Friends Outside LA

Financial Support

• Cash Donations are gratefully received. Your tax-deductible check can be mailed to our Pasadena office at 464 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101.

• Celebrate a Special Occasion such as a birthday or anniversary or memorialize the life of a departed loved one by making your gift. A beautiful personalized card will announce your gift to the person of your choice. Your tax-deductible check can be mailed to our to our Pasadena office at 464 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101.

• Make That a Double. Check with your employer to see if they match funds donated by employees. Ask your spouse or partner to make the same inquiry. Doing so automatically doubles your contribution!

• Planned Giving. Please contact (626) 795-7607 ext. 104 to learn more about how a planned giving option might be right for you.

In-Kind Support

• In-Kind Donations. Toiletries and new children’s toys are very useful to the families we assist. We will gratefully accept mini-bottles of shampoo and hand lotion from your travels and gift-with-purchase items from cosmetic purchases. Donations may be personally delivered or mailed to any of our community-based offices. See addresses on left-hand side of screen.

Volunteer

Volunteers assist in our county’s jails and in our community-based offices in Pasadena, Watts, or Long Beach.

• Jail visitors provide non-judgmental support and help county jail inmates maintain their family bonds, access other services, and make release plans.

There are a number of good reasons to help inmates and the reasons benefit all of society:

• 95% of all inmates are released back into our communities;

• Without intervention, inmates will likely return to jail, at a cost to taxpayers of $35,000 per inmate per year, or more;

• Inmates who maintain family ties are the most likely to make successful transitions back to the community.

A weekly, 3-hour commitment for a six-month period is required.

• Office assistants help clients by responding to their telephone calls and greeting them when they come to an office. They also help our staff with general office duties.

A weekly, 3-hour commitment for a six-month period is required.

• Special events volunters assist with one-day activities such as the Annual Holiday Party for Children.
A one-time commitment of up to 16 hours is required.

Take the Next Step…Become a Volunteer

For more information about becoming a volunteer, please call (626) 795-7607, ext. 102, or email us at: info@friendsoutsidela.org.

Who Volunteers and Why?

“Volunteering has offered an opportunity to use some of my skills to be helpful. The primary reward has been working with such a caring staff and board members. I have already learned a lot about the problems for the families and the incarcerated.”
–Former Board President Marilyn Graves,
Executive Director, Retired, Crippled Children’s Society of Southern California

“I became a volunteer after learning about Friends Outside through the League of Women Voters. Friends Outside people are the best. Most important to me is getting to know people as real human beings who I would not have known otherwise, our clients, a great experience through the years.”
–Jail Visitor Bea Wolfe, Housewife

“I became a volunteer for Friends Outside because you help so many people turn their lives around and break the cycle of incarceration. The primary reward is the gratitude of those who have been served by our organization.”
–Board Member Fr. George Horan, Co-Director, Office of Restorative Justice, Catholic Archdiocese of LA

“I became a volunteer after taking a class and discovering that (jail visiting) was something I liked. It helped me get my college degree and I pursued a new career. The biggest reward was helping an inmate reunify with his parents and get back to school.”

Update: This young man is now in college at Long Beach State University and playing baseball on the University’s team.
–Jail Visitor Richard Shilling, Ramsey-Shilling Realtors

“I became a volunteer with Friends Outside as I knew the organization had an outstanding reputation and it seemed a natural progression for a retired public defender to continue to serve the same community. My primary reward for serving is several fold. I have gotten to know a board and staff of extremely dedicated people. (And) I have been able to utilize my experiences within the legal system.”
– Board Member Bruce Hoffman, Alternate Public Defender, Retired

“I have always been attracted to non-traditional projects and Friends Outside seemed to reach the most marginalized of those persons who definitely are non-traditional.”
–Anonymous

“We get very excited about people who achieve great success in our society but I think we also have to take responsibility for our failures. I am rewarded by providing humanity to persons in inhumane circumstances.”
– Jail Visitor and Board Member Roger Wood, Retired Episcopalian Priest