Richard Delossa, his wife Amy, and daughters Emily and Grace, began their decade-long relationship with The Giving Spirit through their membership in Brentwood Presbyterian Church. Ten years later, they are among The Giving Spirit's most loyal volunteer families.
Today, improving the lives of LA's homeless population is the cornerstone of the family's philosophy on community service. Richard and Amy love the lessons that working with The Giving Spirit have taught their daughters. "Our daughters have grown up with TGS and have embraced its core mission to serve those in need. We have taken them out with us for delivery of kits, which has been incredibly powerful for them to see both the breadth of the homeless problem across LA and the nation, and also to recognize that the people we serve aren’t much different than we are -- just with different circumstances. It has taught them that we have more than enough and that helping those who have less is much more rewarding than the pursuit of more."
Today, when Outreach events are underway, the entire family takes action. Richard volunteers daily during the events, breaking down boxes, helping replenish items on the line, hauling pallets, - whatever is needed. While out on the street he listens to their stories, giving them an ear and open heart. “The gratitude, humility, and joy that I’ve seen in the people who receive the kits are at the same time heartbreaking and heartwarming.”
Amy and Grace can be seen on either side of the assembly line, stuffing items into kits or running a kit through the line, over and over again. Emily, aka “DJ Delo” has become The Giving Spirit’s official house DJ, keeping spirits and the beat high.
Wanting to do even more, Richard has been serving on the Development Committee for the past two years and had also been involved in helping high school volunteers put together specialized survival kits for women and girls.
Why do they return, year after year? Richard explains, “The thing that I love the most about The Giving Spirit is that it brings together so many people from different communities around Los Angeles for the common purpose of helping others who are in need. I love meeting new people and finding out where they’re from, how they came to be involved with The Giving Spirit and seeing how passionate they are about helping the homeless.”
The Delossa family embodies the example of the kind, caring community members, who are the backbone of The Giving Spirit. We are so fortunate to have such a devoted volunteer family.