Friendly Center

I started volunteering with the Friendly Center two years ago during their annual Holiday Toy Drive and was initially very impressed by how easily and actively they engage new volunteers at their events. As someone who was very active in community service in high school and college and was a member of various clubs such as Key Club, Kiwanis, and Boys and Girls Club, I struggled to find a warm and inviting organization after I graduated school, and floated from organization to organization only volunteering a couple hours here and there but never feeling a sense of belonging.
At Friendly Center, it was different. There are volunteers, both new and old, at their events but everyone was so sociable and friendly that they immediately drew me in. After attending their annual partnership banquet and also volunteering in their biggest event the International Street Fair in Orange, I joined their board of directors, and I am so proud to be part of this group today.
The Friendly Center started in 1924 (90 years this year!) by an inter-​denomination group of men from a bible class in Orange, who originally wanted to help families in need in their immediate area. SInce then, Friendly Center has expanded to serve in education, job placement, counseling, and they continue to help provide emergency assistance such as food services for not only families in Orange, but also in Placentia and Garden Grove as well.
This is a great non-​profit to support, and I invite you to come to our main headquarters in Orange to take a tour to see what we’re all about! Friendly Center is always looking for new donors and/​or volunteers to help us in our mission to end generational poverty, and we believe that together, we can do it!