Alma Mater Magazine - Spring 2005
First Recipient of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association's Humanitarian Award
Tom Bagamane - Class of 1983
In 2004, the Alumni Association Board of Directors established a Humanitarian Award to honor deserving alumni who have significantly served a humanitarian cause with their participation and leadership. The Board selected as the first recipient of this award Tom Bagamane, a class of 1983 graduate in Communications and Political Science. In 1999, Bagamane founded The Giving Spirit, a volunteer organization dedicated to providing survival bags of basic necessities (water, food, blankets, and hygienic items) to the homeless of Los Angeles. Five years later, hundreds upon hundreds of the city's homeless have received assistance from the volunteers of The Giving Spirit.
What would inspire someone to establish such an organization? Bagamane believes that homelessness in LA is at epidemic proportions, because of the size of the population, the allure of the weather, and weaknesses in the health and social services system. Simply put "We have so much; they have so little." He says "It is easy to be inspired to act when we see fellow human beings who need warmth, comfort, food, toiletries, blankets, water, pillows, and a conversation with someone." The Giving Spirit organization doesn't care why they are on the street - it simply exists to help them, one individual at a time.
The Giving Spirit does not aspire to be a permanent solution to homelessness in LA. Volunteers provide respect, acknowledgement of lives, a graceful gesture of kindness, and survival bags. Their growth strategy is simple - to develop in other cities and to continue to grow horizontally in LA while staying true to their mission. With the help of volunteers, including the Los Angeles Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, The Giving Spirit has shown significant growth. When the organization began in 1999, it had 4 volunteers, 37 donors, and raised $2,500 that helped 40 homeless people in West LA. In 2004, it grew to over 110 volunteers, 193 donors from all over the US and the world, and helped 1,000 homeless people from Skid Row to Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley, over one weekend last December. Their goal for 2004 was to raise $50,000 and they exceeded this by raising $51,000!
Contributions enable The Giving Spirit to purchase goods in bulk from discount stores, collect donated items from generous distributors and manufacturers, assemble and fill survival bags with the help of volunteers, and then randomly and personally seek out homeless individuals throughout the city. The organization is committed to return a minimum of $.95 of every donated dollar directly to the homeless - whether it is in the form of water, food, blankets or basic hygienic necessities. Bagamane's organization established a web site at www.thegivingspirit.org and welcomes any support that individual and corporate donors will provide.
Bagamane moved to Southern California in 1996 after graduating from Virginia Tech in the mid-80s. He currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chairman of the Business Advisory Board for American Health Sciences (AHS). AHS is a life sciences company that concentrates on disease prevention and wellness through the application of pharmaceutical-grade, all-natural nutritional solutions.
Mission of The Giving Spirit: The Giving Spirit (TGS) is a tax exempt 501(c)3, Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to helping the homeless by administering aid directly to the homeless and having its volunteers interact one-on-one with the recipients of its efforts. TGS endeavors to deliver over 95% of every donation to the homeless by incurring minimal expenses, seeking corporate goods and participation, and exponentially expanding its volunteer and donor base.