Life & Work with Angel Jones of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Jones.

Hi Angel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a little girl growing up during holiday time, my mama would take us to have dinner with family and friends at their homes. I did not feel welcome at some of the homes we visited. We started vacationing to Carson, CA from Savannah, GA where my maternal grandmother lived with her brother and sister-in-law whom she loved dearly. Holidays in California were more exciting and family oriented. I felt welcomed every time and the food was delicious! My grandmother eventually moved into her apartment about 20 minutes away in Gardena, CA. The holiday tradition continued at Uncle Herbert and Aunt Gerald home. Everyone loved my grandma’s “Red Rice”. She made a pan for every holiday to take with us. We eventually moved to California to live with my grandmother. As I got older my grandma started to experience some issues with her health. I took over the “Red Rice” holiday tradition. My family praised me for continuing. My grandma complimented me stating how good the rice was and that it tastes exactly like hers.
My grandmother unfortunately moved back to Georgia due to her health conditions. Uncle Herbert and Aunt Gerald started to get older in age. I decided it would be necessary to begin cooking and hosting at my home. My Uncle, Aunt and cousin Deirdre accepted my invitation and enjoyed the holidays at my home with my family and me.
I remembered feeling unwelcome in some of the homes we visited for the holidays as a child. I thought about how I had nowhere to go for the holidays when I lived in Louisiana for a brief time before returning to California. I did not want anyone to experience that feeling. I invited all my friends who had nowhere to go or just could not afford to prepare a holiday meal to join us. They brought their family and friends. We had a wonderful time and always had plenty of food. I have to say that made me so happy. I cannot describe it in words.
Uncle Herbert, Aunt Gerald and Dee Dee moved away to North Carolina leaving me and my children behind in California. My mama, sister, younger brother, Cousin Cody, and grandma were living in Georgia. My older brother and his family lived in Las Vegas. Eventually my friends started to move on in life. Some moved to different states, got married and now have families of their own.
My children started inviting their friends with nowhere to go to have holiday dinner with us. I got married to my now husband, Carl. Moving forward, my children and their friends got older. They also started moving away, going off to college, starting their own families, etc.
This made me feel some type of way. I never knew how to cook for a small number of people. The holidays were not the same.
December 2002, I walked the streets noticing how the items given away in the holiday boxes are being wasted. The holiday boxes are a blessing to families with homes that have refrigerators, stoves, ovens, and microwaves because the food is safely stored, and they have the means to cook. The boxes are not helpful to families without homes because they do not have anywhere to store the food or to cook. Some families do not know how to clean and cook a turkey. Some of the items have expired.
I decided I will help by serving hot home cooked traditional holiday meals to the undeserved community members with nowhere to go or who simply cannot afford to have a holiday meal on the actual day of the Holiday. I imagine this would also help families living in their homes with lack of funds, no resources, and no utilities too.
April 2023, Building Our Village Together Nonprofit Organization was founded. We served the first Hot Grab & Go Holiday Meal for Juneteenth at 95th Street Elementary School. We moved the location of the events to the Coin-op Laundromat on 92nd and Vermont in Los Angeles with permission to use the parking lot by the owner Mr. Johnson for these events.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Funding is the biggest challenge. We also provide a Cooking Mentorship program teaching the youth how to cook. We create menus, take them grocery shopping, meal prep, before/during/after cleaning, and cooking. I am the Founder so most of the funding comes from my personal income. I often must cancel the cooking class to ensure that I have funds for the Hot Grab &; Go events as more people would benefit. We have received some donations from our Board Members, Smart & Final, Costco and community members. We have received help from Holly Mitchell but outside of the donations everything falls on me. We are currently fundraising with, The Honey Baked Ham CO for our Thanksgiving and Christmas Day Hot Grab and Go Holiday meals event. They are the costliest events. We will appreciate your support. We are also accepting donations via Zelle or checks made payable to: Building Our Village Together Nonprofit Organization. I handle everything from start to finish. I plan every event, I shop for every event, I do everything myself except for on the day of. We have our Board Members and Volunteers to come help serve. The unloading and loading help vary but if I do not have help because the help is late or just not there it falls on me. I rent a U-haul truck and go from there. So yes, guaranteed help with planning, prepping and funds are the challenges that I face. God’s grace and Mercy are the reason for perseverance.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the President of Building Our Village Together Nonprofit Organization, Intermediate Typist Clerk for Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County In Home Support Provider and the owner of Elise Monique Business Empire LLC which owns Signature Related Plus (Notary Business) and Its All Clean House Cleaning. I specialize in hospitality. I love for everyone to feel welcomed, loved, supported and of course eating well. I am known for advocating for employee rights as a SEIU 721 Union Steward, community service efforts with my nonprofit and with my Zeta Amicae of Los Angeles sisters. I am mostly proud of how far Building Our Village Together has grown and the number of people we were blessed to feed. To see your vision in action is a wonderful privilege that I do not take for granted. We are different from many other food give away programs because we are outside on the holidays serving our underserved community members hot home cooked food.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Ajanae Mitchell Melvin Carnell Jr.
Ahmad Carnell
Carl Milburn
Danielle “Danni” Woods
Shwanna Washington (Tinka Custom Treats)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingourvillagetogether
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuildingOurVillageTogether
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingOurVillageTogetherNonp