Jessica Koslow

The seed for Saved by a Story, a nonprofit that hosts free community writing workshops, was planted while Kathy Katims was reading an article about foster youth. One of the distinct pains that people in the foster care system experienced was the absence of somebody to hold their story: riding a tricycle at the age of two, making a friend at five and playing baseball at 11.

In graduate school, when Katims was asked to create a project connecting her field of study, writing, with social justice, she knew exactly where to start.

“I had an idea that if I gathered a group of foster youth and offered a prompt writing workshop, people could hold their narrative for themselves and also share it,” said Katims. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

In 2011, when Pasadena local Kimberly Bautista finished her award-winning documentary about femicide in Guatemala, titled “Justice for My Sister,” her work had just begun. Partnering with survivors, organizers and artists to host community screenings, self-defense trainings and resource-sharing events, she traveled to more than 200 communities and, in doing so, realized she was creating a space for connection, healing and action.

Over the next four years, Bautista began to hatch a plan: launch a nonprofit for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) women, nonbinary youth, foster youth and survivors of gender-based violence, called Justice For My Sister (JFMS), focusing on youth leadership, workforce development and systems change. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

The month of October has become synonymous with breast cancer awareness. Yet Westside Family Health Center remains focused year-round on educating and servicing its patients about the second most common cancer in American women.

Last year WFHC celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Federally Qualified Health Center offers services to 13,000-plus patients spread throughout 170 zip codes in Los Angeles.

“The service that we provide is a screening mammogram,” said Felicia Osborn, Medical Director of Reproductive Health and Prenatal Programs. “Some are coming for the first time when they turn 40, and others are continuing their health maintenance. They have had mammograms in the past and either had abnormal ones and are returning for a screening mammogram or they’re continuing their screening mammograms for prevention purposes to detect cancer.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Coach Lisa Thomas launched the Pasadena-based Move Your Feet Tennis Foundation (MYFTF) seven years ago, because as a young woman growing up in Chicago, she had been impacted by a similar organization, in which tennis players taught kids in the community how to play. 

“That was such a substantial time in my life,” Thomas said. “I feel like I wouldn’t have been the person that I became without that start. My intention is always to give back and to give the opportunity that I had to as many kids as I can.”

Thomas played both tennis and basketball in high school and college, at which time she was drafted by the first professional basketball league in the United States, the Women’s Professional Basketball League, where she played from 1979 to 1982. In 2018, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame — the same year she started Move Your Feet. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

It’s Sunday just after noon, and the students and staff of Sholem, a secular community and school, have gathered together to sing the lyrics to “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie and “Bim Bam” by Nachum Frankel. Most Sundays, at the end of class, Rebekka Helford, Sholem’s vice principal, teacher of the youngest class starting in pre-K, and mother of two Sholem students, accompanies a group sing-along on her acoustic guitar.

“This is a bonding, family activity,” Rebekka said after the students had left for the day. “It is a commitment to belonging. As a society we are so fragmented, lonely and isolated, and that is not our birthright. As humans, we are used to living in groups, which helps us to be well and at ease. People schlep here to be surrounded by faces who they can bond with and make a community with. It is a place to belong, where you can be of value and be valued and connect to your family in a deeper way.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Local musicians are playing familiar tunes. The food and drinks are flowing for the hundreds of community members in attendance. Dozens of neighborhood businesses have donated to the silent auction. Each year for the past 22 years, Venice Community Housing (VCH) has hosted a champagne brunch with live jazz to raise money for its mission: To develop comprehensive solutions to rising rates of homelessness and an increasing need for affordable housing for low-income individuals and families.

VCH is on a roll, according to Linda Lucks, the Community Engagement and Special Events Coordinator. The Corporation recently broke ground on a 78-unit project on 20^th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, and 2024 saw the opening of three projects: Marian Place, which houses formerly unhoused families; The Journey Apartments in Venice, which provides permanent supportive homes for transition aged youth (18-25) and other formerly unhoused people; and Aviation Apartments in the Del Aire neighborhood. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

The city of Buellton has experienced two time periods: B.S. and A.S., referencing the 2004 Oscar-winning film “Sideways” about a road trip to the Santa Barbara wine country. Buellton and its neighbor, Solvang, were featured prominently in the film, and because of the exposure, tourism to the area skyrocketed. Unfortunately, one of its claims to fame, Pea Soup Andersen’s, which had been a major draw since 1924, closed in 2024 just before its 100th anniversary. Fortunately, Buellton has so much more to offer, including wineries, breweries, new eateries, horseback riding, a botanic garden, a petting emu and ostrich farm, a zipline experience and an adventure park course. . . .

Read the entire article at Playa Vista Magazine.

On Thursday, Aug. 21, Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) hosted the grand opening of Thatcher Yard, consisting of 98 affordable and supportive housing units for seniors and non-age-restricted residents located at 3311 S. Thatcher Avenue in Marina del Rey. 

Both founder Thomas Safran and Jordan Pynes, the president of TSA, were on hand mingling with guests, including LA Councilmember Traci Park; Elizabeth Selby, director of development and finance for the Los Angeles Housing Department; Carlos Van Natter, director of Section 8 at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and Paul Buckland, senior vice president of fund investments for Wells Fargo.

In 1974, Safran left the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to start his own company, and for over 50 years, TSA has specialized in developing and managing high-quality properties. It has created 6,500 units of luxury, affordable and mixed-use rental housing in Southern California. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Founded in 1985, Heal the Bay has been making waves of change by helping to protect the coastline, restore waterways, and speak out for clean water policy across watersheds. How does it accomplish this? Partly with the aid of volunteers, because ripples make waves. The kid-friendly Heal the Bay Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier features more than 100 species of marine life that live right offshore.

  healthebay.org

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Venice Family Clinic has devoted more than five decades to providing quality care to 45,000 individuals, families, and communities from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay. In 2023, the community health center celebrated the completion of its renovation at its flagship site, which was renamed the Chuck Lorre Rose Avenue Health and Wellness Center. The clinic’s comprehensive care includes mental health services, dental care, vision services, substance use treatment, prescription medications, domestic violence counseling, HIV services, healthy food distributions, health education, health insurance enrollment and child development services.

  venicefamilyclinic.org . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

The ocean and psychological well-being are very important to Brian and Eric Barr, the sibling duo behind Feeling Swell, a Venice-based lifestyle brand and foundation inspired by surfing and rooted in mental health. 

Born in the New Jersey suburb of Bridgewater, from an early age the brothers felt completely at home at the beach. Brian grew up as a swimmer and, like his father, attended Brown University. Eric caught the surfing bug early, and spent two years at Saddleback College in Orange County’s Mission Viejo. Post-college both gravitated to Los Angeles. Eric spent 10 years in San Clemente, Huntington and then L.A. (where he has lived for the past five years) while Brian has called the Westside home for four years.

The Feeling Swell Foundation was originally launched in 2015 as a grassroots fundraising initiative in the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction along the Jersey Shore. Raised in a family that emphasized community and compassion, the brothers saw Feeling Swell as a way to uplift others during a time of crisis. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.