LOS ANGELES, November 5, 2009—In keeping with Paramahansa Yogananda’s spiritual ideal “to serve mankind as one’s larger Self,” Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) temples throughout the Los Angeles area will be reaching out to thousands in need during this holiday season.
In Pacific Palisades, members at the SRF Lake Shrine are collecting gift donations for over 800 foster children serviced by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Los Angeles County. SRF members each pick a tag off of the Temple Christmas tree for one of the foster children and fulfill the Christmas wish of that child. The gifts are collected throughout the month of November and then wrapped at the Temple before they are sent to the DCFS offices. Social workers personally deliver each gift to the child before Christmas.
The SRF Hollywood Temple on Sunset Boulevard will be collecting food items during their holiday food drive, which began in October and will run until Thanksgiving. Members at the SRF Hollywood Temple will deliver their November food drive items to the Union Rescue Mission to aid families and individuals who need extra help during the holidays. In addition, the Hollywood Temple Singers will be visiting two convalescent facilities each Sunday in December up till Christmas. At each location, they not only sing Christmas carols, but also provide cookies, flowers, and good cheer to the residents at the conclusion of the performance.
The SRF Temple in Glendale will host an annual Christmas party on December 20 with food, caroling, and gifts for the families at Path Achieve homeless shelter in Glendale. Children from the residential and transitional living programs are invited to write a “wish list” of what they would like for Christmas. Temple members then choose a child’s name and buy them a gift. Adults in the residential programs also receive gifts. Everyone is treated to hot cider, baked goods, and carols while Santa personally distributes each child’s gift and his elves hand deliver the adult gifts. The SRF Glendale Temple also holds a fundraising event at the temple prior to the holiday party, and this year, as in past years, half of the fundraising collection will be given to the shelter as a monetary donation. The shelter has often commented that the SRF Temple in Glendale is the only group to offer such a party every year.
The monks and nuns of the Self-Realization Fellowship monastic community will host a Children’s Open House for local area children at SRF’s International Headquarters on Mt. Washington. At the same time, SRF nuns will bring cheer and caroling to several rest and convalescent homes in the Los Angeles area.
Paramahansa Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 to carry on his spiritual and humanitarian work worldwide. Headquartered in Los Angeles since 1925, SRF also publishes books and recordings by Yogananda and his monastic disciples. Today, SRF has more than 500 temples, retreats, and meditation centers in over 60 countries around the world. The SRF Lake Shrine, located at 17190 Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, offers weekly lecture services, group meditations, retreats, and a beautiful outdoor sanctuary (www.lakeshrine.org). The SRF Hollywood Temple is nestled in the heart of Hollywood at 4860 Sunset Boulevard, and has a full schedule of weekly lecture services and group meditations (www.hollywoodtemple.org). For more information about the weekly lecture services, group meditations, and other offerings at the SRF Glendale Temple, please visit www.glendaletemple.org.
For more information about Self-Realization Fellowship, please contact: Self-Realization Fellowship, 3880 San Rafael Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90065-3298. Tel. (323) 225-2471 • Fax (323) 225-5088 • www.yogananda-srf.org.
