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FALL 2000
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Frontline Finds New
Facility to Rent
Move scheduled for mid-late November
Soon after the last newsletter was
published, Ray Castellani, Frontline’s founder, came upon a great
facility for our kitchen. Located just north of Parthenia and east of
Tampa in Northridge, this facility wasn’t even available for rent. Ray
had been looking at a different site in the same business complex when
manager Kevin Frandson took note of our specific size and financial needs
and led us to a unit that has been used for storage since the 1994
earthquake. They had been meaning to clean it up and rent it out but
really had no motivation to do so - that is, until they met Ray.
The new unit is 1600 square feet,
about 400 sq. feet more than our current facility. It is located in a
prime business complex right next to Costco, where Castellani purchases
many items each week for Frontline. It’s a safe area and it’s within a
quarter mile in every direction of dozens of stores and restaurants which
could potentially become Frontline supporters.
The kitchen will be built to suit
our needs by the same man who helped build our current kitchen, Craig
Randell, and it will be built according to plans designed by Ray. Randell
believes Frontline will only have to shut down for one week while the new
kitchen is built, so hopefully too many meals won’t be missed.
Castellani was able to directly
connect with the center’s owner, Tony Reyes, who was thoroughly
supportive of having Frontline at the Executive Business Center.
Frontline will incur
expenses by moving - construction, purchase of equipment and supplies, an
increase in rent, etc. Public Storage(the company who purchased and will
demolish Frontline’s current kitchen) and Louis L. Borick donated funds
in response to an LA Times article about our relocation. The funds will
definitely help but certainly won’t cover all of our costs, especially
since we’ll have to pay rent in both places for at least one month.
We’ll also lose some very dear
volunteers who cannot make the extended trip from Van Nuys to Northridge,
but we’ll get some new ones hopefully. To continue without disruption to
our service, however, we desperately need four Tuesday morning volunteers.
We’ll also be starting another evening volunteer shift in addition to
our Thursday evening shift.
Building a kitchen for the second
time allows Frontline to make many modifications based on over a decade of
experience. We’ve learned what works and doesn’t work in the kitchen
organization. The change is a good thing and we’re all excited.
Be on the lookout for our grand
opening in February 2001! If you’re planning to volunteer in November,
call and check which kitchen we’re using.
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NOW IS THE TIME TO SWING!
Tickets to Swing 2001’ are available !
We want you to join us for this second annual
fundraiser!
Reservations are $50 per
person or $500 per table of 10.
21 ringside seats are still available for $60 each or a
table of 10 for $600
it’s going to be a great evening with
dinner and the Glen Rogers 17 piece big band, which is great for just
listening to or dancing to!
With the move coming up quickly, the sooner you buy, the
easier it will be for Castellani
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Downtown Holidays
Each year around this time we are inundated with requests to volunteer.
Frontline always tries to publish something during the season letting all
of its supporters know that what we do is year round.
There is no need to "rush" to serve your fellow man during
the holidays. In fact, the holiday season is when we’re needed LEAST
downtown. Tons and tons of people are thinking of how much they have
during the season, how much they can be grateful for, and how so many
others "should" experience the joy of the winter holidays. For
"Frontliners" though, our giving is all year, our program all
year, our love all year. We invite you any time, all year to come down
with us.
The reality of the season is, though, that many do want to help, and we’ll
never discourage anyone from supporting the people downtown. Here are some
suggestions if you’re thinking you’d like to do something for
Frontline this season.
Give a donation - it seems the donations we receive during the
holidays carry us through some very dry months (like tax season, and the
summer). Your donation is really "a gift that keeps on giving."
Give the gift of Swing - purchase a gift certificate for some
family or friends - this is our biggest fundraising effort all year.
Cook that turkey that you get free from the store. Carve it up,
and bring it to our kitchen. The people downtown will savor it, whether it’s
Christmas day or July 16.
Make up some gift bags with toothbrushes, shampoo, and
other incidentals. A brand new pair of socks is cherished downtown.
Bake some holiday cookies and decorate them. Drop them off at
the kitchen individually wrapped.
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SPECIAL THANKS
Gaterie and Joanne
Adirim continue to send Frontline gourmet desserts. Thank you for
"caring enough to send the very best" (a hallmark slogan!) and
thank you Ben Gomberg for picking them up.
Thank you James Caird (a classmate of Castellani’s from Albany
Academy) for your generous $250 donation towards sponsoring Swing 2001’.
What more can we say about brothers Bob and Andy Jacobson at
California Fresh Foods? These guys just keep on giving and giving
every week and because of them, an additional 200 people are served every
week. If you happen to be in the Northridge Mall, stop by California Fresh
Foods for a snack or lunch.
Craig Randell needs a
chef hat! He purchases tons of food each week as well as takes the foods
from California Fresh, and turns them into gourmet dishes to serve
downtown. Thank you!
Thanks to Fred Rabban for delivering amazing middle Eastern food
to Frontline each month! Flavorful and nutritious, this food serves about
75 people.
Thank you to Maye Kaufman for going out each week with a
Frontline can to collect funds in front of supermarkets. She does it with
love and kindness and manages to send Frontline funds each week. Thank
you!
Tremendous thanks to Ben and Jerry’s and to Max Gitnick.
They’ve stocked Frontline's freezers with gourmet ice cream that we take
downtown every Saturday. What a treat it is for the guys downtown to have
a bowl of it! Thank you Ben and Jerry’s for a decade of giving to
Frontline.
Our heartfelt (and stomach felt) thanks to Maura Moelter and Dunlap
Enterprises who sponsored a Frontline bake sale. This second annual
bake sale, coordinated by Thursday volunteer Maura Moelter, had every
imaginable goodie for sale. According to Moelter, everyone got involved.
She says, "Those who want to bake, bake, and those who don’t want
to bake, buy." Special thanks to all the sweet-toothed people at
Dunlap Enterprises, especially Doug Dunlap.
Thank you Frontline 80 and Three Dollar Club Members. Your
support has kept Frontline healthy for over a decade and your love will
play an ever important role as we make the move to our new kitchen.
Special thanks to Connie at Barrons Restaurant in
Burbank, a great restaurant filled with Frontline supporters.
Barry and Loretta Cockeran
at the Beverly Glen Deli have given such love and support for so
many years. Thanks!
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Frontline Foundation
by guest columnist Erin K.
Reprinted with permission from Oasis Front Page, a
monthly newsletter from Oasis Women’s Recovering Community
Founded in 1987 by Ray
Castellani, Frontline Foundation has been serving food to the homeless
population in downtown Los Angeles.
The women of Oasis have
participated in this service for just about the past 9 years. Each Tuesday
we have picked up sandwiches made by volunteers at the Frontline kitchen
in Van Niuys, CA and transported 150-250 sandwiches downtown to the people
on Skid Row.
The sound of our horn
blowing and our voices welcoming all to
a bag lunch brings out hun
dreds of people eager to have
something to eat.
Up one street and down some
alleyways we seek out those Frontline regulars who count on having at
least one meal for the day.
Homeless, hungry and humble they
come from cardboard houses, tarps stretched between chain link fences,
under freeway bridges and many from building doorways.
These people don’t have much -
many appear to go hungry band often clean clothes and showers are hard to
find. However, one thing we’ve always seen in abundance is the smile on
their faces. Their genuine gratitude expressed not only by the thank yous,
but also with "God bless you."
Our sandwiches are simple faire,
but their appreciation is 24 carat gold. Many of these people ask about
Oasis. I’d like one day to bring one or more back with us. In fact, one
dear lost soul found Oasis once. Unfortunately she relapsed and returned
to Skid Row. Others stayed to recover.
We are brought to tears when on
Tuesday we are brought back into contact with her. Our prayers are with
her and her return.
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Our Latest Newsletter Folding Party
Pictured below are just some of the people who came to our last
newsletter folding, stapling, stuffing, labeling, rubber-banding
newsletter party. Below you’ll see Scott Yagemann, The Cowen Family,
Buddy and Maria Broin, Linda Matassa, Mary Shamrock, Russell Harley, Pat
Lynch, Richard Gayler, Kim Morris, and our four legged support system of
Sonny Boy and Patch. Others were present to help but the camera was just
not big enough! Forgive us please!
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need 4 committed volunteers
to come in on Tuesday mornings from 7:30 am - 9:00 am
to make sandwiches.
We desperately need your help so that meals can continue to be served
on Tuesdays. Call (818)780-1995
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Available in: cypress green, red, true blue, white,
nickel, green clay
Sizes M, Lg. XL
$15
($17.00 if shipping to you)
call (818)780-1995 or order on back page or on web site
Congratulations Nancy Walper
Winner of our internet drawing #2 with a $250 cash prize
Thank you to everyone who purchased
tickets online and through the mail.
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Have you visited our
web site lately ?
www.frontline-foundation.org
Thank you Earthlink for your
beautiful support
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Introducing
Frontline’s Swing Raffle
Tickets cost $25.00 each.
Only 100 tickets will be sold.
Winner receives $1000
Only those
who have
purchased swing reservations
are eligible to enter
Entries are being pre-sold now and
will also be available at Swing 2001’
Call (818)780-1995
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