The Los Angeles Department of Aging provides holiday gift bags for all seniors who participate in its home-delivered meals program. After 2,000 of these bags were destroyed by an arson fire in Downtown L.A, First Lady Amy Elaine Wakeland led an effort to replace the bags. The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles was prepared to accept incoming donations as soon as we heard the news.

In just one week, more than 1,500 donors contributed a total of over $225,000, and the Mayor’s Volunteer Corps assembled the new gift bags.

Thanks to the generosity of Angelenos across the city, all 4,500 seniors in the program, many frail or homebound, received their holiday gift bag in time for the 2014 holidays.