By Sabrina SHELTON

For these local heroes, giving is part of their nature – and a pandemic won’t slow them down.

Every holiday season, the call to donate and volunteer is heard loud and clear. Some people thrill at the opportunity to help others during this festive season, and some live the volunteer lifestyle year round. And then there are some, like longtime friends Michelle Stafford and Gina Walker, who take things up a notch.
Each year, Stafford, a longtime “The Young and the Restless” cast member, donates to charities in need. This year, she and her fellow cast mates had big plans for the Inglewood NAACP. In particular 2020 has been tough for charities and non-profit organizations; donations are down as many people who might normally donate have tightened their belts due to pandemic-related financial struggles.

“I know the president of the Inglewood NAACP and he is very connected in his community,” said Stafford. “I knew he would disperse to [those] most in need of gifts and help.” The president also told Stafford that donations to the Inglewood branch have been very low this year.

So Stafford jumped into action and called on friends, family and coworkers. She and the cast and crew of “The Young and the Restless” donated over $4,500 to purchase toys. Then came the heavy lifting – which is where Gina Walker entered the picture.

Stafford put out a call for a friend with a truck to help transport the toys. Walker, a fellow Crescenta Valley High School alumna, is always happy to help nurture Stafford’s giving spirit, so she volunteered her truck.

“I was the sleigh,” Walker remarked. “Michelle was the lead elf.”

With her fellow elves by her side, Stafford and the “sleigh” met at Big Lots in La Cañada to buy toys. It was then that the fates aligned; some brands of toys were on sale and the store was offering extra discounts that day as well. As Walker’s truck was filling up with toys, the group realized that they were nowhere near spending all of the donated money. They made repeated trips to the store to keep on buying merchandise. Then they realized they had attracted attention.
Other shoppers at Big Lots noticed the “sleigh” filling up and, after learning what the group was doing, offered to buy some toys to donate as well. The employees and manager of Big Lots asked to take pictures of the commotion.

“You think Big Lots is this big corporation,” said Walker, “but they were so happy that we chose their store.”

After a fun day of shopping for toys, Stafford and her crew donated their haul to the Inglewood NAACP. Their generosity, as well as the help and good cheer from the community, will provide a happier holiday for many children in Los Angeles this year.

That is the best part for Stafford.

“Knowing that what we did was going to make a difference in someone’s life … that’s how we all felt as we were shopping,” she said. “We all knew that we were going to make someone happy.”

Making someone happy while supporting her community was what Krissy Harb of Spiritual Heart Yoga Center was intent on doing.

Harb has raised money every year, which she donates to a charity “close to my heart.” This year what caught her attention was the senior apartment complex across from her Honolulu Avenue yoga studio.

“I wanted to buy gift cards from local businesses for each of the residents in the Honolulu Manor Senior Apartments,” Harb said. “My godmother lived there for five to eight years and made many friends there. Through her I had strong connections to the residents.”

Harb added that, especially during COVID-19, the residents feel isolated and alone.

So Harb reached out through social media and, within 24 hours and with her dad matching funds raised, collected $5,000. Her original goal of buying each resident a $50 gift card was surpassed and instead she was able to buy each unit – 85 in all – a $60 gift card, all from local businesses.

“They really need some sort of message that the community remembers them and loves them,” Harb said of the Honolulu Manor Senior Apartments residents and of the local mom and pop businesses. “This felt like the most impactful way to give back to the community.”

Marisa McCoy built an entire community and found it rewarding.

Back in late April, McCoy was added to a Facebook page by a friend. It was a women-only group where members could give and receive gifts, but it was for women in Ventura County. McCoy wanted something more accessible for her La Crescenta address so, with the help and encouragement of her friend Jennifer Bond, she created a local page. Thus, the SoCal Sisterhood of the Traveling Spirits Foothill Community group was born.

“I saw how great and happy the women were on the other page. I wanted that too,” said McCoy of starting the Foothills Sisterhood group.

McCoy wanted all of her local friends and family to know about the new group, so she posted on her personal Facebook page, as well as other local group pages. Now the group welcomes women from Sun Valley, Sylmar, Sunland, Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Montrose, La Crescenta, La Cañada, Altadena and Glendale, and has over 400 members. For the holidays, there is a Secret Santa exchange encompassing 75 women. And for the rest of the year, the page has files of people’s wish lists so the perfect gift can be given at any time. Not only is this group a great way to boost spirits but it’s also safe and socially distant.

“Personally, we call it ding-dong ditch,” McCoy laughed. Members are asked to leave gifts on doorsteps to maintain both a safe distance and to also encourage surprises.

The page also strives to lift up female business owners. As a hairstylist for 15 years, McCoy said that she’s all for helping small businesses. During the holiday season, she has facilitated raffles for gift certificates or items from the group’s business owners.

She has enjoyed the sisterhood that the page has provided, and hasn’t ruled out a future “brotherhood” page. McCoy admits that by only allowing women, the Foothills Sisterhood page is a little discriminatory, but added that, “sometimes it’s good to have all women help you.”

Above all, this page and its community have shown McCoy how generous the local women can be, and how important receiving a gift is during this upsetting year.

“So many of these women lost jobs, [or] feel depressed. And now they can get a gift,” said McCoy. “Those are the best posts [to see on the page].”
Any woman over the age of 21 and living in the above-mentioned cities is welcome to join the group. Visit facebook.com and search SoCal Sisterhood of the Traveling Spirits Foothill Community to request to join.

The spirit of giving is not limited by age. Members of Crescenta Valley Instrumental Music and Prom Plus Club gathered on Friday afternoon, following socially distanced and masked guidelines, to help families in need through a toy and food drive.

The two student organizations partnered with St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church Fire House youth center to collect well over 200 toys and gift cards that were donated to the family “adoption” program operated by the Glendale Police Dept. and Glendale Police Officers’ Association. The GPD/GPOA are given names of families in need by community organizations including the GPD and the Glendale Unified School District. Names were also supplied by community members who either asked for help or reached out for others.

The food collected supported the United Methodist Church of Tujunga’s Bailey Center food bank. The Bailey Center has experienced a substantial increase of those in need of food support as families find themselves struggling resulting from COVID-19.

Although the food and toy drive by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. at the Crescenta Valley Station was not officially held this year it still donated to the Bailey Center.

Organizers of the donation drive credit much of its success to the support of American Legion Post 288 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614. As is their practice, these veterans continue to serve their community despite the pandemic.

For those who would like to donate to GPD/GPOA contact Amy Tate at (818) 548-4015.

For those who would like to donate food to Bailey Center, non-perishable food items can be dropped off at 9901 Tujunga Canyon Blvd. in Tujunga on Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. or at the CVW office at 3800 La Crescenta Ave. Ste. 206 in Glendale/La Crescenta between the office hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For more information, email mo5966@sbcglobal.net or call CVW at (818) 248-2740.