In this season of giving, LA Boulders partnered with My Friend’s Place, an LA area youth homeless shelter. Remi Moehring, the manager of LA Boulders, first heard about the organization on NPR’s Offramp, and immediately reached out to see how the gym could get involved. Their facility in Hollywood supports around 100 homeless youth on a daily basis with employment services, classes, music programs, and health services, along with basic needs like shelter, food, and clothing.
In December, LA.B was able to work with this awesome organization in three different ways: They hosted a group of teens from their facility for a day of climbing, implemented ‘Climb for a Cause’ day, where 50% of all day passes went directly to their efforts, and started a giving tree at the gym so that our members could get involved.
In just four days, the giving tree was overflowing with gifts for teens and young adults, thanks to the generosity of our beloved LA.B rats!
Climb for a Cause day brought in $430, which was presented along with the gifts.
As for the group of teens and young adults, we hosted their first climbing experience! “It’s always amazing to see a small group climb for the first time because everything is new,” said Moehring. “When they first walked in to see the gym, they were was a bit hesitant, but the group was so supportive and everyone ended up having a wonderful time. We can’t wait to have them back!”
Curious about other ways you can support homeless all year round? Susan Dutra, Director of Development for My Friend’s Place, offered these ideas on getting involved.
- Hold your own donation drive or donate new or gently used items or clothing to My Friend’s Place.
- Volunteer
- Join the Emerging Leaders Council
- Purchase tickets to a fundraiser, such as Cirque’s, an evening of wonder, celebration and cirque benefitting youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
- Contribute to their End of Year Campaign and help My Friends Place raise $250,000 to continue to provide vital services for homeless youth!
