A message from Louis Nwoke, Chairman of the Board –
In 1990 the news was filled with concern regarding a large concentration of homeless people in downtown Los Angeles. Nicknamed “Skid Row”, the area was, and still is, filled with thousands of homeless people.
One day while driving to work, I lost my way due to a roadblock and stumbled into Skid Row. After seeing firsthand what the people were going through, I decided that I would try my best to help.
I made arrangements to have food distributed to the area, though the need always surpassed what we brought with us. We did this every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, with the local denizens looking forward to a good meal, and us looking forward to making someone’s day a little brighter.
Contrary to common public perception that homeless people are a vast, unsightly hoard to be dismissed and denigrated, every person we met had a different life story. When we talked to them, they all had deep and rich histories. They came from diverse family backgrounds, and most were highly educated with valuable skill sets. Unfortunately, due to persisting issues of mental health and substance abuse, they found themselves homeless due to no real fault of their own.
In 2000 I formalized my humanitarian services by founding the LUNN Humanitarian Foundation, later renamed to the Louis and Scholar Nwoke Foundation, Inc. Now, twenty years later, there is still so much good left to do and we are still here to meet the challenges of those in need.
While the organization was fully engaged in providing assistance to the unhoused in Los Angeles, I expanded our humanitarian services to Nigeria, with the endless love and support from my family and beyond. We are currently involved in numerous programs there, in the areas of housing, micro-financing, educational scholarship, and others.
With COVID-19, we see like never before that that everyone truly is interconnected, and we must be more proactive in identifying the unmet needs. No country was immune from the harsh reality of the pandemic, including all of the economic, emotional, social, and psychological consequences.
Since its founding, the Louis and Scholar Nwoke Foundation has never asked for or solicited outside funding, with all of our efforts thus far being self funded. This pandemic has amplified the need for us to take our efforts globally. To do that, we seek your support, either financially or as a volunteer.
We are incredibly grateful with much appreciation in anticipation of your support to our organization.
With your help we can make a difference in the world.
Together we can meet the unmet needs of humanity.
