LIVE#HashtagLunchbag Feeds LA
#HashtagLunchbag - through the power of social media and dedicated volunteers - will bring hope and meals to over 50,000 Angelenos, affirming that we can be the change we want to see in the world.
Please describe the activation your organization seeks to launch.
#HashtagLunchbag aspires to promote and affirm the notion that solutions to large scale problems are attainable even when a small group of people dedicate their time and resources to solve these issues. It is when hundreds of volunteers get together and connect to prepare meals and messages of hope to our most vulnerable communities.
Which of the LIVE metrics will your activation impact?
Access to healthy food
Number of households below the self-sufficiency standard
Resilient communities
Will your proposal impact any other LA2050 goal categories?
LA is the healthiest place to CONNECT
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
City of Los Angeles
How will your activation mobilize Angelenos?
Digital organizing or activism
Trainings and/or in-person engagements
Encourage businesses to change practices
Increase participation in political processes
Connect Angelenos with impactful volunteer opportunities
Increase donations to organizations and causes
Describe in greater detail how your activation will make LA the best place to LIVE?
Since its launch nearly five years ago, #HashtagLunchbag takes advantage of the power of social media to to digitally organize Angelenos to come together and bring about meaningful change to the most vulnerable of our communities. What makes #HashtagLunchbag so unique, successful and incredibly popular is our belief that in person connections will yield greater results and greater overall impact. When nearly 200 volunteers come out each month to prepare, decorate, inspire, and serve meals to those in need, we not only feed the recipients of our lunch bags but also feed our souls by making a difference through our actions, through our volunteerism, and through our belief that we can solve large and complex problems when we work together.
We work with our local business communities and leaders in a myriad of fields to bring awareness of the important work we perform. We provide businesses with a number of opportunities to engage in #HashtagLunchbag activations and encourage them to promote our efforts in alignment with their corporate social responsibilities. Such efforts are typically tied into two major elements:
Increase volunteerism within their business and local offices
Increase financial contributions in order to broaden and enhance our impact
Through our activations we provide deeply meaningful and moving opportunities for volunteers to tackle large scale challenges like food insecurity.
One of the newest programs #HashtagLunchbag is poised to launch is a voter registration component to increase voter turnout and participation within our volunteer groups. We believe that civic engagement is directly tied to an informed citizenry that is crucial in bringing about change to large scale and complex programs within our city and communities.
How will your activation engage Angelenos to make LA the best place to LIVE
We know that volunteering in your local community creates a deep sense of belonging. This sense allows individual members to create community and ultimately make Los Angeles a place they can call home. This sense of belonging also allows Angelenos to view difficult, complex, and large scale problems like food insecurity as something they would want to take ownership of. By volunteering their time to help combat poverty, hunger, and food insecurity, these volunteers will develop a much deeper level of love and satisfaction. Through both the internal and external changes in volunteers, we together will make Los Angeles the best place to live.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your activation.
Our activiations each carry targets and metrics both in meals prepared and served and the number of volunteers engaged with our efforts. We also work hard to retain volunteers by continuously improving the volunteer experience. Since our business community is a key stakeholder and partner in our efforts, we also set targets in the number of sponsorships and partnerships we develop and execute each year. We measure success if are actual figures are within 90% of our targets for our various metrics.
Where do you hope this activation or your organization will be in five years?
Key signature programs: Our organization strives to build on the success of our signature #HashtagLunchbag program and aims to add additional LA locations for activations throughout LA City and LA County to dramatically increase the number of meals served and communities provided for by 2023.
Awareness, Outreach, & Connecting Angelenos: Living Through Giving Foundation looks forward to enhance its current outreach and awareness strategies to increase the use of technology in order to deepen the engagement of Angelenos looking for ways to bring about change in their communities.