Big Sunday happily welcomes you to Our Really Big Community Calendar.
We try to include all kinds of volunteering and helping opportunities for all kinds of interests, talents, passions, and ages! As you’ll see, these include volunteering opportunities (one-time and long-term) as well as the chance to support a nonprofit by attending fundraising events. Plus, of course, we include all of Big Sunday’s homegrown events, too! Whoever you are, and whatever you do, there is someone out there who could use your help.
If you have questions about our calendar, or would like to add a listing, please contact calendar@bigsunday.org or submit your event/opportunity via the button below.
COOK WITH NORTH AMERICA’S HOTTEST CELEBRITY CHEFS AT THE SUSAN G. KOMEN CULINARY SHOWDOWN TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER
Celebrate Your Inner Foodie While Fundraising; To Be Held October 22 at Loews Hollywood Hotel
Culinary Showdown is a first-time ever event in the United States, an extraordinary challenge giving culinary enthusiasts the opportunity to fundraise for a chance to cook alongside celebrity chefs in the type of team cooking challenge normally reserved for TV. It will be held in Los Angeles by Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County.
The Susan G. Komen Los Angeles Culinary Showdown features an all-star lineup of five Celebrity Chefs, including one of America’s Top 10 Pastry Chefs, Elizabeth Falkner*, and the owner of New York City's Red Rooster Harlem restaurant. Falkner is a huge fan of cooking competitions and has appeared on more than 30 television competition shows either as a competitor or as a judge. Falkner is a multiple award winning chef and James Beard Nominee and author of two cookbooks, Demolition Desserts, and Cooking Off The Clock. The Culinary Showdown will be hosted by John O'Hurley, best known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and who was host of the game show Family Feud and judge on Iron Chef America.
Susan G. Komen is proud to announce event co-chairs Christine Avanti-Fischer who is a best-selling author of Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads and Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food, Certified Nutritionist, TV personality and lifestyle expert and her husband, Jonathon Fischer, co-founder (with Christine) and chairman of the Jonathon D. Fischer Foundation, a non-profit with the mission of helping people around the world.
By participating in the Susan G. Komen Los Angeles Inaugural Culinary Showdown, you will also be supporting the fight against breast cancer that affects 1 in 8 women in their lifetime.
All proceeds go to Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County, supporting the organization's work to ensure all women in the Los Angeles community have timely access to affordable breast health care. Participants who raise the minimum of $1,000 will be treated to a gourmet meal as the celebrity chefs and their teams, comprised of the top fundraisers, take center stage to take part in the thrilling culinary battle.
The showdown starts with Celebrity Chefs School where contestants will be coached on everything from ingredient selection to proper plating. Trade secrets on food preparation, knife techniques, methodology and more will be revealed by top cooking masters – integral for when things heat up in the kitchen during the Culinary Showdown.
The 50 highest fundraisers will be rewarded with the opportunity to put their culinary talents to the test live on stage in tandem with a celebrity chef, as they face off in the Culinary Showdown, a Chopped-style competition at the gala October 22 at Loews Hollywood Hotel. Five teams of 10 will compete under pressure to create three unique dishes, applying the skills mastered during Celebrity Chefs School. Participants will cook each course on the clock, and will be judged by an expert panel on taste and presentation.
To learn more and register, go to www.sgklaculinaryshowdown.org
About Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County
Komen Los Angeles County is the local source for funding programs that provide breast health services, breast cancer education and outreach in their LA county service area. Komen Los Angeles donates 75 percent of net funds raised to vital local breast health services, and dedicates the remaining 25 percent to national research to find the cure. Since 1998, Komen LA County has raised over $11 million for local programs and national research grants. Komen Los Angeles has one clear mission: to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering others, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures. http://komenlacounty.org
Website Weekend is a weekend-long hackathon where teams of digital professionals, including designers, developers, copy writers, and more, are paired up with local nonprofit organizations. Over the course of the weekend, the teams will work closely with representatives from the nonprofit organizations to design, develop and launch new websites for the nonprofits. We need help from experienced web developers and designers, user experience professionals, copy writers, digital marketers, and more. We also need help with general volunteer tasks: handling checkins, cleanup, making sure lunch and breakfast are served, and that everyone has everything they need to be comfortable and productive. For more info, please visit http://websiteweekend.la/.
Are you an animal lover? If so, don’t miss the chance to volunteer with Ahead With Horses every Saturday (unless otherwise noted) at their Shadow Hills facility.
Please note AWH is CLOSED the following Saturdays: 2/13/16; 3/26/16; 5/28/16; 7/2/16; 9/3/16; 11/26/16; 12/24/16 and 12/31/16.
Volunteers will assist in providing our developmental therapy to children with disabilities.
Duties include: Leading horses, spotting (walking along side the horse), grooming, cleaning tack, weeding, raking, etc.
Volunteers must be at least 12 years old and if under 18, an adult must come to sign a liability release form at their first session.
Dress code: must wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and a shirt with sleeves (t-shirt is fine; no tank tops). If planning on staying the entire day (which is not mandatory), please bring water and a sack lunch.
Join Family Rescue Center for their weekly Saturday distribution of organic food donated from the Calabasas Farmer's Market. They need happy, helpful volunteers to sort the fruits and vegetables and to hand them out at their center. Four to six volunteers per Saturday is preferable; teens and older, please.
To volunteer, please email your name, phone number, and preferred contact method (phone, text, email) to Julie Domingo at jewelsd2005@yahoo.com. Please state how often you can volunteer — once a month or whatever works for you!
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light The Night Walk funds treatments that are saving the lives of patients today. LLS is accelerating cures by providing patient support services, advocacy for lifesaving treatments and the most promising cancer research anywhere. And it's all happening now.
Friends, families and co-workers form fundraising teams and millions of consumers help by donating at retail outlets. At the center of every great Light The Night Team is the captain. Becoming a team captain will be a meaningful experience and give you the opportunity to lead your family, friends or co-workers in making a difference for people whose lives are touched by blood cancers. These efforts culminate in inspirational, memorable evening walks in nearly 200 communities across North America each fall.
Have you ever wanted to soar like a hawk, summon the strength of a bear, or tower over L.A. like Griffith Park’s P-22? Visions and tales of nature can be found in cultures throughout the world. Bring your favorite stories or explore some of theirs to learn more about the blending of humans and animals. Using stories as inspiration, create a colorful mask to transform into a new species.
This Fall, don’t miss Food Day! Netiya is convening a Food, Faith, and Fieldwork Symposium. The 2016 event will be held on October 23rd, 2-7 pm at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Woodland Hills which boasts a two-acre fruit orchard (installed by Netiya and Seeds of Hope), a community garden, and an interfaith food pantry that feeds 3000 people monthly). Family-friendly. Come and experience a first 'taste' of the upcoming collaboration, Bread & Salt, a series of exhibitions and programs, launching Fall 2017, bringing together numerous Jewish cultural sites throughout Southern California to explore contemporary, historic and ritual aspects of food at the Faith and Field Symposium. Register on the link above! For more info, please visit http://tinyurl.com/jexj6ts. For sponsorship info, visit netiya.org.
Imagine LA works with volunteers and vulnerable families to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and neglect; and help every member thrive!
Their Family Mentorship Program matches a team of volunteer mentors from committed organizations to work directly with a family for 1-2 years. Imagine LA matches every family member with a one-to-one mentor; plus every family gets a Budget Mentor; and other volunteers help with tutoring, career development, childcare, healthcare, meal-planning and more. Imagine LA works.
Today, kids are excelling in school, parents are on career tracks, saving, maintaining budgets, and everyone remains in stable housing.
The Family Mentorship Program is a transformative experience for Families and Mentors alike. For families escaping the cycle of poverty, a mentor like you can make the difference between surviving and thriving.
All you need to do is take the first step –– please contact Outreach & Communications Manager, Tara Ignont at tara@imaginela.org or 323-944-0210 x412 for a Mentorship Application today!
NOTE: This is an ongoing, daily (M-F) volunteer opportunity!
Help the American Cancer Society prevent kids from smoking by phone banking to pass Prop 56 – a $2 Tobacco Tax (if you don't smoke, you don't pay!). This year alone, 16,800 California kids will start smoking and taxpayers in CA will pay $3.58 Billion for tobacco-related healthcare costs. Volunteers are needed to get the word out and get voters to the polls! To sign up, go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49a8af22a6f49-losangeles and all instructions are detailed. For more information, contact Primo Castro at 213-427-7394.

We are currently in GREAT need of volunteers to help out in our Doggie Daycare at our Culver City Adopt & Shop. Our Daycare Volunteers are responsible for assisting staff in the supervision of daycare dogs to ensure that everyone is playing nicely, getting attention, and receiving breaks whenever needed. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn from the best about dog behavior and body language in this area. You will learn how to mediate and control dog to dog interactions in a playgroup setting.
By volunteering in Daycare you will not only get hands on animal experience but you will also be directly helping our rescue by supporting the piece that funds our adoption program. Our Adopt & Shop stores are adoption centers that bring animals from local shelters and makes them available to adopt in a bright, happy, retail setting. Adopt & Shop is a non-profit pet shop where every dollar spent is put towards helping a homeless animal.
Come volunteer for Found Animals Foundation, a Los Angeles non-profit solely devoted to animal welfare!. We are an organization of avid animal lovers who focus our efforts on decreasing the number of homeless pets in shelters.
If you are interested in learning more about us and our rewarding volunteer opportunities, please visit our website ( http://www.foundanimals.org/get-involved/volunteer ).
Of course, we're happy to answer any questions you may have about our Foundation or our programs so please don't hesitate to ask. We look forward to hearing back from you soon!
Daycare Shift Times:
Monday – Friday: 7am-9am, 9am-11am, 11am-1pm, 1pm-3pm, 3pm-5pm, 5pm-8pm

![Ahead-with-Horses-Logo-New[1]](https://calendar.bigsunday.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Ahead-with-Horses-Logo-New1-500x460.png)


