This place is amazing. The people that run it are amazing. They save lives of young people children…read moreand adults of all types going through human trafficking and are always there to help. They've helped me with so much. Miss Ventura is an angel as well as the founder and everybody else running Children Of The Night because of them I have my GED, which I am also on the picture from the very first Children Of The Night ‍‍ graduation ceremony

Dr Lee is the best with her resources She the best thing…read morethat happened to me But her staff Mayra and Victoria are soo rude and disrespectful it just makes it hard to ask for help when dealing with people that don't care 5 stars because it's not Dr Lee fault

I volunteered at Baby2Baby to help those in need from the LA Fires in January 2025. It was a great…read moreexperience and I highly recommend others to give back with this organization. I arrived early as I drove to LA straight after dropping off the kiddos at their pre-school in Long Beach. Upon arrival, security directed me to the rooftop parking lot (he even ushered me to the restroom as I needed to go lol). Checking in was a breeze. You sign in either by their tablet or on your phone via QR code. The staff were all friendly, informative and very organized. For this particular volunteer session, our group packaged warm sweaters and jackets for women and children. We took inventory, wrote a little note, and then attached a little squishmallow for flare. Time went by super quick! Looking forward to going back to help out again!

Volunteering in the warehouse during summer was hot and a lil uncomfortable to work but other than…read morethat the people were super friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back to help anytime!

Kidsave has been awful to us and has been a complete nightmare. Since my husband made the decision…read moreto leave the program in June and left a negative review retelling our terrible experience, Kidsave has not stopped harassing us. The director of Kidsave, Lauren Reicher-Gordon, posed as a county social worker to us on multiple occasions and was constantly rude to us. Every time we talked to her, she would talk over us or put us down and we put up with it because we thought that she was a county worker and that we'd be in trouble with the county if we stood up for ourselves. While misrepresenting herself as a county worker, Lauren gave us wrong information, threatened us with 'severe consequences' if we attended county Resource Family (foster/adopt) training and told my husband and I that we were "stealing someone else's spot" in training, as if we didn't have a right to be there. As she was telling us all this, I put the phone on speaker and allowed multiple witnesses (clients of ours) to overhear the entire conversation, so she couldn't deny it later. She then passively tried to extort money from us by claiming that we purchased $500 gala tickets (and I kept the emails 'thanking' us for our 'purchase', in case proof is needed). My husband (who is African American) and I attended two events with Kidsave, after which Lauren Reicher-Gordon made a note to rudely and repeatedly put down my husband's appearance (he was wearing gray jeans, casual button down blue shirt and a casual sport coat), telling him that he should wear a t-shirt and jeans instead. It was so disrespectful that we were floored. Funny how I (Caucasian) was dressed nicely, but she had nothing to say about MY clothing. My husband looked great and we can wear whatever the hell we want, thank you very much. Since my husband left his review, they've repeatedly harassed us via email until we blocked their email domain. Then they sent physical letters to our home threatening us and even had their lawyers threaten us with a lawsuit if he didn't take his review down. Since that time, they've had their own employees leave Kidsave fake positive reviews for months and repeatedly attack my husband's character in these reviews. At the same time, our business began receiving fake negative reviews, all from the same person, over that same span of time. My husband is one of the hardest working people I've ever known. When he's not working, all he does is help people. He coaches people with anxiety and depression online, he volunteers to mentor and teach kids and he's always there when people need him. He's never asked for praise or even thanks (in contrast to the weird praise that they give Lauren in the fake Kidsave reviews - jeez, narcissist much?) and he would be an amazing father. Things were quiet for a while until my husband and I put through an inquiry to adopt two children. Suddenly, one of Kidsave's volunteer employees, Christopher Means, leaves a fake positive review for Kidsave and starts badmouthing my husband in the first sentence. In fact, he put down my husband's clothes again! Why is Kidsave obsessed with my husband's clothes? Should I be jealous? Contain yourselves, people....Another volunteer named Destiny also left a review that was nearly identical to Christopher's, but without badmouthing my husband. At the same time, an employee of DCFS who works in the adoptions division then left Kidsave a five-star review at the same time. Completely unethical and a conflict of interest, but we are genuinely concerned that they may be attempting to disrupt placement of any kids in our home out of vengeance towards us. If the director decides that she likes you, you may have a great experience with Kidsave. Heck, don't take our word for it, read one of the glowing fake reviews written by their own employees. But ask yourself what kind of human being pretends to be a county social worker in order to feel important, blatantly condescends and discriminates against one of the nicest people on Earth and then spends months harassing that person to remove their review? Oh yeah, it's called a 'narcissist'. If you love Kidsave, great. If you want to worship the director and feed her narcissism, WE DON'T CARE. LEAVE OUR NAMES OUT OF YOUR CORNY SOUNDING REVIEWS and let us get on with our lives, you obsessive weirdos.

Kidsave is an amazing agency. I have volunteered with them through their Weekend Host Program and…read morethe experienced gained is worth a lot. They match you with older kids in the system that are looking for hosts. The goal as a volunteer is to promote adoption and to promote/expose your kid to families and individuals who might be interested in adopting. The agency gives you the necessary training and tools for that. They also have events where both you and the child get to do different activities. i.e. The Grammy Museum, beach activities, sports, etc. Your commitment is only twice a month. It doesn't really have to be the whole weekend, but it could be one day two times a month or simply as having dinner/lunch with your kid twice a month. Also, if you have been thinking about adopting a child and you are not sure if you are ready for it, this would be the perfect venue to get your "feet wet". You get to host a child and develop a relationship with him/her. You get to see first hand how the "system" works and with time you might be able to predict the needs of the child and see if you are ready to commit to adoption. If it doesn't work out, at least you made an impact on a child's life.

Great little afterschool center for elementary kids trying to do some work afterschool. It's kind…read moreof small but the work room is very welcome, there's a small kitchen/book room with snacks, and there are several volunteers and adults to help the kids out. Just a heads up - the business has renamed itself, they are now the Tom Bradley Family Resource Center as far as I know. But this whole page is pretty empty so who knows if anybody will ever even see this........

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post a review about the Tom Bradley Family Source…read morecenter. The center offers many support services, such as but not limited to, computer classes, after school homework tutoring, free tax preparation services, ESL classes and a Vegan free food giveaway every 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month! Most of the staff is professional and kind. It's a real blessing to have a community center like this in the heart of Mid-city LA. A few times they didn't know if they were going to have to close the doors because of the lack of funding. But I guess they worked it out because they are still there.

I found Free Arts while searching for a place to volunteer at involving children and art. Free…read moreArts is a wonderful organization which provides four different art programs to choose from. My love for art and compassion for children is the reason why I am working toward becoming an Art Therapist. Since I can't practice art therapy now, Free Arts is a great stepping stone to get involved with! I am so thrilled to be apart of the Free Arts team! And, I look forward to my learning experience here. Also, the staff really helps you feel comfortable and provides various resources to better equip the volunteers as well as families being served. Check out Free Arts for Abused Children at Freearts.org :D

I wish I would have found this gem earlier!…read more Finding a summer camp can be tough, my little and I went through a bad experience, so of course we set out to find a new camp. Then came STAR. The best camp I have come across! More specifically, Mar Vista Super Star camp. My daughter comes home everyday full of stories and activities. I couldn't be happier with how the camp staff has treated her. She has nothing but good things to say, and my 8 year old can be one tough critic. STAR has something for everyone, so many activities, it isnt just fun, but also educational. STAR will be my go to summer camp every year! Thanks guys!

My daughter, who is on the spectrum, attended STAR camp for a few sessions before. They are fully…read moreaware of her challenges and promised me they would be patient and work with her. They are contacted with the regional center who pays for this! Well, every chance they got, they called me to pick her up early because she said something mean to another kid, who was mean to her first! When my daughter told the counselor that the kid was mean and if they could please talk to them, they were rude to her and told her that she's the one they should be talking to. They are a bunch of lazy, rude employees who aren't willing to give anyone the time of day. We're done with this place.

My 400th Yelp review!…read more @ReadingtoKids is a grassroots organization that aims to inspire the love of reading to children living in underprivileged areas of Los Angeles. Every second Saturday of the month, volunteers go to different elementary schools in the LA area. At these schools volunteers read books to kids that range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade. (Currently there are seven different elementary schools that Reading to Kids volunteers read at. They are Alta Loma Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School, Gratts Elementary School, Los Angeles Elementary School, Magnolia Elementary School, Politi Elementary School and White Elementary School). Volunteers come from all walks of life. From students to young professionals, all have a common goal of improving the reading and learning skills of elementary school kids. Reading to Kids volunteers are dedicated to giving these kids the opportunity to succeed in life. At the end of each volunteer session, the kids are given prize books that they can take home. The hope is they can acquire many prize books that will help them further love reading. One of the most endearing moments for me as a volunteer was when at the end of the reading session, a little kindergarten boy came up to me and asked if I could read his prize book to him. As I sat down to read the prize book, more kindergarten kids circled around me and together they listened and pointed to the different pictures in the book. The smiles on the kids faces after was so heartwarming. Soon after one of the parents walked up to me, smiled and said "Thank you." That too was another wonderful moment. Many of the elementary students that come to these reading clubs do not have the privileges that most kids have. They do not have the advantages of having a library, of having a Barnes and Nobles at every corner or of having the latest cell phone. Many come from low income families, they live in impoverished areas and English is their second language. The fortune of these kids comes in attending these Saturday morning reading clubs. These kids go to these reading clubs because they want to learn. They want to succeed. They want the opportunity to have a better life. Seeing these kids so eager to read and to learn, is a humble reminder that learning is a privilege that many take for granted. I love Reading to Kids and I'm thankful to my high school friend who first introduced me to this great volunteering opportunity. The elementary schools kids are simply endearing. I also am amazed by all the good hearted people who volunteer. I am in much admiration of the amount of folks that go out and sacrifice their Saturday mornings to volunteer. (Some stats: Reading to Kids has an average of about 300 plus volunteers reading to an average of 780 plus children every month). I being a volunteer myself know that giving up a Saturday is totally worth it. The opportunity to be able to make a difference in these kids' lives and give them a better chance to succeed in life is simply priceless.

Many moons ago, I worked at a continuation school in Compton. The high school students I worked…read morewith didn't know basic multiplication, had no textbooks and were reading at a 5th grade level. Saddened by how badly the educational system had failed these kids I wanted to do something for them. I wrote a letter to Scholastic and they sent over boxes and boxes of books so we could create a library on campus! Around that time I somehow got on the Reading to Kids e-mail newsletter and have been meaning to get involved. I finally signed up and did it! Here's how easy it is to get involved. -Sign up online -Show up (they provide a light breakfast) -Read to the Kids -Do an arts and crafts project with the kids -Go to El Cholo for free appetizers and meet other volunteers -Repeat once a month You can read to kids from kindergarden to 5th Grade. You read in pairs. You get anywhere from 3-8 kids. It's so easy and these kids are so fun to be with, I think everyone should spend one Saturday a month doing this!

My family and I had a great experience at the YWCA Angeles Mesa Child Development Center! I sent my…read moretwo older children to this school and now my youngest child is graduating from this school. The Director knows all parents by name, always pleasant and accommodate my family needs. The Teachers work hard to get the children prepared for Kindergarten. Both of my older children were tested and placed into the first grade level after graduating from YWCA Angeles Mesa. They provide many activities to keep families engaged in the program. And most important, my child loves going to school everyday.

I ABSOLUTELY Love YWCA Angeles Mesa Child Development Center! I was referred to this hidden gem by…read morea family member. The Director Miss Princess and her staff is AWESOME! They have a brand new playground that my 4 year old calls a park. I know that my child is safe because they have a security system at the entrance and you have to buzz in to gain access. Cameras are in the classrooms and playground. The Teachers have been working there for many years, and know a lot of the families in the community. My daughter comes home and tells me everything that she has learned at school, how to write her name, science concepts, counting from 1-50, addition and subtraction, phonics, sight words and pre-reading. I'm glad that I made the decision to keep her at Angeles Mesa until she turns 5 years old instead of enrolling her in TK at LAUSD. I'm confident that she is prepared for Kindergarten.