Saturday, April 11, 2009

Easter Eggs, Easter Carnival, Bugs Bunny, A BBQ Brunch and Sweet Treats...A Message of Caring, Hope and Renewal For Kids Today in Los Angeles


The people you help may not always remember what you did... but they will always remember how you made them feel...

Loved...
Accepted...
Worthy...
Better prepared for a brighter future

--Fred Jordan Missions, Los Angeles, California

The streets of Los Angeles, California's Skid Row are all cleaned up and green today, having been transformed into a beautiful park on this sunny Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. The streets are full of green grass and large, real, live trees. There are Easter Bunnies, rocks and Easter Eggs where normally empty wine bottles and litter lie on the street. It looks and feels like a storybook Easter today on the mean streets of Skid Row.

It's all for the very first Los Angeles' Skid Row version of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, which is held on the White House lawn every year on the Monday after Easter Sunday.

But today in one of the hardest neighborhoods in the City of Angels (Los Angeles), the little Angels of Skid Row are out in full force.

Those Angels are the hundreds of little and young children who live in the impoverished area of Los Angeles. They are being treated to four hours (10:30am-2pm) of Easter fun today, courtesy of the folks at Skid Row's Fred Jordan Mission and numerous volunteers. It's called the "Fred Jordan Mission's Easter Festival of Life."

God is on the side of the little Easter Angels today -- and those who are serving them.

Today Hundreds of poor children from Skid Row are playing at what is a giant, colorful carnival sponsored by the Fred Jordan Mission. The festivities include a live petting zoo, a mobile rock climbing wall, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones, balloons, streamers and banners for the kids and their families.

Bugs Bunny and his special friend Daffy Duck are there for the kids, courtesy of the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park, which is located in Southern California.

It's spring, a time for renewal of spirit.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with hundreds of volunteers and members of the staff of the Fred Jordan Mission, will soon be serving a delicious Easter Buffet to the children and their parents.

The menu includes homemade BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken and BBQ beans, potato salad and rolls, bought from Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and paid for by the hard working professional Angels at The Bergman Companies, a national design and building firm headquartered in Chino (Southern) California. Tesco's Fresh & Easy is a client of the design-build company.

Full tummies along with fun for the kids today who live in Skid Row in the City of Angels. That should bring president Mark Bergman and the team at The Bergman Companies even more joy than their most spectacular design creations do. A tip of the hat to Team Bergman for bringing the feast today to the little Angels who live in Skid Row in the City of Angels. That's leadership -- and heart.

Also on tap for later today is a traditional Easter service featuring inspirational music, followed by a message of Resurrection Life and Hope from (Ms.) Willie Jordan, the president of Fred Jordan Missions.

Fun, full tummies and a message of hope for the children who live on Skid Row in the City of Angels.

"Fred Jordan Mission's Easter Festival of Life" will conclude today with each child being given a beautiful, handmade Easter basket filled with toys, candy, and books -- as well as new shoes for the younger children. Each family will be given a "Box of Hope," filled with enough food to feed a family of four for four days and new, warm blankets.

Fun, full tummies, hope, an Easter basket full of goodies and books to take home for the kids who live in Skid Row in the City of Angels; along with something to help feed the family for a few days and provide exterior warmth; the new blankets.

Spring, Easter; a time for renewal of body and spirit.

The eyes grow moist as we think of the children -- but a smile forms as we see their faces. The Easter egg roll, good, physical and wholesome fun. The various games they are playing. Play is so essential for children. The good food; BBQ sauce all over their little hands.

Hope for a better tomorrow, while enjoying a fun-filled Saturday before Easter Sunday. That is our hope for the little Angels who live in Skid Row in the City of Angels.

The Fred Jordan Mission is located at:

The Fred Jordan Mission
445 Towne Avenue
Los Angeles (corner of 5th and Towne)
Click here for the Web site

The adult Angels at the Fred Jordan Mission in Skid Row in the City of Angels do good works like sponsoring today's Easter celebration for children all the time. They never close the doors to the needy, hungry or homeless. But they could use your help.

There are many ways you can help, from making a donation of any size, to providing certain items in need. Click the link here to go to the Fred Jordan Mission's Web site in order to see how you can help, and to learn more about all of the good works the fine folks led by Willie Jordan are doing.

Today the little Angels who live in Skid Row in the City of Angels are getting lots of attention, having lots of fun and eating and drinking as much as they desire. But tomorrow, and the days after, the children of Skid Row will go back to reality, needing a helping hand. The Fred Jordan Mission is their lifeline. Please help in any way you can.

The festive Easter Brunch from Tesco's Fresh & Easy, provided by the designers and builders at The Bergman Companies, will soon be served. The children are working up a hunger. Games, fun; they so deserve it all -- and more.

Hope, renewal.

Happy Easter to our readers.

8 comments:

ConnieinWestLA said...

Thanks for this story. I live in Los Angeles and will be making a donation to the mission.

Hope Fresh & Easy makes a nice donation too:)

Anonymous said...

This is great. But am wondering why Fresh & Easy didn't donate the food instead of the building company having to pay for it?

Anonymous said...

The Easter dinner was of the highest quality, the BBQ Ribs were tastier than Lucille's Restaurant.
Their food was wholesome, fresh, warm and tasty. I was a volunteer Saturday at the Fred Jordan Mission Easter dinner. The festivities were incredible, I saw so many happy little faces. Truly a feast for these little children. Fresh & Easy Provided by far the best food that has ever been served at the Mission's Easter festival of life.

foodisgood said...

I witnessed first hand this amazing, incredible Easter festival of life where hundreds of poor people were fed, and their children were getting a first class Easter celebration. The food was restaurant quality, and the homeless totally enjoyed it! Great job!

Volunteer said...

The food was paid for and donated by the good people at the Bergman Companies in Costa Mesa. Just bought at Fresh & Easy.

Unknown said...

The food was delicious. The BBQ ribs had just the right amount of meat on them. The beans weren’t too sweet, the potato salad was beautiful. Everything was perfect, everything was so organized. I enjoyed every minute of it. I plan to be there at every Fred Jordan Mission community outreach event in the future.

Anonymous said...

Definitely enjoyed being a part of such a great experience... Not to mention how great the food was :)

KimHolstedler said...

I was at the festival and wanted to thank all the volunteers who donated products and their time, including the Bergman Companies who paid for the BBQ food for the kids and Six Flags for Bugs Bunny.

The Mission could use any donations people can make. They are seeing more and more people in need in the bad economy.