P.S. I Love You Foundation will host its 23rd annual Day at the Beach on Sept. 14, 2024. Each year more than 300 volunteers spend a Saturday at the beach with a kid who has likely never stepped onto a beach or swam in the ocean. Each volunteer is matched one-on-one with at-risk kids from Los Angeles schools, shelters and foster care programs.

Children and their mentors ride boogie boards, take surf lessons and run in relay races along the coastline at Eighth Street and The Strand in Manhattan Beach.

Rather than simply writing a check or dropping off a bag of clothing, volunteers get a chance to bond and interact with those they are helping—making the experience even more rewarding, says Patricia Jones, founder of P.S. I Love You. One volunteer who spoke anonymously said, “We [volunteers] just stood back in amazement at a job well done. The joy seen on the children’s faces was worth every trudge back and forth to refill the meter. I would do it again in a heartbeat!”

School Programs

Did you know that P.S. I Love You Foundation also provides free K–12 school programs to underserved communities? These 12-week programs reach 1,000 children annually, are expanding and in need of volunteers and donations. Here’s a quick glance at the two main programs:

• Love4Life is a proprietary 12-week interactive social and emotional learning program for K–12 students taught by a trained P.S. I Love You instructor or school staff member either in the classroom, online or after school.

• Yoga123 is a 12-week wellness program dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk children through the practice of yoga and the teachings of breathing, physical exercise, emotional strength and mental sharpness.

Kids participating in P.S. I Love You's Yoga123 Program.

The goal of both programs “is to provide youth with the vital life skills necessary to develop and manage emotions, self-confidence, respect, compassion, positive habits and healthy relationships,” explains Jones.

Next year Jones plans to hire expert community speakers to talk with teens about career and college options and health and wellness topics. With teen depression and anxiety rates rising, as well as drug use and violence in schools, Jones is even more committed to helping today’s youth embrace healthy options and find nurturing role models.

How Can I Help

There are many ways to assist P.S. I Love You Foundation. For more information visit www.psiloveyoufoundation.org/