For our first Good Brunch in Downtown LA, we partnered with Pen + Napkin to furnish the home of a family transitioning out of homelessness.

Since The Hoxton launched Good Neighbours earlier this year, we’ve raised $8,089 for Californian non-profit Pen + Napkin, our first charity partner in Downtown LA.

Pen + Napkin was established in 2014 with a mission to brighten the homes of those transitioning out of homelessness. The creative do-gooders provide lighting and furnishings to turn houses into homes, so that families going through a tough time feel a sense of pride and ownership.

With a goal to furnish a total of three homes with the money raised, The Hoxton teamed up with Pen + Napkin over the weekend for our first home install.

We put Janice and her two daughters – 3 and 4 years old – up at The Hoxton, Downtown LA on Saturday night and made them feel like superstars! Then the next morning, our group of amazing volunteers met up at The Hoxton for coffee before travelling to Inglewood where we worked together to build and move furniture, clean and decorate.

Janice and her daughters are survivors of domestic violence and have been bouncing from shelter to shelter on Skid Row for the last six months. They had lived in their current apartment for two months without any furniture – but with bright hopes for the future.

After a very busy morning, we stuck around for the big reveal – and it was unbelievable. All of us were fighting tears. We then headed back to The Hoxton for brunch and all of our volunteers could not stop talking about what an honour it was to help Janice and her family move forward.

Thank you so much to all the volunteers who came down to our first-ever volunteer brunch in Downtown LA! The Good Brunch will take place on the last Sunday of every month, with the intention to roll it out across all Hoxtons next year.