ACTION
over
Awareness
Upon returning to Los Angeles after living in New York City for three years, Jasmynne-Shaye noticed an undeniable increase in LA's homeless population, and as she scratched her head trying to find answers to the problem, she chose to do something instead. She had grown tired of telling herself, "When I'm better situated, I'm going to give back," and she was equally tired of seeing the pain, destitution, and hopelessness across the faces of those most easily forgotten. So with absolutely no plan, she and a friend teamed up to prepare and deliver fifty sandwiches and fifty bottles of water to homeless encampments in Los Angeles. Both individuals were incredibly inspired, and Jasmynne-Shaye knew that this was not to be a one-time event.
That same month, she saw a number of folks engaging in the 22 Push-up Challenge on social media. They were doing twenty-two push-ups for twenty-two consecutive days to raise awareness for the numbers of soldiers that lose their lives in the military each day. All of a sudden she was turned off by the word "awareness," uncertain of what good truly comes from simply being aware. So, again, without much thought, she set out to identify a child that had lost a parent in the military. Instead of merely being aware, she was determined to take action. It took some doing, but once she identified a child, and received permission from the surviving parent, she mailed that child a care package of school supplies for the upcoming school year. Much like the sandwiches, that wouldn't be the last package that she sent.
Through her selfless deeds, and her need to take action, the programs Food for Friends and Freedom Kids were born, and Healing, Hope & Love was established. That was May 2016. Today, Healing, Hope & Love operates on a national level reaching food-deprived populations and children of deceased military around the country.