By Daily Press Staff
Bayside District Corporation is providing a gift wrap cart during the holiday season as a “thank you” to downtown Santa Monica and Third Street shoppers. Gift wrapping is free to the public.
Volunteers from various Santa Monica charities including Project ECHO, Night Light Youth Outreach, the Westside Special Olympics and Turning Point will be merrily wrapping gifts. The cart will be located on Third Street Promenade at Broadway every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. beginning Nov. 24 through Dec. 23.
Project ECHO's mission is to provide an opportunity for high school students (especially those who struggle in the traditional academic setting) to learn essential career and life skills, boost their self esteem, and elevate their expectations through hands-on training in entrepreneurship and small business management.
Night Light Youth Outreach Services serves the needs of runaway and homeless youth in the Santa Monica area. The project reaches out to runaway and homeless youth on the Westside to provide basic needs and resources to assist them in getting off the streets.
Turning Point Transitional Housing provides a rehabilitative program for homeless adults who are motivated to define their goals, assess both their strengths and the barriers to achieving their goals, and to move toward self-sufficiency. It seeks to break the cycle of homelessness and to integrate homeless individuals back into the larger society by providing comprehensive, individualized services designed to address their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. The shelter is also dedicated to educating the public on the causes of and solutions to homelessness, as well as advocating on behalf of homeless people through community networking and political activism.
Westside Special Olympics is a community-based non-profit organization supported by private donations and the spirit of volunteerism. As a branch of Southern California Special Olympics, an accredited chapter of the International Special Olympics, Westside Special Olympics promotes and implements year-round athletic training and competition for children and adults with mental retardation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 26, 2001. Read the original PDF.