Santa Monica Observer (Vol XIV, Issue 16)

April 18, 2016

Do Good Bus and Big Sunday joined forces on Valentine’s Day

By Jasmine Ayala

Community-driven altruism, heart-warming surprises, and so much LOVE!

Do Good Bus and Big Sunday joined forces on Valentine’s Day to SPREAD THE LOVE (literally!) throughout the city. Big Sunday kicked off the Holiday by opening their doors to bus loads of volunteers who spent their morning hand- making Valentine’s Day cards, candy-filled goodie bags, and the most thoughtful papier-mache flower bouquets that were sure to put a smile on even Scrooge’s face.

Do Good Bus, carrying 30+ volunteers of all ages, arrived shortly after the event began and boy, could we FEEL THE LOVE! Everyone dove right into the excitement and chaos of arts and crafts, food, and music. Within just a few hours, a group of altruistic community members, and the combined efforts of Big Sunday + Do Good Bus… had created thousands of Valentine’s! Little did we know… the fun was just beginning. We loaded the many boxes of gifts onto the bus, waved goodbye to our friends at Big Sunday, and set off on a mission to surprise some very special members of the community who we thought could use the extra love on Valentine’s Day- a day when everyone deserves to be told “I love you”.

Our first stop was the Downtown Women’s Center, which is dedicated to providing permanent housing, a safe community, and ultimately putting an end to homelessness for women. http://www.downtownwomenscenter.org/

It’s safe to say that as we arrived, prepared and full of anticipation, none of us could have predicted the amount of sincere gratitude and enthusiasm that we would soon be receiving. Following the Downtown Women’s Center we made four more stops at assisted living homes for seniors. Our strategy was the same for each delivery: we walked in with nothing less than high-energy love songs pouring from our speaker and split up as we danced our way through the sea of women and elderly folk who were more than eager to accept our smiles and tokens of affection. It was truly an awe-inspiring day full of joyous tears, laughter, and moments that will never be forgotten. Kids and adults of all ages came together to give back and provided so many people with the one thing in this world that we are all entitled to: LOVE.

For more information on Do Good Bus, please click on: http://www.dogoodbus.com

For more information on Big Sunday, please click on https://bigsunday.org/get-involved/project-signup/

Jasmine Ayala, winner of FOX’s Bullseye (the Corkscrewed episode), is a world-traveling au pair. You can find her serving up delicious grub at Mendocino Farms in Santa Monica and studying to attain her degree so she can join the Peace Corps—her first step in making the world a better place, one good deed at a time. Friend her on Facebook! facebook.com/jasminesusana.

http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/04/18/Lifestyle/Do-Good-Bus-and-Big-Sunday-joined-forces-on-Valentine’s-Day/1253.html

(Copyright © 2016 Santa Monica Observer)