LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced a $20,000 grant to non-profit, LA Family Housing, to purchase new toys for children in need ahead of the holiday. The utility also supplied 300 grocery gift cards to families over Thanksgiving. In addition, the LA Kings organization has made an in-kind donation of new clothing for teens and young adults. Today, LA Family Housing safely organized and distributed the toys and clothing for children and young adults in need, sorting these items by each child's wish list and distributing them to kids at 16 LA Family Housing complexes throughout Los Angeles. Please see here for photos from today's socially-distanced distribution at Comunidad Cesar Chavez in Boyle Heights.
"Right now, people from all walks of life are struggling to provide the basics for their families, let alone gifts for the holidays," said Gillian Wright, senior vice president and chief customer officer at SoCalGas and LA Family Housing board chair. "SoCalGas is pleased to partner with the LA Kings and LA Family Housing to give these families some peace of mind this holiday season that they won't have to worry about purchasing gifts for their little ones and teens. We've got them covered."
"We are in unprecedented times. With far too many families struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LA Family Housing has expanded on all fronts to meet the growing need for safe and stable housing and services for our city's most vulnerable," said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, President and CEO of LA Family Housing. "We are incredibly grateful for SoCalGas and the LA Kings' support of our families this holiday season and our year-round work to end homelessness in people's lives. It is only through incredible partnerships like this that we'll be able to continue meeting the growing need in our community and help make the holidays a bit brighter for the families we serve."
"The LA Kings are both excited and honored to partner with SoCalGas to continue our work with LA Family Housing. We are proud of the collective commitment the Kings Care Foundation and these tremendous partners have made to assist those in need, especially during this Holiday Season, in a socially-distanced manner," said LA Kings Vice President, Community Relations, Team Services & Hockey Development, Jennifer Pope.
"What is essential during the holidays is for our children to feel safe and cared for," said Assembly Member Miguel Santiago. "With the generosity of SoCalGas and LA Family Housing, we will be able to purchase and safely distribute toys to children in Boyle Heights just in time for the holidays. With our playgrounds shut down and our children spending more time at home, these toys will bring great joy for the children and their families in my district."
Through community support and partnerships with leading organizations like SoCalGas and the LA Kings, LA Family Housing is working diligently to meet the needs of the most vulnerable while safeguarding program participants, staff, and volunteers.
LA Family Housing is a non-profit organization helping people to transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services. The organization's vision is to be a leader in providing solutions to end homelessness. The non-profit operates 29 properties of temporary, permanently affordable, and permanent supportive housing across Los Angeles, with headquarters and most services based in the San Fernando Valley.
SoCalGas is a longtime supporter of LA Family Housing, having collaborated with the organization since 1999.
Since March, SoCalGas has donated more than $3.2 million to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 recovery efforts, including supporting the region's workforce, feeding the hungry, providing bill assistance to customers, and more. The company has provided COVID-19 relief grants to more than 200 nonprofit organizations throughout its service territory during this time. For more information on SoCalGas's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus.
About LA Family Housing
LA Family Housing (LAFH) is a non-profit organization that helps people break the cycle of homelessness and regain stability through a proven model of housing enriched with supportive services. Since their inception in 1983, LA Family Housing has become one of the largest developers of affordable housing and homeless services providers in Los Angeles. Today they have 29 properties of temporary, permanently affordable, and permanent supportive housing across Los Angeles, with headquarters and most services based in the San Fernando Valley. A regional leader in homeless services for families and individuals, LA Family Housing helps more than 11,000 people transition out of homelessness each year.
About Kings Care Foundation
The mission of Kings Care Foundation (Federal Tax ID # 95-4443065) is to support families in Los Angeles by dedicating financial and in-kind resources to services and programs. To that end, the LA Kings Hockey Club reinvests in LA-based non-profits with the following shared goals: wellness, sustainability, advocacy and inclusion. Since 1996, Kings Care Foundation has invested over $15M in the community.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that mission, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2015 through 2019, the company invested nearly $7 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
