Virtual Car Wash

On Friday, I had the privilege to meet and hear speak a man who started the largest gang intervention organization in the nation. His name is Father Greg Boyle. He is a Jesuit priest who lives in East LA who has been befriending and caring for gang members for nearly twenty years. He loving refers to them as homeys and homegirls. I first learned about him through a book written by Celeste Fremon called "G-Dog and the Homeboys." The book is about Father Greg's life and the lives of some of the gang members he has touched. When he spoke on Friday, he emphasized the idea of kinship and helping people rediscover the truth of who they are in God. Obviously that is a very condensed version of all the ideas he shared but it was very moving.

Father Greg is the Executive Director of Homeboy Industries. Part of his outreach to the gang members was to find them employment. So he opened the Homeboy Bakery. It's mission is "to create an environment that provided training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side." The organization now has five businesses: Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy/HomegirlMerchandise, and HomegirlCafé. He shared with us that in order to raise money to continue operating, they created a Virtual Car Wash. All they are asking for is $10 to help raise money for all the wonderful things Father Greg and Homeboy Industries are trying to do.

Click here to get your car virtually "washed."