Answering a call to think beyond themselves, Ojai Valley School students volunteered last year at the inaugural Love Thy Neighbor benefit concert, working both set up and clean up for the event, which raises money to operate the area’s winter warming shelter for the homeless.
The student support was so welcomed and appreciated that when it came time to plan this year’s concert, event organizers asked for OVS by name, hoping students once again would be willing to lend a hand.
Consider it done.
Led by OVS English teacher Crystal Davis, a dedicated group of student volunteers has signed up to help staff this year’s event scheduled for Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ojai Valley Community Church, 907 El Centro Street.
“I think students gain an understanding of the process of organizing an event,” Ms. Davis said. “They learn self sacrifice – to give up an afternoon to do something because they understand that benefitting their community, benefitting others, benefits them as well.”
The second annual Love Thy Neighbor concert is a fundraiser for the Ojai Valley Family Shelter, which provides a safe, restful and clean environment for homeless people to spend the night during the four coldest and wettest months of the year.
The shelter also provides its residents a hot meal, a warm shower and a good breakfast the next morning.
Local churches host the shelter on a rotating schedule based on the day of the week, and the shelter is funded only by donations, so the money to cover operating expenses comes from the Love Thy Neighbor benefit and other fundraisers throughout the year.
Last year the concert generated $4,400, with all proceeds going to the winter shelter.
Event coordinator Martha Ditchfield said the concert is more than a simple fundraiser, as it works to bring together people in the community. Neighborhood children bake cookies for the concert, area residents volunteer to organize and stage the event, and local musicians provide the entertainment. This year’s lineup includes Household Gods, Smitty and Julija, and local music legend Jimmy Calire
“I feel like…the people in the shelter are our neighbors, and that’s why we call it Love Thy Neighbor,” Ms. Ditchfield said.
A total of 30-40 people volunteer at the benefit concert, including students from OVS and Nordhoff, Ojai residents and those on the board of the shelter. Ditchfield said she is incredibly grateful for all the assistance she and other organizers have received, and is looking forward to more help this year.
“Volunteer participation is the heart of the shelter,” Ms. Ditchfield said. “It is absolutely necessary, there is no way we could function without it.”
This year, in addition to volunteering time for the benefit concert, OVS students and teachers raised $500 to help sponsor the event, becoming a gold sponsor of the musical fundraiser.
Last year, OVS student volunteers worked long hours, assisting the staff with tasks such as setting up tables, arranging food and folding chairs.
Sophomore Chloe Park chose to volunteer last year as a way of helping the community and meeting people from other areas. But she said the best part of volunteering was the pride she held in her school.
“Our school had a good reputation,” Chloe said. “Many people asked ‘Where are you from and what school do you go to?’ I said, ‘OVS!’ I was proud of my school.”
OVS senior Nakita Moler volunteered at last year’s event, and was so moved by her participation that she signed up to take part again this year. In addition to doing some good in her community, she said she was able to take-in a first-class concert, all the while knowing that she was contributing to a good cause.
“It was a nice family environment, with a lot of people coming out to help,” Nakita said. “It was a great event to be a part of.”
For Ditchfield, the best part of last year’s concert was how people who had never been involved with the shelter before came forward and helped. She said the event connected the shelter with the community in a way that usually doesn’t happen.
“We are taught to love thy neighbors, and this is just a way to do it,” Ditchfield said. “It’s really easy to help the people you like, but it’s really hard to help the people you don’t care for, and I think that love thy neighbors is a way to get people to do so.”
Tickets are $15 in advance ($10 for seniors) and available at Attitude Adjustment, Genesis and the Ojai Presbyterian Church. Entry is $20 at the door for general admission, $15 for seniors and $10 for children under 12.