NGA Hancock Park - Our January Partner of the Month

When asked what her most impactful memory with Imagine LA is, Beverly Brown can’t help but laugh. The very first memory that comes to mind is not a heart-warming, poignant moment but a funny one. Imagine LA had asked for 150 winter coats in various sizes for our families, and NGA was thrilled to help. However, the boxes full of coats ended up being so big that the volunteers could barely fit them in their cars! NGA is fully volunteer-run, and like many Californians, most volunteers don’t own big trucks. 

Beverly vividly recalls the image of overstuffed clown cars, as volunteers struggled to squeeze as many boxes as they could into their family sedans and mini-SUVs. “The comedy of logistics!” she says.  

About six years ago, during Beverly’s presidency of the National Giving Alliance’s Hancock Park chapter (serving Angelenos uninterrupted since 1895!), she learned about Imagine LA through our CEO Jill Bauman and immediately began thinking of ways the organizations could work together. As Imagine LA grew, so did our partnership. 

NGA Hancock Park has assisted with every one of Imagine LA’s family fun events through in-kind donations of critical and fun items for our families – from self-care items to school uniforms (thanks to longtime NGA partner, Operation School Bell) to towels, sheets, and more for families emerging from homelessness. Their impact would not be possible without the effort and leadership of members like Susan Kneafsey, Marilyn Wells, Dina Phillips, Pam Levine, and Robin Chehrazi. 

Beverly describes NGA’s Hancock Park chapter as a community trying to do good together by providing new clothing, linens, and personal care items to eight local organizations annually, with a focus on impacting economically disadvantaged neighbors, notably women and children. “So many folks living in poverty end up receiving hand-me-downs from well-meaning organizations,” says Beverly. “We believe that every family deserves the dignity of receiving new items and supplies, so that no family feels that they’re just getting someone else’s leftovers.” In this way, NGA Hancock Park exemplifies the mantra: think globally, act locally.  

“With everything we do, we think of the families and students we support as our neighbors – our community. We are here to lift one another up.” 

NGA Hancock Park raises most of their funds through an annual fundraiser and primarily uses them to purchase items requested by their partner organizations. A lot of this giving happens during the holidays – a particularly important season for so many. Their volunteers are predominantly women from Hancock Park and its surroundings, and the group regularly encourages members to involve their children, so families can build strong cultures of community involvement from a young age. 

Beverly is inspired by the way Imagine LA excites people to create long-term change through the power of relationships – particularly the Mentorship program, where both mentors and family members share their knowledge, experiences, and lives with another. “Imagine LA is doing such good works in the community. We are honored to support their work and help lift families up as one big community. Together, we are helping people prosper for the long run.” 

Thank you to NGA Hancock Park for all you do for us and Los Angeles!