Shriners Hospital for Children.......PRICELESS

[Kengi]

This past week has been awesome on all fronts. Tiffany and I did a one on one outreach at Venice beach and I was even able to find a place in Venice where I will be able to donate items to a Head Start program that caters to low income families.

I am happy to announce that my training for the 2009 AIDS/Life Cycle Bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles is going very well. I am currently up to about 53 to 56 miles when I train. My current pace is about 10.63 miles per hour. So far I have raised $406.00 which is 4% of my $10,000 goal. I must raise $3000 in order to ride in the bike ride.

AIDS/Life Cycle 8 is a 545 mile bike ride over 7 days from San Francisco to Los Angeles t raise much needed funds for HIV and AIDS. I am HIV positive, but HIV isnt the main reason I am participating in this ride. I am mainly riding in support of Universal Health Care here in the US.

Please help me reach my goal, by sponsoring me today in the 2009 AIDS/Life Cycle 8 from SF to LA. www.tofighthiv.org/goto/projectkengikat and click on the orange box that says “donate to support Louis” I must raise the $3000 by May 30, 2009, so please pledge your support today and encourage your family and friends to so the same.

The most exciting thing this week was the fact that is was the second weekend of my month long celebration for my organization and it’s outreach efforts to those in need. The celebration kicked off on February 3, 2009 the date of the 2 year anniversary with a dinner with friend and supports at El Cholo’s Mexican Restaurant in Santa Monica.



The first weekend was a huge outreach to people in the Cold Weather Shelter here in West Los Angeles. There is anywhere from 150 to 175 (on a cramped night) people at the cold weather shelter and I was very happy to be able to provide them with some comfort by providing clothes, socks, cookies, soap, love respect and smiles through donations from people who believe in me and my program.

The outreach was attended by my friends and supporters Patrick, Krystal, Moina, Tiffany, Eric and Willow. Together we tried our best to provide a bit of “light” to people who a dealing with the harshness and grim reality of homelessness. It was an awesome evening and time well spent helping people who are in need.

The cold weather shelter is ran by the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles. I was able to reach out to Andy Bales the CEO of the mission who I know and he was pleased to allow my organization this opportunity to be of service to people in need. I must say that conditions at the cold weather shelter a far better then what I recall it to be. The staff is polite, respectful, courteous and kind. Something that was greatly lacking when it was ran by Volunteers of America. The new check in system was greatly improved as well. Homeless people were issued what appeared to be a ID card that was scanned when they entered. Another awesome improvement was something that most would consider very small and even not necessary, but for homeless people staying there I am sure it is greatly appreciated. This was a pillow and pillow case as well as clean linen.

There was also a area which allowed people to watch TV and relax for a while is they wanted. Cots were already set up and ready when homeless people arrived so there was no scurrying trying to find a cot, find you blanket, and rush to the slop line while getting yelled at by staff every step of the way.

The cots still disgusting and many are still missing parts which can still be very uncomfortable to sleep on. The cots are provided by the military, but hopefully Mr. Bales and is staff can use some of the large amounts of donated funds towards purchasing new cots should they run the cold weather shelter again next year. Another thing that can greatly be improved is the blankets that are provided. I am very allergic to the blankets provided and so are many others.

In all I expressed to Andy Bales and Danny how much better the conditions are and how much more respectable the place is being ran. I congratulated both of them on the awesome progress toward restoring dignity and respect to people who are considered “criminal” by many people and most cites, not for breaking laws that are fair and just, but laws that target, single out and harass simply because they are homeless.

This is still the United States of America and homeless people are entitled to having both civil and personal rights respected at all times just like anyone else in this nation. At no time should any organization be allowed by trample on the rights of the poor or homeless simply because they feel they can or simply because they have a respected position in fancy places with fancy people doing fancy things for nobody but other fancy people and then tossing crumbs and garbage to those who seek their assistance for support through poverty and homelessness.

The second weekend of the celebration was slated for USC Children’s Hospital. However Linda the woman who coordinates volunteering and donations for the hospital was slow getting back with me to set up the actual event. Actually after leaving her several messages on voicemail and with people in her office for which she is the supervisor, she never returned my calls. Once I was able to get her on the phone she seemed bothered that I would even ask to be of service to children and families.

“Mr. Carr you left a on a voicemail that I don’t always check and don’t always get messages from. Also we don’t allow people to visit with the kids or their families. It is against hospital policy.” She suggested I simply show up and drop off the donations at the security desk and they would make certain they would get to people in need.

After 22 months of homelessness and seeing first hand what goes on with donations that are simply dropped off, this wasn’t an option and would be a huge slap in the face to people who have donated and to the people who had already arranged their calendar for this event.

My friend Moina suggested Shriners Children’s Hospital also in Los Angeles. I called the hospital and I spoke with Elizabeth and she was awesome. So much more helpful and considerate of people who are simply trying to be of service to those in need.

Not only was I able to get the event scheduled for Valentines Day like planned it just so happened that Elizabeth was able to offer the same time we had already agreed on with people who would be volunteering for the event without me even mentioning it. How sweet was that?

Do Something Saturday “Be My Valentine” kicked off rather early for me. I got up and once again went though the clothes and stuffed animals making sure they were in good condition and would not offend anyone. One of the things I have always asked for from people who donate is that the items be still of value or use to them. If you are throwing it in the garbage, please do so. Poor people and homeless people don’t want it and you’re not doing a service by giving it. You’re being both arrogant and rude when you do so.

Eric and Willow arrived right on time with bagels and we had a little time to visit while I finished getting ready. We then loaded the car and headed out to be of service to families in need.

We met up with Patrick, Krystal, Moina, Tiffany and Sara at Shriners. We were greeted by Francis who was so amazing and very kind. She was our guide as well as our interpreter for the entire visit. She was a wealth of information and helped the families feel relaxed and comfortable with our visit and donations.

The facility of Shriners Children’s Hospital is nothing sort of wonderful, awesome and beautiful. There is a calmness and comforting spirit and feel to all aspects of the facility both inside and out. After speak with Elizabeth on the phone I was very happy that things didn’t work out with County USC Children’s Hospital and once I was inside this very awesome hospital I knew I made the right choice and God was all in the planning.

The hospital seems to have gone through great lengths and has worked very hard to address all aspects of patient care from accessibility and affordability right down to the paint on the wall. I can’t say enough about the staff and services offered to families who happen to have their child’s care provided there.

The patient rooms are spacious, bright and open; the beds are well kept and maintained. I didn’t notice not one chip in paint or tear in furniture. Outside each room were hand sanitizing stations and the art on the walls was awesome. Many times basic things like this are overlooked and neglected when a place offers services to people who are poor and might not be able to pay. Not only that but, the quality of care is also neglected. I know this first hand from being someone who has to know turn to places like county hospitals and clinics for my health care needs. I should say lack thereof. If not for the grace of God and my cancer team I would have died long time ago if I had to depend on places like county hospitals and clinics for my cancer treatments.

The families were so happy to receive the gifts we were able to provide them and I could tell my friends were so excited and happy to have taken a small part of their Saturday to Do Something for others who are in need.

This was a very special day for me, my organization and my friends. It was a great day to show love, share love and be support to people who need it, nit because they asked or are expecting it, but simply because people do care and are willing to demonstrate the level of their care without regard to a person’s personal situation.

We shared a little time after the event talking about our time there and also I was able to share some things I am working on for the rest of the year. Some of the things will bevery much things I have already done, like the Easter Feast, the Photo Project and the Free Hugs Picnic.

Shriners Children Hospital is now one of the places that my organization will do outreaches for on a regularly. If you would like to be part of the outreach to this awesome Hospital that does some amazing things for kids and their families then please be sure to visit the website at www.dosomethingsaturday.org and look on the calendar to see the nest time we will visit. You can also send me an email to enquire about plans for the next visit to [e-mail]

If you would like more information on Shriners Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles please visit http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Los_Angeles/

You may also contact Elizabeth directly to enquire about volunteering, supporting as well as donating for this worthy hospital

Elizabeth Dever
Public Relations Department
Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles
3160 Geneva Street
Los Angeles, CA 90020-1199

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

In close I want to express my many thanks and gratitude to all who have donated and all who came out to volunteer for Do Something Saturday “Be My Valentine” outreach to Shriners Hospital. You donations and efforts were greatly appreciated and I am humbled and honored to have been able to provide this service to children and families in need all though loving support from people like you.

Do Something Saturday will kick off the third week of this month long celebration Friday February 20 at 1:00PM at with donations of Do Something Kits to people living with HIV and AIDS at AIDS Project Los Angeles.

The Do Something Kits will be given to my case manger and passed out to people who are living with HIV and AIDS. If you would like to donates items for kits or donate full kits please visit www.dosomethingsaturday.org and click the tab that says Do Something Kits.

All kits must be received by Thursday February 19 by 4:00PM. You may also email me at [e-mail]

If you make a donation through paypal please make certain to place in the notes of the donation that you are donating for Do Something Saturday “Poz Life” outreach. Also please be aware that my organization is not currently a 501c. You will receive a thank you email and acknowledgement of your donation of this blog as well as how it was used on both Project KengiKat and my youtube channel.

Thanks for your continued love and support of my efforts.


DO SOMETHING SATURDAY~ that empowers people