Big Sunday, Largest Region-Wide Community Service Volunteer Event in America Attracts Tens of Thousands This Weekend, May 2nd & May 3rd, 2009

Big Sunday, http://bigsunday.org, is the largest region-wide community service and community building weekend event in the United States. Founded in Los Angeles 11 years ago by David Levinson, a Hollywood-based full-time writer, with just 300 volunteers, Big Sunday now stretches from Santa Barbara to San Diego counties, to the Inland Empire, and will engage over 50,000 volunteers this weekend. Big Sunday's motto is: Everyone Helps, and Everyone Wins. Big Sunday is driven by the belief that anyone, regardless of how rich or poor, how old or young, your race, religion, gender or ethnicity, can help someone else. Big Sunday cuts across all social barriers, bringing together thousands of people of all ages, races, religions, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds from all over Southern California. Big Sunday is entirely non-denominational, apolitical and free - volunteers are asked to donate just their time and talent. www.BigSunday.org.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 2, 2009 -- This weekend, May 2rd and 3rd, marks the 11th anniversary of Big Sunday, http://bigsunday.org, the largest region-wide community service volunteer weekend in America, with Big Sunday expecting over 50,000 volunteers again this year. Started more than a decade ago by David Levinson, a Los Angeles-based full-time writer with just 300 volunteers, David and his team now lead the largest community building and community service event in the United States. Big Sunday's continues to strive to be the largest all-volunteer day in America, not in response to a man-made or natural disaster, but simply because Big Sunday wants to build community, all across the region. This year there are over 500 Big Sunday projects, at over 300 locations helping more than 250 organizations all across Southern California. With fewer resources than ever before, Big Sunday will get bigger than ever, and help even more people than before.

At its core, Big Sunday is more than a day of volunteering -- it's also about community building. Big Sunday uniquely cuts across every social barrier, bringing together thousands of people of all races, religions, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds from all over Southern California, proving that real issues, which effect people's day to day lives, actually do cut across racial, religious, political and ethnic boundaries, and do help to build common ground. There are volunteer opportunities for every passion, every talent, and every age, in all parts of Southern California. People volunteer individually, with their friends, families, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, businesses, organizations or other groups. Projects are scheduled throughout the weekend to work with any schedule. Projects can last anywhere from one hour to two days. Big Sunday's motto is: Everybody Helps, and Everybody Wins -- anyone, regardless of how rich or poor, how old or young, your race, religion, gender or ethnicity, can help someone else.

Big Sunday is entirely non-denominational and apolitical, and despite it's massive size and scope, it is a non-profit organization whose projects are still run predominantly by volunteers. Everything is free on Big Sunday, and volunteers of every stripe are asked only to share their time and talent. Big Sunday projects, including necessary supplies and services, are funded by private and corporate cash grants and in-kind donations.

On Big Sunday's past, people have painted, landscaped and rehabilitated needy schools, cooked and served dinner at homeless shelters, provided a "day-of-beauty" for homeless women at a women's shelter, landscaped youth centers., thrown parties for blind and disabled children, sang to lonely seniors, cleaned up trash along the Los Angeles River, bathed and readied dogs for adoption, knitted clothing for premature babies, decorated cookies for distribution to abused children, and did home repairs at AIDS hospices, among a host of other things all over Southern California. Volunteers also took part in blood drives and free outdoor concerts at different times. People also collected, sorted and gave away canned food, new and used clothes, books, furniture, as well as assembling more than 2000 gift boxes to give to homeless families, babies with AIDS, needy students, battered women, and U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. Big Sunday's Green Sunday includes many projects for those interested in the environment, and Singles Sunday uniquely brings together socializing with social action. Although Big Sunday is held over one weekend, many of Big Sunday's volunteers stay actively involved throughout the year with the organizations they've helped. In addition, Big Sunday facilitates scores of Holiday Projects between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. To volunteer, or to help in other ways, please visit http://bigsunday.org.

Big Sunday '09 Sponsors:
City of Los Angeles
Cheesecake Factory
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Disney
Farmers Market
Fox Studios
Fuel Outdoor
The Home Depot
NBC Universal
ShareFest
Swimpool Supply Center, Inc.
Temple Israel of Hollywood
Time Warner Cable    
Wells Fargo Bank
Zenith Corporation

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