One of USA's Largest Thanksgiving Volunteer Events - BIG SUNDAY's 12th Annual Thanksgiving STUFFING Event: 17,500 People Touched by This One Day, Hosted by Big Sunday, with Over 1,500 Volunteers from Every Walk of Life Uniting to Help Thousands This Holiday Season on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, 9 AM - 12 PM at Baldwin Hills Elementary School in Los Angeles; Many Recipients Will Themselves Volunteer to Give as Well as Receive. It's a Festival of Gratitude!

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Nov 16, 2023, 08:25 ET

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Sunday, one of the USA's foremost organizations connecting people through egalitarian helping and volunteering opportunities will host its 12th Annual BIG Thanksgiving Stuffing Event – a Festival of Gratitude on Wednesday, November 23^rd from 9 AM – 12 Noon at Baldwin Hills Elementary School, 5421 Obama Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016. On the day before Thanksgiving, more than 1,500 volunteers of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds and political affiliations from across Southern California will unite to enjoy each other's company while working to sort food, and stuffing and handing out over 3,500 bags of food to kick off the holiday season, as well as many other helping activities. Many of the participants helping will also be receiving assistance underscoring Big Sunday's belief that the world isn't divided into the "haves" and the "have nots". Rather, the world is full of the "haves" and the "have mores" – everyone, regardless of personal circumstance, has some way in which they can help someone else, a message that is resounding this year more than ever in light of such challenging times for so many. Last year, US Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff joined in the festivities, lending a hand to sort and stuff bags of food along with all the other Big Sunday volunteers. Each bag of food serves a family of 4, and the bags will be distributed to more than 100 schools and nonprofits throughout Southern California, helping working poor families, homeless people, veterans, seniors, ailing people, victims of domestic violence, people with special needs, runaway youth and a host of other people across the community. The bags will feed 14,000 people, but between recipients, volunteers, collectors, sponsors, donors and vendors, this one event will engage, touch and connect more than 17,500 people of all ages and backgrounds.

Last year, US Vice President Kamala Harris & second gentleman Douglas Emhoff participated in Big Sunday's 11th Annual BIG Thanksgiving Stuffing Event, helping to stuff bags of food along with all the other Big Sunday volunteers. More than 100 schools and nonprofits will receive bags, helping a host of underserved people across the community. The bags will feed 14,000 people, and this one event will engage, touch & connect over 17,500 people of all ages and backgrounds. Photo credit: Bill Devlin

Big Sunday, one of the US's leading organizations connecting people via helping & volunteering will host its 12th Annual BIG Thanksgiving Stuffing Event - Festival of Gratitude on Wed., Nov. 22nd in Los Angeles. Many recipients will themselves volunteer, giving as well as receiving on that day, underscoring Big Sunday's belief that the world is full of the "haves" & the "have mores" - everyone, regardless of personal circumstance, has some way they can help someone else. Photo Credit: Bill Devli

This year's event has drawn a remarkable response. "This is such a dark time, with bad news and ugliness from so many directions. I think people are thrilled to be able to work together to help each other in the name of kindness, compassion and understanding," said David Levinson, Big Sunday's founder and executive director, and author of Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins, How Absolutely Anyone Can Pitch In. Help Out. and Give Back. to Make the World a Better Place. Considered an expert in the field of volunteerism, Levinson is consulted widely by cities, nonprofits, corporations and other volunteer organizations. A host of individuals and groups, including schools, religious institutions, businesses, non-profits and families from across Southern California are already participating by hosting a collection and dropping off hundreds of pounds of food at the Big Sunday headquarters, sponsoring the event, purchasing food items for the bags from the online food registery, sponsoring individual bags of food via the Big Sunday website, making cards to be included with each bag, signing up to volunteer at the event and collecting hundreds of dollars to be put toward food in preparation for the event. Every one of the bags will include a generous supply of delicious fresh produce, thanks to a very generous donation from Food Forward. Big Sunday and Food Forward have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership.

Big Sunday (www.bigsunday.org) has been connecting people with opportunities to help, volunteer and to do good works together since 1999. Founded in Los Angeles 24 years ago by David Levinson with just 300 volunteers, Big Sunday has touched over a 1 million lives, engaging, empowering and uniting people of every imaginable background all over California, from San Diego to San Francisco, and in more than 20 different states as well as Australia and the UK. Big Sunday has completed in excess of 1.75 million volunteer man-hours and the organization has collected and distributed hundreds of thousands of items of clothing, food, toiletries, school supplies, furniture, appliances and other essentials. The organization functions as an efficient and impactful clearing-house of volunteerism, giving and community engagement. Big Sunday produces, promotes or sponsors over 2000 unique helping opportunities every year, which engage, empower, and unite people of every age, background and means to work together to support the huge variety of causes that they care about. Big Sunday's mission is to connect people through helping. Big Sunday builds community driven by the belief that absolutely everyone has some way that they can help someone else. Big Sunday was named by the Points of Light Foundation as one of "10 national nonprofits that are making a tremendous impact on our country's most critical challenges by mobilizing volunteers…These organizations also demonstrate a collaborative spirit through partnerships with other organizations to help strengthen communities across the nation."

The BIG Thanksgiving Stuffing Event is a great way to kick-off the Holiday Season! Opportunities available for wonderful visuals and interviews with a cross section of people discussing what we share in common as a community and how and why they want to help others this Holiday Season.

For more information, to sign up, or to help in other ways, please visit Big Sunday's 12th Annual Thanksgiving Stuffing Event page.

Media RSVP and Talent Inquiries: Rachel Schwartz/PR AdvantEDGE, Inc.

12th Annual Thanksgiving Stuffing Event's Generous Sponsors:
Paramount Global
Tichenor & Thorp Architects, Inc.
Food Forward

Council District 10/Councilwoman Heather Hutt
Lisa Z. & Joshua L. Greer
Illumination Entertainment
2nd District/County Supervisor Holly Mitchell
Sugar Foods Corporation

Endeavor
Sarah Hennelly
Mission Cloud
R Brothers, Inc.
STURDY.

The Dallas Foundation
Stephen Nathan
Bryan Paul
Rough Draft, Inc.
Sarah Timberman & Ed Redlich
Trans International Trucking, Inc.
Nicole Yorkin & Tim Shaheen

Nicole Baril
Suzy Schuster & Rich Eisen

Contact: Rachel Schwartz/PR AdvantEDGE, Inc.
310.990.2764; [email protected]

SOURCE Big Sunday