My Friend's Place: Reaching Out to Homeless Youth

Wanting to help? Seeking to give support, pitch in, and create positive change? And hoping that you can truly play a role in making a difference for homeless youth?

These are longings that don't have to go unfulfilled, even as we become subsumed by our day-to-day must-dos.

There are, after all, a number of excellent organizations around Southern California working to reach out to homeless youth, and, ultimately, put an avenue in place in which the young people may make "... a permanent exit from homelessness."

One major and incredibly essential step on that road is fundraising. And one of the centerpiece events for My Friend's Place, the 30-year-old organization that "... assists and inspires homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives," is the organization's annual gala.

That's taking place on Saturday, April 7, at the Hollywood Palladium, and the host? It's actor Jack Black. A number of honorees are coming up for 2018, too, including The Happy Hippie Foundation and Alice Waters. (Check out the awesome list, in full, here.)

There's currently a wait list for tickets, so add your name, and, while you stand by, learn how you can volunteer for the Hollywood-based group's programs, throughout the year, or join the Emerging Leaders Council, or donate to its important mission.

Or, of course, all three at once.

Three decades is a notable run of time, but the big heart displayed by the organization's founders and everyone who has joined along the way, and their dedication to being there for homeless youth, ensures that My Friend's Place will continue to stand for those youth "... who have nowhere to go and no one to rely on."

You, too, can play an important part, starting today.