difference to volunteer in response to the urgent call and unprecedented need for volunteers during these uncertain times. To find out more about local volunteer opportunities with the City of West Hollywood’s community partners, please visit www.weho.org/volunteer. For addition information about virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities to address critical needs, please visit California Volunteers at www.californiavolunteers.ca.gov/get-involved/covid-19 or call (888) 567-SERV; visit Volunteer Match at www.volunteermatch.org; visit LA Works at www.laworks.com or call (323) 224-6510; and visit Big Sunday at www.bigsunday.com or call (323) 549-9944.

The City’s West Hollywood Homeless Initiative seeks to address homelessness with a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency, collaborative response. For more information about the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative, including ways to help out and resources for those in need, please visit www.weho.org/homeless or call (323) 848-6590.

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, January 18, 2021, is the 26th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday was designated as a National Day of Service by Congress in 1994. Each year, the City of West Hollywood participates in this call to action. For more information about MLK Day of Service activities and recognitions across the nation, please visit www.nationalservice.gov/serve-your-community/mlk-day-service.

For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service please contact Larissa Fooks, the City of West Hollywood’s Community Events Coordinator, at (323) 848-6413 or at lfooks@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

The City of West Hollywood has declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Individuals are advised, at this time, to stay at home as much as possible and limit close interactions to those in your household. When in public for essential needs, community members should maintain your space with social (physical) distancing of at least six feet, and cover your face. Public Health officials recommend that everyone continue to follow physical distancing and infection control directives and wear a clean face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in in public. Additionally, people 65 years old or older and all people of any age with underlying health conditions should remain at home whenever possible; people in these categories should only leave their residences to seek medical care, exercise, or obtain food or other necessities.

West Hollywood City Hall is currently closed to the public and has suspended all in-person transactions. Most public City buildings and facilities remain closed. City Hall remains accessible for business and essential services with transactions to be conducted by phone (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirus and the City encourages community members to follow @wehocity on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications. For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media @WeHoCity, sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.