Tour of Hope

December 2008 marks the 12th Anniversary of the Angel City Chorale Tour of Hope.

Inspired by former ACC member David Steinberg, this day-long tour of LA allows us to reach out to those whose lives have become temporarily unraveled, and to give back to the community via the gift of live choral music. Each December, we board buses in the wee small hours and tour the city til dusk. We arrive, tumble out of the bus, and set up in less than 15 minutes. Over the past several years, weve visited more than 30 organizations from soup kitchens and havens for the homeless to sober living communities for women in recovery. Weve danced with the elderly and laughed out loud with children who are leveraging technology to overcome challenges related to both blindness and developmental difficulties. Weve brightened with song the gamut from teen shelters to hospital burn units, never failing to coax and encourage our audience to join in the fun. We share songs, we share laughter, we share time, we share tears. We listen to their stories and struggles with an open heart and endeavor to touch theirs with the healing, inspiring power of music.

This year, we are also proud to announce the second ACC Tour of Hope webcast. This will allow us to broadcast live to a number of the citys battered womens emergency and transitional living facilities, where women and their children are often in confidential and necessary seclusion.

If you are so inclined to support and contribute to this extraordinary day, your tax-deductible donation will go directly towards covering expenses to produce the days events, as well as towards necessity-based, withlist items for each of our partner sites.

Your donations are always welcome; please contact Frances at (323) 234-8386 or tourofhope@angelcitychorale.org

Tour of Hope Schedule ~ Saturday, December 13, 2008

1. Catholic Worker

   Founded over 70 years ago, LA Catholic Worker’s mission to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoner, also seeks to offer a gospel-based critique of the dominant culture within the Catholic tradition but outside the institutionalized structures of the church. LA Catholic Worker operates a free soup kitchen, hospitality house for the homeless, AIDS ministry, hospice for the dying, a newspaper, and regularly offers prophetic witness in opposition to war-making and injustice.

   In addition to serving more than 2 thousand meals per day to the homeless and marginally employed, Catholic Worker sponsors an annual card-signing event for the homeless community during the holiday season. Many participants have not had the resources to reach out to or contact family and friends until this time. This extraordinary community-based operation has opted not to become non-profit, and is instead, entirely supported by the generosity of donations from the private sector.

   When their operational site was destroyed in an earthquake several years ago, Catholic Worker rebuilt just a simple prep kitchen and poured the remainder of insurance funds into an oasis for the homeless, complete with mosaic tiles and outdoor serenity fountain. On December 13th, we will be able to see the beautiful angel statue which was donated to Catholic Worker from Angel City Chorale in 2007 to honor of our own Deborah Bogen. Her tireless work for ACC and Catholic Worker is the role model for our current Tour of Hope.

   For more detailed information about the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, check out their website at http://www.lacatholicworker.org/

2. LA County USC Women’s and Children’s Hospital

   The Department of Pediatrics based at LAC+USC Medical Center is responsible for the provision of pediatric care at Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) and Clinics, three Northeast Healthcare Network Comprehensive Health Centers (El Monte, Hudson, and Roybal), seventeen juvenile detention facilities located throughout Los Angeles County and MacLaren’s Children Center. These efforts are complimented by five nationally recognized clinical and research programs: Mobile Asthma Van “Breathmobile” Program; Comprehensive Maternal-Child and Adolescent Center for Infectious Disease, Virology and HIV Management and Research Program; Center for the Vulnerable Child; Sickle Cell Research Program; and the Neonatal Medicine and High Risk Follow-up Program.

   The clinical efforts at WCH result in over 7,216 admissions, 55,000 outpatient visits and 40,000 emergency room/ urgent care visits. There were approximately 51,000 pediatric visits at the three comprehensive health centers and 18,000 admissions and 35,000 outpatient visits in the juvenile hall facilities.

   The LAC+USC Medical Center Violence Intervention Program (VIP) and their Center for the Vulnerable Child (CVC) continues to provide 24 hour, 7 day per week multidisciplinary services to over 200 victims of child abuse and sexual assault each month. In addition to ongoing funding from State and local funding sources, CVC received over $200,000 in grant and gift funding to support the Community Mental Health Center and their individualized services for children and families impacted by family violence. The Nike Foundation© donated $25,000 for the creation of the Nike© play yard that opened in September.

   For more detailed information, check out their website at http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine/departments/pediatrics/divisions/overview.html

3. Nazareth House

   Located in West Los Angeles, this facility provides residential, rehab and convalescent care for the elderly. It is operated by the Sisters of Nazareth, an order of Catholic women religious. In addition to the Los Angeles facility, the Sisters of Nazareth also provide care at other houses in Fresno, San Raphael and San Diego.

   For more detailed information, check out their website at http://www.nazarethhouse.org/centers.htm

4. Brentwood Presbyterian Church

   BPC, over 75 years old, is a large, vibrant, caring family of faith. BPC has again graciously agreed to host the final stop on our ACC Tour of Hope 2008. Without their generosity, our ambitious plans to reach out to so many agencies in a single site, as well as virtually with the help of technological solutions, would not have been fulfilled. BPC is a frequent benefactor to the CLARE Foundation and OPCC and opens its facilities to many community events in the West Los Angeles area throughout the year.

   For more detailed information, check out their website at http://www.bpcusa.org/

   BPC Live Concert Attendees

   CLARE Foundation, Inc. began in the late 1960's when a group of dedicated and concerned community members responded to the lack of recovery-oriented services for the homeless and indigent alcoholics gathering on the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice. First, they distributed food and literature; next, the group began providing education, resources and referrals plus a place to detox. Today, CLARE has 11 programs in Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City and Los Angeles, and provides recovery-related services to more than 22,000 people a year. Their Web site

   OPCC (Ocean Park Community Center) is the largest and most comprehensive provider of services on the Westside of LA to low income and homeless youth, adults and families, battered women and their children, and people living with mental illness. OPCC not only provides services, but also housing, with 200+ emergency and transitional beds in six facilities, and 150+ in transitional living facilities. 8,000 people are served annually. Their Web site

   Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their Children (OPCC).
   Established in the 1970s, Sojourn provides battered women and their children a safe space to regroup, rebuild, and reestablish their self-esteem and lives. Diverse programs serve women and children of all classes, cultures and religions, regardless of economic circumstances, physical and mental disabilities or immigration status, including those who are traditionally underserved, such as lesbians, elderly women, prostitutes, women with HIV, and the substance-dependant. Sojourn fosters solidarity among women and children, educates the community and society, and is committed to effecting political and social change through grassroots activism and a philosophy of individual empowerment. Empowering people to rebuild their lives with a focus on the immediate and ongoing needs of battered women and their children who are struggling to live free from abuse. Their Web site

   Mary Lind Foundation
   For more than 50 years, Mary Lind Recovery Centers has provided residential substance abuse recovery services to homeless men and women throughout Southern California. Mary Lind's primary service area is central Los Angeles, including downtown’s Skid Row and the Westlake District’s MacArthur Park. This area has the highest poverty rate in Los Angeles County (33%) as well as the majority of the County’s homeless substance abusers. At any one time, we serve more than 300 men and women, most of whom are homeless, at our Royal Palms, Bimini and Rena B. recovery homes.

   Their mission is to provide the opportunity for the chronically welfare-dependent, alcoholic and/or addict, to become a sober, self-supporting citizen. Their belief is that recovery, adult education, and job preparedness work together to resurrect lives. They also believe that education gains and employment preparation increase the odds of sustaining recovery. Their Web site

   Webcast Participants

   Vista del Sol Care Center
   Vista Del Sol Health Services and its continuum of health services has been a vital part of the West Los Angeles Healthcare community since 1980, providing a full spectrum of care for geriatric clients and their families.

   First and best known is Vista del Sol Care Center, a 50-bed skilled Nursing Facility. Vista, as it is known in the community, provides Skilled Nursing Care around the clock, to care for and supervise a wide variety of conditions from convalescing and long-term supportive care to Rehabilitative Care. Residents are admitted by their personal physician and stay under his or her care while at the center. Their Web site