We went to Dodger Stadium on a rainy Saturday night to get my husband a vaccine – he is 66 and eligible at this time. Although there are many headaches in the vaccination process (well chronicled in the LATimes, as well as nationally), we had a successful experience. The many volunteers working in the cold and rain were inspiring and we have never been so grateful to wait in a line.
Several of the volunteers wore CORE tee shirts, and I had time to learn more about the organization while waiting in line. CORE stands for CORE Response, a Community Organized Relief Effort. The organization was started in 2010 by Sean Penn to support disaster relief in Haiti and its “life-saving programs revolve around building healthier and safer neighborhoods to mitigate the scale of devastation caused by disaster”.
Right now, CORE is providing free COVID-19 testing throughout Los Angeles and Northern California, in partnership with local governments and community-based organizations. The organization is also supporting vaccination efforts in select locations in Los Angeles County.
At the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made a donation of $500,000 to CORE, which is a much needed boost for their good work.
If you are looking for a way to help out in our local crisis, there are plenty of job listings for contact tracers and field managers. If you want to volunteer, sign up here. And if you want to give to support the organization’s efforts, as we did, please click here.
If you recall the “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” table read that reunited Brad and Jen last summer, the charity event benefited CORE.
