Portrait of Jacky

Jacky Long boarded and longboard danced. She was just a beginner and was not competing at the time we had met. She was studying this form at her secondary school, Sylmar High School and once a week she went to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she improved via their informal type lessons. She never formally studied dance.

Jacky liked the Peter Pan move, she said, “you lose your balance a lot.” She didn’t wear any protective gear except for sliding gloves which she put on the ground, “and then you could drag your hands” to manipulate movement.

Jacky was 15 years, born in Usulután, El Salvador, but raised in San Fernando Valley, California.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin © 2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

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Portrait of John-1

I met John as he stood between two stone dragons giving Taiwanese tourists directions to an historical Chinatown location. John was one of the luckiest people I ever met: he was able to secure a ticket on a commercial aircraft to leave Vietnam three days before the end of the Vietnam War. He flew to Taiwan, lived there for 7 years and then immigrated to the United States in 1982.

John, being retired, worked part-time at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Los Angeles on Broadway in Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA. John explained that  Chinatown had 27 different different groups that united to maintain security and elevate the status of the community.

Walking around Chinatown, before I bumped into John, I had noticed security guards just about on each block, and after speaking to John, I understood how this came to be.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin © 2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Pesach

I met Pesach at Big Sunday’s 5th Annual MLK Day Clothing Collection & Community Breakfast, his second year at the event. Pesach was in a celebratory mood as he volunteered with various friends and Kevin, his caregiver. Pesach means Passover in Hebrew, so it was not surprising that he was festive.

Pesach was a 26 years old, orthodox Jew, who played basketball in the Special Maccabiah; the Jewish version of the Special Olympics. He had lived his whole life in Los Angeles, California, USA with his parents and multiple siblings. He regularly participated in community-based volunteering, such as Meals on Wheels ‎ and assignments with the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) who helped provide housing for lower income and underserved people.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin © 2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.

Portrait of Charming

I met Charming at the  Big Sunday’s 5th Annual MLK Day Clothing Collection & Community Breakfast. She was originally from St. Lucia in the Southeastern part of the Caribbean, but she lived in Los Angeles, California, US for about 20 years, specifically, the mid-Wilshire area.

Charming worked for a fundraising company called Angel Bins. She helped get funds for companies like Sierra Club who sought funds for their environmental projects: to educate, engage, and empower volunteers to restore, improve, and protect waterways, water-quality and water monitoring

Charming  does all social media postings for Angel Bins: on Angel Bins | Facebook   Angel Bins (@Angel_Bins) | Twitter, @angel_bins_fundraisingInstagram.

Image Credits: Bat-Ami Gordin © 2017 all rights reserved. Credit if you use it, please.