| Greetings! |
 Last week, we celebrated the 23rd Anniversary of My Friend's Place. On Thursday, staff gathered with founder Steve LePore for a morning of delicious food and storytelling. On Saturday, Board of Directors co-chairs Kevin Beggs and Dexter Williams hosted an incredible luncheon for members of the Board of Directors, staff, supporters and community members. Over 50 people gathered to share a meal, stories, and a unified sense of purpose. Looking around the room, I was overwhelmed by the incredible dedication, compassion, and generosity of our My Friend's Place family.
The past year saw incredible triumphs and challenges at My Friend's Place. Our staff continued to do amazing work with the youth, working small miracles every day with limited resources. Thanks to our supporters and partners, we are in a strong position, poised for growth over the coming year. Growth that will increase our capacity to meet the needs of the over 1,600 youth who walk through our doors each year. Growth that will help assist and inspire homeless youth as they work to build self-sufficient lives.
As the year goes on, I look forward to sharing exciting stories, events and developments at My Friend's Place. We wish you and yours all the best for a happy, healthy 2011. Thank you so much for being a part of My Friend's Place!
Warmly, Heather Carmichael, LCSW Executive Director
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Home for the Holidays at MFP
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My Friend's Place had a record-breaking holiday season with many special events and different ways to celebrate.
 We served a hearty meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and more to celebrate Thanksgiving in November. Volunteers helped pass out the delicious food to thankful youth. On December 17th, we held the annual MFP Youth Holiday Party and served a record-shattering 260 youth. Each young person received holiday gifts, clothing, and essential items as well as a hot holiday meal. The next week, participants in our Parenting Program attended a special gathering and selected gifts for their little ones. With help of volunteers, we also opened our doors on December 25th to serve a special Christmas breakfast and surprise the youth with tickets to a showing of Disney's Tron: Legacy in 3D.We are so grateful for all of our holiday partners and volunteers who make it possible for us to help the homeless youth of Los Angeles know that matter every day, year round. Thank you for being a part of the My Friend's Place family!
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| The Painted Brain Comes to My Friend's Place | 
Using the arts as a vehicle to talk about mental health issues, The Painted Brain has served residents of West Los Angeles for five years. Facilitators with social work backgrounds lead the workshops, which offer a unique combination of creative outlet and clinically guided discussions. When it came to My Friend's Place last year, the youth of Hollywood excitedly welcomed the peer-driven program. The Painted Brain currently comes to MFP once per month and has helped increase the rate of connection with mental health service providers for the youth that have attended.
Many thanks to Painted Brain staff and instructors Dave Leon, Mike Hannant, Marcus White, and Carla Brizuela, as well as Nick Taylor, MFP's Health and Well-Being Education Manager, for bringing this unique service to the homeless youth of Los Angeles!
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December and January Volunteers of the Month
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 | | Brentwood volunteers gather at the church. |
My Friend's Place recognizes the
members of Brentwood Presbyterian Church as our December 2010 Volunteers of the Month. The Homeless Taskforce at Brentwood chose to partner with MFP over fifteen years ago and has been a huge help to us ever since, particularly during the Winter Holidays. Ivan Tether, a member at Brentwood and an MFP board member, was chosen by the church to be the church liaison to MFP in 1998. Since then, Ivan and other BPC members have volunteered in several different capacities including supplying food for the Youth Holiday Party, organizing our Birthday Parties, and partnering with other actors to engage the youth in a weekly Acting Workshop.
 We are also pleased to announce Corey Powell as our January 2011 Volunteer of the Month. Corey has been volunteering with MFP for nearly a year. She enjoys working with the youth one-on-one in the jewelry workshops which she started in September. She feels as though volunteer work is something everyone should do and she really enjoys being a part of My Friend's Palce. Corey said, "It's been memorable every time. The youth are really grateful."
We warmly thank both the members of Brentwood Presbyterian and Corey for the work they have done and their dedication to the youth of My Friend's Place!
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| Special Thanks to MFP's Holiday Partners |
Our thanks to these groups who provided extraordinary support this holiday season:
All Saint's Beverly Hills All Saint's Pasadena AMC Theaters America's Tire Company Bam Crawford Ministries Bible Enrichment Church Bingham McCutchen Bonert's Slice of Pie Brentwood Presbyterian Church CalArts CAP Office The Capital Group Companies The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Relief Society The Coalition for At Risk Youth Healthcare Partners Koman Sportswear Lemon Lime Agency Munger, Tolles, & Olson Paramount San Fernando Homeschooling Group The Turning Point School UCLA The Walt Disney Company
My Friend's Place is so grateful for our partners who enable us to be a place of comfort for so many youth during the holidays!
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| MFP By the Numbers |
In 2010, My Friend's Place...
- Served 1,682 youth through 21,514 visits
- Served 45,000 meals
- Provided over 1,300 case management sessions
- Helped 60 youth secure permanent housing
Thank you for helping make this, and much more, possible through your support!
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| MFP Partner FITEs Poverty |
 One of our longtime supporters, the Dermalogica Foundation, is helping launch a new program called FITE to support women in underpvileged communities in the US and abroad. MFP thanks everyone at Dermalogica for their commitment to people in need in Hollywood and around the world!
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Easy Ways to Support MFP
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Support MFP by searching and shopping online!
100% of proceeds from MFP gear go toward supporting homeless youth services. Donate a portion of any auction's final selling price! Search for MFP as "mfplace".
One shirt is donated to MFP for every shirt sold to a local ZIP code!
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