My Friend's Place eNews 
November 2013

A Night of Celebration!

MFP's 25th Anniversary, A Huge Success!

 
     

DMC of Run DMC gives a show-stopping performance 

 

A big thank you to everyone who supported My Friend's Place's A Cause for Celebration!  We had a blast, and hope you did too. 

 

Through your incredible support we raised nearly $250,000! Your generosity will go directly to programs that assist and inspire the amazing youth that we serve.  

 

For those of you who could not attend, we missed you, and hope to see you at next year's big event! 

A Cause for Celebration!
Highlights from the evening
MFP Alumni, Ish, performing "Walk this Way" with DMC
Starting the night off right at the 
wet deck
Champagne anyone?
MFP's Direct Service Manager, Frank, with Ish
Chuck Lorre honoring Jon Cryer
MFP's Champion of the Year, Jon Cryer, accepts his award

Autumn Play at MFP!

Play is so important for the young developing body, mind and spirit! Despite their intense circumstances, MFP youth deserve to have fun like their non-homeless counterparts. 
 
This fall, MFP engaged the youth in some 
Halloween whimsy!
The MFP Team 
Youth face painting
Youth and staff in costume
Staff embrace the playful spirit

Running for Homeless Youth!
Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood's Inaugural 5k 
 
 
 

3,000 people came out on November 2nd to run for the first ever Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) 5k.  The mission: to raise awareness and funds for MFP.  Thanks to all who ran the length of Hollywood Blvd stretching all the way from the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood to My Friend's Place.  Your strides made a difference in the lives of the youth we serve.  And thank you to our wonderful new friends at HRC Hollywood and our volunteers.
You rock!


MFP Staff and Friends at the finish line!
Race Volunteers
Holiday Drive!

We anticipate as many as 250 young people will join our holiday celebration this year, please join us in providing:

$5 store gift cards
(groceries, Target,etc.)

 

$5 fast food gift cards

 

Metro Tokens or $5 TAP cards

 

New hoodies

 

 
Thank you for making the holidays special for the youth experiencing homelessness in Hollywood!
We would prefer to have all gifts received by
December 9th
to prepare for distribution at our Holiday Party on
December 13th.
For gift inquires, please contact Hana Sherman at (323) 908-0011x101 or development@myfriendsplace.org

All contributions are tax deductible and greatly appreciated! 
Just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

Shop with Amazon Smile and pass the smiles along to MFP!
 
Shop at AmazonSmile and select M F Place Inc. as your charity, and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to My Friend's Place!
This Month
A Night of Celebration!
Autumn Photos from MFP
Hard Rock Cafe 5k and our incredible Volunteer of the Month
Holiday Drive
Cirque du Soleil's Totem
Connect with us!
Mission
My Friend's Place assists and inspires homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives.

Please consider supporting MFP's mission 
Contribute through our
Learn more at
 



MFP is going green for 

National Runaway and Homeless Youth 

Awareness Month

 
 
City Council Member, Mitch O' Farrell, Mark Supper, ED of LAYN, MFP's Heather Carmichael, and fellow members of the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership make the milestone proclamation that LA City and County will recognize National Runaway and Homeless Youth Month!

 

Homelessness among youth increased 121% from 2011 to 2013, according to the LAHSA 2013 Homeless Count. My Friend's Place believes this is unacceptable.

 

Along with losing their home, community, friends, and routines as well as their sense of stability and safety, many homeless youth are also victims of trauma. While trying to survive on the streets, youth are exposed to countless dangers, with an increased likelihood of substance abuse, early parenthood, impulsivity, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a vulnerability to being trafficked.

 

In a growing effort to prevent and reduce homelessness among youth, My Friend's Place is part of the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership (HHYP).  This partnership with HHYP engages in service coordination, research, policy development and capacity building.  Click the links below to learn more and consider sharing with friends and colleagues.  

 

National Child Traumatic StressNetwork

 

 Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership

   

Staff showing their support by wearing green! Join in and sport your support! 

 
 
 Phil Romero 

  
This month, we're honoring Phil Romero, one of MFP's most helpful volunteers. As Phil explains:

"MFP was introduced to me by an incredibly gifted singer, who also happens to be a former client of MFP.  Together we produce creative projects that attempt to engage and organize youth to help better our community, and themselves in the process".

  

Phil shares about the power of music:

  

"I have seen incredibly talented youth with complicated life circumstances land on the street because they can see no other alternative.  Music has the power to help them visualize new possibilities.  My hope is through our creative work we can inspire youth to imagine a better future.  Additionally, I hope to show our community the potential that exists in the shadows of Los Angeles.  Some societal problems may be too big to 'solve' but a 1000 small actions by 1000 people will make a meaningful difference.  This is our small contribution to that effort".
 
Phil played a central role in MFP's 25th Anniversary celebration - from performing with William Pilgrim and the All Grows Up, to filming a documentary, so we had to ask what his favorite moment of the night was.
  

"Nothing can top sharing the stage with Darryl DMC McDaniels and performing the Run-DMC classic, 'Walk this Way'.  It was a true privilege".  

  

Stay tuned for Phil's documentaries about MFP:
 
"The video footage of "A Cause for Celebration" documents the power of caring.  I hope the video shorts we create will have the power to speak to a larger audience within our community and encourage others to become involved."
 
Staff and youth thank Phil for being a part of the MFP family!
 
To learn even more about Phil and his work please visit:
 

Save the Date and Share the LOVE 

! 

 

 Treat your sweetheart to an awe-inspiring performance while supporting 

MFP's services for youth experiencing homelessness!

Click here for tickets.

 

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My Friend's Place is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and all contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.  To make a gift with your credit card, visit our secure online donation page.  Please send checks to:

My Friend's Place / Attn: Membership Program / PO Box 3867 / Hollywood, CA 90078