Best of Los Angeles Award
Patricia Jones, Founder of P.S. I Love You Foundation, Chosen One of L.A.’s Charity Hero for 2021
“We're honored to include Patricia Jones, Founder of P.S. I Love You Foundation into our BoLAA family.” ~Aurora DeRose
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2021 -- Patricia Jones, Founder of P.S. I Love You Foundation, has been chosen by the "Best of Los Angeles Award" community as one of L.A.'s Charity Hero, according to Aurora DeRose, award coordinator for the "Best of Los Angeles Award" community.
"As a premier educator, Patricia Jones has earned a place on L.A. Charity Hero list," said DeRose.
The "Best of Los Angeles Award" community was formed six years ago and consists of over 7,500 professional members living and working in Southern California. It celebrates the best people, places, and things in Los Angeles with the slogan "No Ads. No B.S. Only the Best."
"The mission of the community is to celebrate the best of Los Angeles and allow its community members to connect with other members who share the highest standards of quality and integrity," expresses DeRose. "We're honored to include Patricia Jones Founder of P.S. I Love You Foundation into our L.A Charity Hero list."
Patricia Jones is the founder and visionary of the P.S. I Love You Foundation. Over 20 years ago, the inspiration of this incredible organization came from Jone's compassion and empathy to make a difference in the lives of others in need. Today, the foundation's mission is to develop and implement effective social and emotional learning programs for at-risk youth from elementary to high school to influence positive habits, social and emotional awareness, and healthy relationships.
The P.S. I Love You Foundation focuses on teaching essential skills that influence the development of compassion, good choices, positive attitudes, and confident minds. Patricia states, "We believe that any positive experience for a child, no matter how small, can last a lifetime."
The P.S. I Love You Foundation is building healthier communities by being a unique source of empowerment. Donations for this remarkable charity go towards their mission to fund enrichment, social and emotional learning programs, and community outreach events for at-risk youth in Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. They provide opportunities and support that children otherwise would not have.
Aurora DeRose
Boundless Media Inc.
Mentoring program brings volunteers and kids together in sand and surf
Children compete in the sack race during the Day at the Beach event, bringing together nearly 300 boys and girls ages 5-12 from neighboring under-served communities with 300 volunteers from the Beach Cities for a day of fun and healthy bonding in Manhattan Beach on Saturday, September 18, 2021. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
By Lisa Jacobs
PUBLISHED: September 20, 2021
Nearly 200 children, many of them stepping onto the shore for the first time, built sand castles, learned to surf and boogie board and participated in a massive relay race on Saturday, Sept. 18.
It was the 20th annual Day at the Beach, sponsored by the nonprofit PS I Love You Foundation.
Being back in sun and on the sand was uplifting, said founder Patricia Jones.
"When you hear that healthy laughter of a child and you realize: That’s what’s supposed to happen - all the time, for all of us," Jones said the Monday after the event when the nonprofit pairs one adult volunteer with one under-served child.
Jones was filled with joy, she said, after a year where so many of us have had little to celebrate.
Day at the Beach, after being canceled last year amid the pandemic, brought out single volunteers and those from other nonprofits such as Walk with Sally, Boys and Girls Club, Richstone Family Center and National Charity League. All told, 350 people came to help out at the community-wide event, said Jones.
The event’s sponsors included TechStyle Fashion Group from El Segundo, South Bay Lexus and CDC Small Business Finance.
When she put out the call for children aged 5 to 12 this year, Jones said, many of the organizations that send kids, such as the Boys and Girls Club, were keen. They told her the kids they serve need human connection now more than ever.
Bringing people with varied backgrounds together, said Jones, at first can foster an uncomfortable connection. But then, as the kids begin to interact with people who may be different from them and come from different places, the mood starts to change.
"There's this hope," said Jones. "The world may be different from how I see it. And that’s ok."
It’s all about planting a seed of inclusivity, said Jones.
Jones began her social/emotional learning program for at-risk youth in 1998. The idea behind PS I Love You, which she and volunteers have rolled out throughout the South Bay, is that self-confidence, respect and compassion form a basis for later academic success.
Jones teaches there are only four things we can control in any given situation: Choosing what we ourselves think, say, do or feel.
And, she said, it doesn't matter how or where you live. Tapping those thoughts, words, actions and feelings can be powerful.
"Whether you live in a car or in a mansion, the impact of those four things can change your perspective," Jones said.
For Day at the Beach, it's the personal connection that makes a difference. In fact, Jones said, as they played in the sand, she overheard one child tell a friend: "This is the greatest day of our lives."
You never know when just one person might have an impact on your life, said Jones.
"He or she might break something down that you’re struggling with," said Jones, "Or they might build something up that you didn’t know was there."
PS I Love You Day at the Beach
EASY READER STAFF | SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
She Angel’s Holly Powell (center) with PS I Love You’s Vanesssa Reyes Smith and Patricia Jones.
Over 200 kids from the Richstone Family Center, Walk with Sally, Boys and Girls Club and other youth programs, along with an equal number of volunteer mentors from the beach community, and another 100 local volunteers, participated in the 20th Annual Day at the Beach, on Saturday, in Manhattan Beach.
The day was hosted by PS I Love You Foundation, PS I Love You, which provides Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in Los Angeles schools and shelters. “If we can encourage kids to respect themselves, they will respect others,” said PS I Love You founder Patricia Jones. She began organizing the annual Day at the Beach two decades ago to give inner city kids the opportunity to enjoy the ocean. Sponsors included Text Style Fashion Group, South Bay Lexus, CDC Finance, Fresh Brothers, and Chevron. For more information, visit PSILoveYouFoundation.org. ER
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PS I Love You Foundation Receives 2021 Best of Redondo Beach Award
Redondo Beach Award Program Honors the Achievement
REDONDO BEACH May 5, 2021 — PS I Love You Foundation has been selected for the 2021 Best of Redondo Beach Award in the Emotional Health & Well-Being category by the Redondo Beach Award Program.
Each year, the Redondo Beach Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieve exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Redondo Beach area a great place to live, work and play.
Various source of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winner in each category. The 2021 Redondo Beach Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Redondo Beach Award Program and data provided by third parties.
About Redondo Beach Award Program
The Redondo Beach Award Program is an annual award program honoring the achievement and accomplishments of local business throughout the Redondo Beach area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implement programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Redondo Beach Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organizations works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.
SOURCE: Redondo Beach Award Program
Be A Mentor at P.S. I Love You's Day at the Beach
Sep 02, 2021 07:50AM ● By Patricia Jones
What if one of the best days of your life was spent with someone you never met before? You could be one of 300 kindhearted, caring adult mentors to share a day with a child from an underserved community, forming the beginning of a positive, healthy, and happy relationship.
The P.S. I Love You Foundation’s 20th Annual Day At The Beach, Adopt a Child for One Day, will be held on the sand in Manhattan Beach on Saturday, September 18, from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
This event unites youth from diverse demographics from Compton, Watts, Hawthorne, Gardena, San Pedro, and Long Beach. Though it’s a short day, mentors have made many incredible connections and emotional ties that can last a lifetime.
Right now we are in need of 100 more caring adult mentors to register. The outpouring of youth groups that want their children to attend this year is overwhelming. We believe that this event can become one of the steps in the healing process to overcome the isolation and anxiety of COVID.
Please join us to give your time and love to a child in need. All it takes is healthy human connection to bring the Hope and Trust children need to feel important and inspired.
A Memorable Day at the Beach
The “Adopt A Child for One Day” community event is designed to give underserved children a memorable day filled with one-on-one attention and care.
Adult mentors, who also bring their own children or loved ones, should be prepared to be in the water with their mentee, ride boogie boards, get their faces painted, eat pizza, and experience the funniest two-legged mentor/mentee race ever seen.
Although there may be some uncertainty at the start of the day and maybe even feelings of mistrust and anxiety being matched with someone you have never met before, within 15 minutes the mentor and mentee bond. This starts shaping a beautiful day filled with purpose, energetic conversations, patience, love, laughter. healthy interaction and lots of smiling faces.
The mentees bring as much happiness to the adults and the mentors give to the at-risk youth. It’s truly an amazing day…and as many youths say, “the Best Day Of My Life.”
The P.S. I Love You Foundation
The P.S. I Love You Foundation, a 501C3 non-profit founded in 1998 and reaching 650 to 1,200 at-risk youth annually, is dedicated to the development implementation of effective Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs and community outreach events.
The foundation's flagship event, the Day at the Beach, aspires to bring the human connection so many of us need to start the healing process from the past year... and to heal the built-up feelings of isolation, loneliness, worldly injustices, and anxiety. Day At The Beach aims to inspire youth and adults alike by exposing them to positive community activities and healthy experiences that lead to visions of trust, inclusion, respect, hope and love for self, others and the world around them.
The Day at the Beach event is made possible by its generous first sponsors, TechStyle Fashion Group, The Water Buffalo Club, South Bay Lexus, Fresh Brothers Pizza and CDC Small Business.
Patricia Jones is the founder of the P.S. I Love You Foundation. She launched the foundation in 1998 in an effort to bring compassion and empathy and to make a difference in the lives of others in need.
The Business of Human Connection
BY PATRICIA JONES
