While the holidays are filled with good food and lots of gifts, the soup kitchens and charities are full of people yearning to share happiness with those less fortunate than themselves.
Leef, Inc., which stands for “Love equally, evolve freely” is a nonprofit organization that partners with local rescue missions, charities, and food companies to provide food and clothing to the homeless community.
Leef worked with The Long Beach Rescue Mission, bringing tables and charity to Pacific Avenue in downtown, for its Giving Day Donation Drive.
Through the organization, Cal State Long Beach students, such as Brandon Paveh, a senior journalism and public relations major, have worked with local communities to take in donations and give back to those in need of assistance.
Volunteers are highly sought after by Leef to help for events like this and others throughout the year. Through involving volunteers, and partnering with the American Forests Foundation, Leef said they plant trees for each water bottle, hat and shirt they sell while they continue to grow as a community, according to its website.
Paveh, who helped set up the event, said he began working for the organization to complete a project for a class.
“Leef is trying to do great things to help those in need and it would be great if students from [CSULB] would come out and give some of their time,” Paveh said.
He said that helping people during the holidays is a gift in itself.
“Leef believes everyone should have the same opportunity to live the best, free life they possibly can,” Paveh said.
Leef’s Giving Day Donation Drive aimed to collect donations of food and clothing from communities in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Orange County.
“Our mission is to help those in need,” Creative Director of Leef Inc. Taz Viloria said.
Volunteers began setting up for the event early Sunday morning. They worked and accepted donations throughout the day in an effort to help all they could.
In addition to collecting donations, Leef and the volunteers organized a lunch to feed the hungry. The lunch was followed by gifts of donated clothing from the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
“What Leef is doing is what humanity has to consistently strive for, and that’s giving back,” Robert Probst, Long Beach Rescue Mission’s Executive director said.
Leef received a clothing donation of more than 6,000 items from Rob Estka of Special Markets, Inc., a promotional products and apparel company based out of Illinois.
Other CSULB students, such as junior business major Rick Nelson said they have expressed their desire to give back as well.
“I’m still new to Long Beach and I’ve been looking for places to volunteer,” Nelson said. “I used to always work at food kitchens and shelters, and Leef sounds like something I would like to get involved in.”
To learn more about Leef, visit their website at leeflife.org.