September 2008 Archives

OPCC, founded in 1963, started as a  church and expanded to become a meeting place and  drop-in center.  It's a place for every one of all ages and there is always room for newcomers.

OPCC is a  place for many people with different ethnic backgrounds, and that come from different economic classes. Their services offer help to homeless people, battered women and children, victims of domestic violence, and people who suffer from chronic mental illness. They offer opportunities for a better life. Staff and volunteers are all there to help guide and support all of their clients. Some of these volunteers and staff members can really connect with the clients because they were once in their shoes. Along with OPCC's amazing programs, guidance and support, they offer a wonderful environment to clients.

They have expanded in many places in Santa Monica and have locations in Long Beach and Pasadena. No matter your situation, OPCC is wonderful place that teaches life lessons,  money management, and handling housing matters. After a life has been changed,which is their goal, clients sometimes come back to work or volunteer at this once very familiar place.

Low-income and need help fast? We've got the perfect solution: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). Founded in 1929, LAFLA is the oldest and largest frontline law firm, having served more than 2 million low-income people in the Los Angeles Area.

It has been proven that for almost 80 years, when thousands of low-income and poor people are faced with a crisis which threatens their shelter, job security, health and well-being, or livelihood,  many turn to the Legal Aid Foundation. LAFLA serves over 14,000 clients annually and assists 55,000 other individuals through referrals, education and other services. Another great LAFLA attribute is that it holds legal clinics in churches, schools, public housing developments and senior centers. Need translation? Don't worry they provide English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Khmer. They also have four self-help Legal Access Centers in the cities of Santa Monica, Inglewood, Long Beach, and Torrance. In 2007, LAFLA's attorneys assisted more than 66,000 individuals, familes, and community-based organizations with critical legal issues by providing them with counsel and advice. LAFLA also provides leadership and expertise in the areas of housing, government benefits, family law, consumer law, employment law, immigration law, community economic development and access to justice.

More than 500 volunteer attorneys, law students, clerks, externs, interns, and community volunteers contribute over 15,000 hours of work each year in support of LAFLA's activities. If you are in critical legal need, you should talk to them. I'm sure these people would love to assist you with your worries.

Visit: www.lafla.org or call 800.399.4529

From an old airplane hanger at the Santa Monica Airport, to a highly functional theater space?  Impressive right? Well, there's more. The Ruskin Group Theatre, on average, does over 204 performances per year. These performances are extended over eight productions and  involve more than one hundred actors! Their mission is to expose the community to the enlightening experience that theater can be while providing outreach programs to people in need through their Healing Through the Arts Program. RGT has many inspiring programs. 

There is the Children's Hospital Performance Program where company members visit and perform for children confined to hospitals. They engage in story telling, games, plays, and theater exercises  to increase the children's enjoyment, learning, well being and healing.

The Retirement Home Performance Program is designed to bring performance art to the elderly who may no longer have the ability to visit the theater. Actors perform skits, sing, and dance at retirement homes in Santa Monica.

Rancho San Antonio Boy's Home Teaching Program, now in it's fourth year, is designed to teach young adult actors the Meisner technique. An on-going class of 12 to 18 year-olds living at the Rancho San Antonio Boy's Home is taught by teachers, students, and actors from the company. To this date, they have brought this wonderful experience to over 340 young people. In 2006, they also expanded the program to include a performance piece at the end of the year in which the boys have the chance to perform on stage.

The Hospice Volunteer Program involves members of RGT volunteering to assist the elderly and terminally-ill during the last stages of their lives.

The Christmas Basket Program is designed to help underprivileged families. Each basket contains everything needed to put together a Christmas dinner feast.  Everyone loves Christmas!

Acting Workshops for Foster Children is a program that picks up foster children and brings them to the theater and teaches them the Meisner Technique and Sploan Improvisation.  After 12 weeks of training, the participants are assigned a Ruskin Group Theatre Company member as a mentor and scene partner. Having the older RGT member in each play allows the young students to interact with adults and see working actors doing what they love.  The kids not only get to perform their plays with a peer but also with someone who has decided that acting is their professional life.

These are all life changing programs for both kids and adults that don't have the privilege to visit the Ruskin Group Theatre. It's incredible how RGT does all of these wonderful things for people in need. Wouldn't you want to  feel good that you helped someone that doesn't have the opportunities that you have? Let's think, what if you were in a situation like these poor people? I'm pretty sure I would love to lend a  helping hand in a rough situation.

For more information visit: www.ruskingrouptheatre.com

Remember, they do it from the bottom of their hearts. Wouldn't you?