This weekend, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium is hosting a benefit concert to raise money for the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures of Japan, which are suffering from the devastation of last month’s tsunami and earthquake. The musical evening will feature groups Hiroshima, Quest Crew and Curd as well as performances by Paul Dateh, Terry Steele and chef [...]
El Centro is another of Pasadena’s several fine organizations dedicated to educating low-income kids, via after-school tutoring (held at La Pintoresca Library, Jefferson Elementary and its colorful center in Central Park), youth leadership groups at John Muir High and and a strong, bilingual summer school for kids from kindergarten through high school; it also runs [...]
Pasadena photographer John Nelson has family in Japan, and his memories of visiting them and his ties to the people there have inspired him to take action. So he is selling prints from his image archives and donating all the proceeds to relief efforts. Nelson says, “All of my visits there were always marked by warm, welcoming [...]
A safe and nurturing haven for children from dangerous and/or troubled homes, Hillsides is a peaceful seventeen-acre residential facility, school and resource center. Its specialty is helping emotionally disturbed children improve their coping, social and academic skills, and it’s one of few places that help find housing, work and schooling for newly emancipated foster kids, [...]
If you’re searching for volunteer opportunities this spring, Descanso Gardens in La Cañada wants your help. Volunteer efforts are an integral part of the success of the nonprofit gardens, and there are a variety of tasks to spark the interest of any gardening and/or community-building enthusiast. Positions include docent, Boddy House ambassador, membership table and [...]
This Saturday, the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena offers a unique opportunity to view and purchase pieces from over 75 Southern California contemporary artists. A ticket for “Off the Wall” includes drinks, live music, dinner sponsored by some of Pasadena’s best restaurants and the chance to bid in three silent and one live [...]
Wednesday’s a big day at Ten Thousand Villages, the nonprofit Pasadena store stocked with fair-trade goods from around the world. It will be launching its new partnership with The Women’s Room, a refuge for homeless and lonely women. The women have been making colorful sachets filled with local lavender, and the store will be selling [...]
This has been Pasadena’s blue-blood philanthropic organization since its founding in 1926—but it ain’t your mother’s Junior League. While today’s group still has plenty of country-club gals as members, it also has working women, and Junior Leaguers are increasingly diverse. Famed for its superb cookbooks (like the classic California Heritage), this group also raises money [...]
Created in 1903 to care for animals, this wonderful organization serves several cities in the west San Gabriel Valley, offering animal control, pet adoption and training classes, all through a beautiful facility just south of Old Town. Its September, the Wiggle Waggle Walk around the Rose Bowl is a great deal of fun and a [...]
This spring is your chance to get involved in the very worthy task of re-planting the parts of the Angeles National Forest that were badly burned by the Station Fire of 2009. Environmental nonprofit TreePeople, which works to both increase the number of trees throughout the Los Angeles urban area and to restore forest areas [...]
