Jul 292013
 

As those of you who follow Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation’s blog surely know, EHHF – and its members / beneficiaries! – have been desperate for a refrigerator for quite a while now.
Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation has approached many major companies and retailers with requests for a donation of a refrigerator within the last 4 months. Our requests have been ignored by many.

Meanwhile, Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation’s Shop EHHF Pantry program, which helps stretch struggling single parents’ grocery budgets, is expanding and attracts more and more recipients each month. EHHF is very thankful for the support of donors who contribute food to our pantry. However a large portion of the food donations we’re receiving consists of fresh, perishable foods. It is great because they’re healthy for young families and growing children. Unfortunately, in California, without the ability to refrigerate food, a lot of well-meaning fresh food donations were going to waste; that’s why obtaining a refrigerator donation was of utmost importance to us.

Kimo's Appliances

Kimo’s Appliances donated desperately needed refrigerator to help EHHF feed poor single mother families in San Fernando Valley, CA

Today, I’m delighted to announce that thanks to the generosity and compassion of Kimo’s Appliances, Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation has a refrigerator, at last!!!
There won’t be any more wasted food! There’ll be MORE nutritious food available to disadvantaged single parent families and children!

Thanks to the support of Kimo’s Appliances, EHHF will be able to reach more single mother families in need and help put more food on more tables!
It’s a rerigerator, but it’s also a milestone in our growth: Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation extends its sincere thanks to Kimo’s Appliances. You didn’t help some faceless organization but poor single mothers and hungry children to fill their need for nutritious food.

If you – the reader – are not in need but a visitor / prospective donor reading this page, please lend your patronage to Kimo’s Appliances. Kimo’s offers a wide variety of new and used appliances for every budget. Their prices are very competitive and their services include delivery and installation. (They’ll even haul away your old appliances!) Kimo’s Appliances is a solid, local company known for its integrity. With that said, Kimo’s is not only a profit-generating enterprise but an investor into the future of our community.

May 192013
 
Single Mother Helped By EHHF

May the 18th, Saturday afternoon, the weather is beautiful. Most people are enjoying a relaxing weekend. Most, but not all.

The Founder and staff of Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation have chosen to spend their Saturday afternoon delivering furniture, a TV set, clothing, toys and good news to a struggling single mother and her three children. (The mother is separated, alone with three young children, unemployed and starting over with nearly nothing.)

EHHF Delivers Furniture To The Disadavantaged Single Mother's Family

EHHF Delivers Furniture To The Disadvantaged Single Mother’s Family on a Saturday afternoon

EHHF Delivers Furniture To A Disadvantaged Single Mother's Family

EHHF Delivers Furniture To A Disadvantaged Single Mother’s Family

The photographer arrived late so you can’t see the struggle with the sofa set and the rug being unloaded from the truck and carried upstairs through the narrow passage way. The photos show the staff of EHHF already exhausted after contending with the sofa set and rug and lugging upstairs the last of the heavy items: the TV and its stand. (The stand was too heavy but provides much needed storage for toys and children’s clothing.)

EHHF Delivers Clothing To The Disadavantaged Single Mother's Family

EHHF Delivers Clothing To The Disadvantaged Single Mother’s Family on a Saturday Afternoon

The pictures, tell the story: one disadvantaged single mom’s family celebrated a little Christmas in May.

EHHF Founder With Single Mothers Family

EHHF’s Founder (seated on the right) With the Single Mother’s Family whose needs were met thanks to the assistance of Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation.

The furniture made the family’s apartment a home. The TV – not connected properly yet at the time the pictures were taken – will help keep the children entertained. Groceries have surely relieved some of the mother’s stress.
Children‘s clothing and toys were of course a different story altogether. The mother’s face lit up when she’s seen them. The little girl wondered how she’ll look in a new dress… The youngest of the three children was interested in toys only…

EHHF Delivers Clothing To The Disadvantaged Single Mother's Family

EHHF Delivers Clothing To The Disadvantaged Single Mother’s Family on a Saturday

Single Mother Helped By EHHF

EHHF Helped This Single Mother Find Employment And Chldcare

The much less photogenic highpoint of the afternoon must have been the moment when the Founder of Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation told the mother that she’s been hired and her children will be well taken care of while she works…

If helping one single mother get back to self-sufficiency involves furniture – and other goods’ – delivery on a Saturday afternoon that’s a small price to pay for a brighter, safer future of FOUR!

Single parenthood is often a Catch 22 situation. As a sole provider, the single parent absolutely has to work; a single parent of small children can’t leave them unattended while she (or he) earns a living. As much as earning a living is a must; forcing a single parent to endanger his or her children is simply unconscionable. Empowering single parents of young children has to consist of both: employment and child care. It takes sensitivity, compassion, material and moral support – a Saturday afternoon and sometimes, a lingering backache – to create actual solutions, one individual case at a time.

Help is needed badly.

If you can help, a donation of goods will be appreciated.

TV Set And A TV Stand Provided By EHHF

The TV Set And A TV Stand Provided By EHHF (in addition to the sofa set, rug, clothing, toys, groceries and more)

The greatest need right now: cash donations for rent payments (EHHF receives requests for help paying single parent families’ rent all the time!) and jobs. (If you are hiring in San Fernando Valley or Los Angeles area, please contact us. We have many job requests from allover the country but not enough of them to organize a nationwide referral system just yet.  Locally, in Los Angeles County, EHHF has a list of single mothers ready to start working immediately.)

Help Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation distribute the help where is needed most and then you too will experience the satisfaction of knowing that you ensured a family’s future, and sometimes even saved lives….  (Depression, desperation and in extreme cases, suicidal thoughts are not uncommon among disadvantaged single parents.)

EHHF didn’t start its activities with a photographer at hand and cared more about providing relief than creating photographic records of its charitable deeds. We’re catching up. There’ll be more recipient stories and pictures on our Website, soon…

Jan 202013
 
EHHF's Pre-Event Preparations

The Founders of Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation preparing warm welcome for a new group of disadvantaged, single parent families

Unemployed and under-employed single parents gathered outside

Unemployed and under-employed single parents gathered outside in anticipation of the event

On January 19th 2013 Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation welcomed new struggling single parent families. It was a warm meet and greet during which the eligibility and needs of each single parent family were evaluated.

EHHF cares about children

Children were eating while their struggling single parents were qualified for EHHF’s assistance

There were snacks to keep children occupied while the adults sorted out paperwork and sipped on coffee.

Disadvantaged single parents had to meet EHHF's eligibility requirements

Disadvantaged single parents had to meet EHHF’s eligibility requirements

The Founders, activists and volunteers of Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation worked tirelessly to ensure that no single parent family in need is deprived of assistance.

Once the eligible families were qualified a warm lunch was provided. Unemployed – and under-employed – single parents breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they’ll receive much needed assistance in the form of food, clothing and household essentials.

Nobody left hungry or empty-handed...

Nobody left hungry or empty-handed…

In February 2013 (next month) EHHF will be unveiling its new programs and the qualified attendees of this event will also be invited to participate in seminars and lectures that will empower them on their way to gainful employment and financial self-sufficiency.

Delicious food and drinks

EHHF’s first event of 2013 was a resounding success! Enlightened Helping Hand Foundation thanks McDonald’s, Noah’s Bagels and Starbucks for their generous sponsorship and great contributions: it wouldn’t be the same without you!