A Sense of Home strives to prevent homelessness by creating first-ever homes and a community for youth aging out of foster care.
DONATE
FUNDS
DONATE
FURNITURE
BECOME A
SPONSOR
A Sense Of Home 2024 Gala
Thursday October 24th at 6:30PM
Honoring Serena & Shawn Levy
Hosted at the Home of The Honorable Nicole Avant & Ted Sarandos
gala-18-480x320-1
gala-speakers-2
gala-speakers
kg-cc-480x721-1
jamie-migos-tyres-480x311-1
- Sponsoring the creation of a home in the individual or family’s apartment
- $8k donation
- Up to 24 volunteers (depends on the size of the home)
- You will receive details of the individual or family you are creating a home for
- Feel free to bring anything your heart desires, for example — welcome home gift baskets
- Videos and photos provided
- ASOH provides all items for the home including refreshments and lunch for you and your family
- Donate $8k to sponsor a home in honor of someone you adore
- We will send an animated card revealing this gift to the individual you are honoring
- We will send you the video of your home creation and can further dedicate it to the individual you are honoring
- You may want to share with your community & colleagues the ASOH wishlist asenseofhome.org/asoh-wishlists.
- This is updated weekly to reflect the items ASOH is in most need of to install all 250+ items in the every home that we create.
- For example if you click on our wishlist you will notice that we are in great need of crib mattresses and decor.
- Your colleagues could shop online for this list, or you might choose to do a decor drive at your company — where everyone brings in decor to the office on a specified date and then you deliver all of the decor donations to the ASOH warehouse on a Tuesday.
Are you ready to change a child's life?
- Take a look at your possessions. What don’t you really need?
- If you are an 8-year-old, and you have out grown your amazing 7-year-old clothes — Please collect and prepare them for a child who needs these right now.
- Neatly fold all of your favorite 7-year-old clothes and place it in one of your largest organizer boxes.
- Then add shoes, socks, schools supplies, books, toys and games.
- Write a note especially for the 7-year-old who is going to receive these items.
- Create a label for the outside of the box and label “7-year-old”. Then tell all your friends to do the same!!
- Schedule 2 hour or 4 hour volunteer activities
- Tuesdays through Saturdays 9:00am - 4:00pm
- Individuals and/or small groups of volunteers
- Create custom kits for homes
- Build furniture
With every new beginning, comes the opportunity to donate furniture & homewares. We thank you for thinking of A Sense of Home for your donations.
- It is important to note that we only accept undamaged items.
- Donors are asked to have all items delivered by their movers or companies, such as Lugg or Dolly.
- Deliveries are made to the ASOH warehouse: 3457 W. El Segundo Blvd. Unit A. Hawthorne CA 90250.
- All donation deliveries must be scheduled.
- Go to asenseofhome.org/donate-furniture-housewares for more information and to complete your donation form.
- Upload photos of all furniture items to ensure the size will work within the small spaces in which we create homes.
We welcome and thank you for undertaking a book drive to inspire and help enhance education for the amazing young people we serve.
- We install a Love Library in each home both for kids and for the young adults we serve.
- To participate in the book drive, you can collect donated books or purchases.
- Go to asenseofhome.org/love-library for our suggested reading list and where you can purchase.
- We ask that you ship your “Love Library” packages to the ASOH warehouse: 3457 W. El Segundo Blvd. Unit A. Hawthorne CA 90250.
- Raise $8,000 to sponsor a home creation on site
- Go to justgiving.com/campaign/asenseofhome
- Your team gets to create the home, or make it a virtual home creation and you will receive a video and dedicate it to a loved one or a group of individuals.
- On-site home creations occur when daily LA COVID caseloads are lower than 500/day.
- Prepare welcome home baskets and kits for ASOH recipients.
- The kits and baskets are designed to serve a specific function or to make a specific room functional.
- For example, cooking kits ensure a fully functional kitchen and yummy cooking.
- Go to asenseofhome.org/welcome-home-baskets for a full list of each kit.
- Watch this video to get inspired youtu.be/kVCBWn9_F7I
Latest Press
Nonprofit turns houses into homes for former foster youth.
Create Your Own Fundraising Campaign
Rally your community and friends in innovative ways to ensure A Sense of Home can keep up with increasing demands for home creations in Los Angeles, and help ASOH open in cities across the country.
Listen to the latest podcasts
featuring A Sense of Home
Composed Living with Elsa Elbert
featuring Elvira Laguna and Rachel Stich.
Small & Gutsy features A Sense of Home
w/ ASOH CO-Founder Georgie Smith.
FREEDOM WRITERS PODCAST
In this week’s episode, Erin Gruwell is joined by Georgie Smith, the founder of A Sense of Home and the 2016 top ten CNN Hero of the Year.
Shared Ingredients
Georgie Smith joins Andrew Pelosi, host of Shared Ingredients, to share A Sense of Home’s mission, story, and ways to get involved.
THE SOCIAL SHIFT PODCAST
w/ASOH CO-Founder Georgie Smith
I Want Her Job Podcast
A random act of kindness to help furnish an apartment for someone who aged out of foster care altered the course of Georgie Smith’s life, and led to the creation of A Sense of Home.
Women Lead Radio
Donna Netwig, host of Women on the Journey; Tales From the Trenches, has a conversation with Georgie Smith, Founder/CEO of A Sense of Home, on creating a business around a passion for giving, and the journey of developing a 501c business.
ANTHONY TRUCKS PODCAST
w/ ASOH CO-Founder Georgie Smith
MY L.A. Community Affairs Show
w/ ASOH CO-Founder Georgie Smith
Crazy Good Turns
Young adults who age out of the foster system often bring with them a lifetime of trauma. One organization is determined to make them feel at home.
0
+
Homes Created
0
+
Former Foster Youth
0
+
Volunteer Hours
0
+
Donated Items Installed
0
+
Volunteers
Today marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month where we celebrate Latin American and Hispanic contributions and cultures.
Did you know that 31% of the former foster youth we serve are Hispanic/Latino?
@refinery29’s Nicole Froio, Colombian-Brazilian journalist, researcher and writer, interviewed A Sense of Home’s Community Resource Navigator, Elvira Laguna, earlier this year asking the question on all our minds every day and this month especially -
Why are Latinas so overrepresented in the foster care system?
Join us in reflection and read the full article via link in bio.
#hispanicheritagemonth #latinoheritagemonth #fosteryouthempowerment
#TFW you find out you are being awarded $18,750 to support achieving your educational goals! 🥹🥳
#ASOH is beyond proud to announce the 14 Alumni who have been selected to receive our 2024-2025 A Sense of Home Scholarship thanks to the generosity of Jeneva Bell Philanthropy, the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, and Layla Bagels. Each Awardee will receive:
🎓 18,750 to use towards school tuition, transportation, books, childcare, rent and other educational expenses.
🎓 Individual support with resource navigation and money management.
🎓 Opportunities to connect with fellow Scholarship recipients and our community of inspirational former foster youth.
Join us in congratulating these hard working students as they continue their pathway towards acheiving their educational goals!
🙏🏼 to our volunteer Michael Stich for putting this heartwarming video together 🫶🏼
@jenevabell @laylabagels #chucklorrefoundation
#asoh #asenseofhome #fosteryouthempowerement #communitypowered #asenseofhomescholarship #educationforall
This year’s Gala Honorees are integral to the bedrock and soul of ASOH.
When #ASOH long-time Board Member and Early Childhood Development Specialist, Serena Levy, teamed up with her husband, Shawn Levy, to create homes with their family, we knew we were entering a magical new chapter in our nonprofit history.
Despite his busy schedule directing the epic “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and brilliant producing of “Stranger Things,” Shawn finds time with the remarkable Serena and family to bring their kindness, compassion and community to help grow ASOH not only in LA but in NY.
For eight years, the entire Levy family has been deeply involved in creating homes, delivering necessities during the pandemic, and laying the groundwork for ASOH to open on the East Coast later this year. This is just a mere glimpse of the work that they have contributed to!
✨ Join us on October 24th to honor @slevydirect and @serenalevy at A Sense of Home’s 2024 Gala hosted at the home of the Honorable Nicole Avant and Mr. Ted Sarandos!
🎟️ Link in bio for tickets and lounges!
#serenalevy #shawnlevy #fosteryouthempowerment #asoh #asenseofhome #losangelesevents #communitypowered
@livingspaces recently joined the #ASOH community and tackled so many of our donation needs this summer! They started the season by donating an incredible number of high-quality furniture and ended the summer by lovingly coming together to create a home for Kweigne and her young family. 🏠💕
Help us celebrate Kweigne’s journey and join us in thanking @livingspaces for supporting the amazing former foster youth we serve!
#fosteryouthempowerment #asenseofhome #losangelesvolunteer #ittakesavillage #communitypowered
ASOH’s most generous funders since the very inception of ASOH are also the hosts of this year’s Gala! Ambassador Nicole Avant and Mr. Ted Sarandos are opening up their home, yet again, so we can raise the funds needed to continue our mission.
Their immense generosity has not only made ASOH possible, but their spirit and passion has provided us with the energy that we have needed on this remarkable journey to provide homes, community and wraparound services to former foster youth.
👏🏼 In this first photo, Ambassador Nicole and Ted stood with us in Variety Magazine at the very outset of ASOH in 2015. They have made ASOH possible ever since!
Their very first donation allowed us to purchase a truck which gave us the momentum needed to get off the ground. Today, we have expanded our warehouse and added numerous wraparound services to this work along with educational scholarships, financial literacy training, and so much more. It is all thanks to those who have stood with us and who have kept us moving.
🫶🏼 Thank you, Ambassador Nicole and Ted, for being our North Star. Your wisdom, insights, kindness and strength have guided us at every step, and we are immensely grateful.
See you all on October 24th at our Gala thanks to these amazing hosts! Tickets and VIP Lounges available via link in bio!
@nicoleavant @tedsarandos #fosteryouthempowerment #asoh #asenseofhome #losangelesevents #communitypowered
✨ A Celebration You Don’t Want to Miss! Join us on October 24th for A Sense of Home’s 2024 Gala 🫶
Visit the link in bio to purchase tickets or VIP lounges today and join us in honoring Serena & Shawn Levy for all of their remarkable efforts supporting former foster youth in our community!
#fosteryouthempowerment #asenseofhome #asoh #losangelesgala #losangelesevents #ittakesavillage #communitypowered
👏🏼This👏🏼is👏🏼what👏🏼community👏🏼looks like!
#ASOH Pay-It-Forward Alumni and Home Creation sponsor, the Specialty Family Foundation, share what brings them together in the spirit of community to create a home for Breeanna.
Breeanna celebrated her 25th birthday in her new home with her 2.5 year old Maltese mix, Simba! Currently attending college, Breeanna has dreams of both becoming a teacher and opening her own nonprofit similar to the Boys & Girls Club for foster youth. Her goal is to be the support she wishes she had when she was young, and we can’t wait to continue cheering her on through this journey.
Breeanna, we loved coming together to celebrate all that you’ve accomplished and the endless possibilities in your future. Welcome to our #ASOH community!
Special thanks to the Specialty Family Foundation for helping empower inspirational young people like Breeanna!
▶️ Full video via link in bio.
#fosteryouthempowerment #asenseofhome #communitypowered
It takes a village, and we’re immensely honored to have @Serta @Beautyrest @tuftandneedle in ours! Join us in saying THANK YOU to our new brand partners for donating countless high-quality mattresses and box springs for upcoming Home Creations!
🛏️ Sleep helps improve brain function, lowers risk of serious health issues, reduces stress and prepares you for the next day ahead.
🙏🏼 Thank you @Serta @Beautyrest @tuftandneedle for donating the gift of good health to the deserving young people and families we serve!
#ittakesavillage #fosteryouthempowerment #asoh #asenseofhome #serta #tuftandneedle #beautyrest
Our ✨Home Creation sponsors✨ are the foundation from which #ASOH can fulfill our mission and ensure that families like Johniqueca’s have everything they need to thrive in their new home.
Stephanie and Matt not only sponsored Johniqueca’s Home Creation, they also volunteer their time at other Home Creations and at our Alumni Summer Celebration earlier this month! True community all-stars! 💫
Stephanie and Matt, thank you for believing in Johniqueca and investing in our mission! We can’t wait to see you again soon in the spirit of foster youth empowerment.
▶️ Watch the full video via link in bio.
Interested in joining this community-driven duo as a Home Creation sponsor or volunteer? DM us or email home@asenseofhome.org!
#fosteryouthempowerment #ittakesavillage #asenseofhome #volunteerlosangeles
🏠 Welcome Home Johniqueca!
This incredible new mom recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and welcomed her into their new home with utmost love and care.
After emancipating from the foster care system at 21 years old, Johniqueca overcame homelessness while studying Business at Long Beach City College. Today, she’s stably housed and working towards her dream of owning her own daycare with a passion for making kids happy.
With special thanks to Home Creation sponsors Stephanie & Matt, this hardworking mother welcomed her new baby girl with everything this young family needs to start this new chapter together.
🙌🏼 Join us in welcoming Johniqueca home and thanking Stephanie & Matt!
#fosteryouthempowerment #asoh #asenseofhome
Huge lift up to this hardworking group of volunteers for helping put the final touches on our newly expanded warehouse.
Loved seeing long-time volunteers, first-timer supporters, and Pay-it-Forward Alumni come together to help paint our warehouse walls, organize inventory, build furniture, and even wash our trucks!
Interested in volunteering at our warehouse? DM us! Together we can serve more youth and families than ever before in our newly expanded home! 🫶🏼
#asenseofhome #fosteryouthempowerment #communitypowered
🎉 SAME HOME, MORE SPACE!!
Thrilled to share that we have recently DOUBLED our warehouse space in Los Angeles. This means we can accept more furniture donations, welcome more volunteers, host more events for Alumni, and create even more first-ever homes for former foster youth in Los Angeles.
There is great need for A Sense of Home to reach more youth who are exiting foster care, to prevent homelessness and support housing stability for as many as we possibly can. Expanding our warehouse is a big step towards achieving this goal in Los Angeles!
Help us reach more youth and families by getting more involved with ASOH! Attend our Gala on October 24th to help raise funds for our warehouse expansion, come volunteer with us, or donate furniture and home goods.
Link in bio for more info on how you can join us in being a part of the solution.
#asenseofhome #asoh #communitypowered #fosteryouthempowerment
Join us in celebrating our recent Home Creation with Raymond!
“This means a place that is finally, permanently for me and a place I can call home,” Raymond shares, “I’m grateful.”
We’re just as grateful to be a part of this chapter with you, Raymond!
This inspirational individual experienced the foster care system and homelessness all while trying to get through school. He looks back and shares, “It was hard and it took me all summer working with my case manager to get into this apartment.”
Today, Raymond is attending Los Angeles Harbor College studying business and communications AND on the cross country running team. While he works on his career aspirations, he loves to workout, skateboard, play videogames, and draw. Our hearts were full picking out home décor items with all this in mind.
Thank you to our volunteers and Pay-It-Forward Alumni for coming through for this resilient young man. We also LOVE when @theanefoundation comes through with personalized toiletries for Home Creation recipients!
Interested in sponsoring a Home Creation like Raymond’s? DM us or email home@asenseofhome.org!
#asenseofhome #asoh #communitypowered #fosteryouthempowerment
Everyone here at A Sense of Home always looks forward to the @utafoundation’s Annual Day of Service, Project Impact, where they send a team of dedicated volunteers like Miyelle to help create a home for one of the former foster youth we serve. 🏠
Huge thank you to the @utafoundation for supporting Myunique’s family with such great care and community spirit. We can’t wait to see you again next summer, UTA!
And again, WELCOME HOME, Myunique!
#asenseofhome #asoh #fosteryouthempowerment #fosteryouthvoices
This #TransformationTuesday we’re celebrating Myunique, a 23-year old single mother who entered the foster care system at seven years old and emancipated at just 18. While juggling work in security, accessing local housing resources, AND being an incredible mom to her six year old daughter, Myunique moved into her first apartment earlier this summer!
Now she’s ready to conquer the world starting with completing her high school credits before moving onto cosmetology school. She’s already mastered “french tip” and acrylics!
Myunique envisioned a boho home and was most excited about getting a cozy couch. Volunteers from the @utafoundation NAILED it!
She shares, “This Home Creation meant a lot for me and my baby. I know it will bring nothing but happiness to my daughter. I’m most excited to feel like I’m home and to feel like I’ve made it.”
You’ve made it, Myunique, and we’re so glad you’re a part of our #ASOH community!
#asenseofhome #fosteryouthempowerment #fosteryouthvoices
Today’s National Nonprofit Day and we’re taking this opportunity to thank the constellation of nonprofit providers that help support former foster youth in our community! It takes a village 👏🏼
These are just SOME of the incredible agencies we collaborate with that help connect #ASOH Alumni with services for employment, education, legal, health, wellness, parenting and more.
Thank you again to all our nonprofit partners for tabling and sharing resources with our Alumni at our Summer Celebration last weekend! @makegoodinc @steppingforwardLA @laangelsnesttlp @JourneyHouseorg, @ChildrensInstituteLA @LADEPlawyers @official_tcci
Know a local nonprofit serving former foster youth that we should connect with? DM us!
#nationalnonprofitday #ittakesavillage #losangelesnonprofit #communitypowered #fosteryouthempowerment
© 2023 Copyright A Sense of Home,
A tax exempt charitable organization qualified under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Tax ID# 47-3814056.
© 2024 Copyright A Sense of Home
A Sense of Home | The After-Foster-Care Community