Blog: Family Day of Volunteering Draws a Lively Crowd

How did we get here? On April 7 we stood in a middle of a school gymnasium packed with more than 850 like-minded folks who believe in giving back to our communities, busily doing just that. Who knew so many people cared?

Our 4GOOD Family Day gave kids and families the chance to participate in multiple events/projects in a safe environment, all for the benefit of others: Here's what we accomplished together.

We made:

• 250 friendship bracelets with Zimmer Children's Museum for CHLA
• Over 150 Letters for the military with Operation Gratitude
• 285 placemats for our senior friends with Meals on Wheels
• 210 foam flower bouquets for seniors 204 fleece blankets for sick kids with Binky Patrol
• 275 pet toys for homeless animals with ARME
• 75 sweet animal pillows sponsored by Zookies to be donated to abused children
• 208 keepsake Change-4-Change donation boxes

We collected:

• 460 Gently-Used Stuffed Animals for SAFE
• 452 Gently-Used Plastic Kids Toys for Second Chance Toys
• 2 barrels filled with 378 pieces of canned food/toiletries for SOVA
• 65 pieces of used teen formal wear for A Place Called Home

• Thousands of pieces of loose change donated to some great local causes

 The day was made even more inspiring and special by the three young 4GOODers we honored:

• MORGAN MAKES HER MARK - Morgan Snyder - 12 year old founding member of the Junior Ambassadors at Childrens’ Hospital Los Angeles. Morgan has raised more than $4000 to help the Literally Healing Program which gives new books to patients and teens at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Morgan is a shining example of why we do what we do at 4GOOD. Find out more about what Morgan is doing - morganmakeshermark.com 
• RAINBOW PACK – Riley Gantt - 12 years old who runs the 501c3 org, Rainbow Pack. Her mission is to give backpacks to underserved youth through their schools. So far Rainbow Pack has purchased over 19,000 school supplies to fill 1,400 back-packs. Riley is an exceptional example of a young community 4GOODer and has created something great!

• MORGAN DAVIDSON - 16 year old young community leader helping to raise money and awareness for the City of Hope. Morgan works to raise money for research at City of Hope and also helps to recruit Stem Cell Donors for Be the Match, the National Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Registry. Morgan to date has raised an astounding $33,000 for the City of Hope and helped to recruit over 50 potential Stem Cell/Bone Marrow donors for -Be the Match. Morgan embodies everything we at 4GOOD want to impart to our youth. She is a remarkable young woman with a huge heart and even bigger dreams which she acts on. For these reasons Morgan Davidson was chosen as the 2013 Future 4GOODer. Morgan won a $500 Grant.

If you attended 4GOOD Family Day, we'd love to hear from you. Please complete this survey to let us know what you enjoyed and where we might improve the event.

Visit www.4goodcommunity.org to discover more volunteer opportunities for kids of all ages.