On Giving Tuesday, people worldwide donate to causes they care about. At Unisource Solutions, we believe the most significant impact comes from using our expertise to create spaces where people can thrive.
This year, we've lived that commitment by responding to the Eaton Canyon Fires, furnishing homes for former foster youth, bringing holiday magic to children's hospitals, and empowering at-risk teens with quality workspaces. Below are some of the examples of how we connect with and support our community. We are proud of what we do each year and think it’s equally important to practice generosity daily.
When The Samaritan Center of Simi Valley needed to expand their capacity to serve the community, Unisource Solutions provided a comprehensive furniture solution to transform their operations. The donation included a four-station workstation system with Premise Mono panels, ergonomic Very task chairs, height-adjustable tables, and a collaborative conference table for six. This was not just about furniture. It was about creating a professional workspace where staff could efficiently coordinate services for those facing homelessness and food insecurity. The thoughtfully designed layout maximizes space while providing staff with privacy, storage, and technology access to focus on their mission. By equipping The Samaritan Center with quality workplace solutions, Unisource ensured this vital resource can continue supporting Simi Valley's most vulnerable residents.
When the Eaton Canyon Fires devastated Pasadena on January 7th, 2025, destroying the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center's campus, the congregation faced a daunting challenge: how to continue serving their community without a physical home. Unisource Solutions responded quickly, partnering with PJTC to deliver a complete temporary workspace solution in just days. We provided furniture, logistics, space planning, installation, and move coordination. The project required sensitivity to the congregation's needs during a traumatic time, speed to restore operations, and a focus on creating a dignified space for PJTC's clergy and staff. This effort went beyond furniture. It was about supporting a cherished institution in crisis, ensuring PJTC could continue its essential work with professionalism during a challenging chapter.
“On January 7th, 2025 our community was devastated to learn that our Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center’s (PJTC) campus burnt down as part of the tragic Eaton Fires. As we suddenly needed to find temporary space, Unisource stepped up as an invaluable partner. From conceptualization to design and implementation, Unisource helped us create a temporary space that honors the important work our clergy and staff does in our community. They were incredibly generous with their time and expertise and we are so grateful for everything they did for us!”
– Melissa Levy, Executive Director at Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center
For young adults aging out of foster care, the transition to independent living often means starting with nothing. A Sense of Home changes this reality by furnishing their first homes, and Unisource Solutions is proud to support this mission.
Our Design Manager, Mireya Avitia, volunteered hands-on to build furniture for a young person's new home, a reminder that design is about creating foundations for human dignity and success.
Building on this, Unisource has partnered with Corgan and Swinerton for the current IIDA Design Challenge. Our combined teams will furnish an entire home using donated items, leveraging each partner's strengths: Corgan's design vision, Swinerton's construction expertise, and Unisource's furniture sourcing and space planning.
Every piece collected, whether for this project or A Sense of Home's warehouse, helps former foster youth or families impacted by the LA fires create a place of safety and stability. This collaboration shows how the design community can transform surplus inventory into the building blocks of a better future.
The holiday season can be especially difficult for families dealing with medical challenges or financial hardship, but the Bringing Christmas Home campaign brings joy through the creativity of Southern California's design community. Unisource Solutions joined over 200 design firms in this meaningful tradition. Each team received a plain tree to transform into a festive decoration for the kids. Our team embraced the challenge, applying the same design expertise and attention to detail we use in workplace projects, but this time to create holiday magic for children and families.
The decorated trees, from classic holiday designs to imaginative creations, were delivered to children’s hospitals like CHOC and CHLA, as well as family support centers such as Do Good Daniels. For a child spending the holidays in a hospital or a family relying on support organizations, these trees offer a reminder that their community cares and wants to bring light to their circumstances. It’s a powerful example of how creative skills can be used to foster moments of joy and connection during the season when they matter most.
The Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) provides a safe haven for youth ages 6-17 after school, but their aging furniture no longer supported their mission of creating a "home away from home." Unisource Solutions stepped in with a furniture donation that transformed the center. Modern sectional seating in vibrant colors, ergonomic chairs for homework, conversation areas with end tables, and durable pieces now make the space welcoming and functional for everyone, from six-year-olds to teenage athletes. One teen even described the renovated lounge as "better than Starbucks," with students quickly taking pride in the new space by keeping it clean and treating it with care.
The transformation reinforced PAL's mission of building trust between youth and law enforcement. Comfortable, inviting seating helps students feel at ease and engage openly with staff and officers, while the quality of the furniture shows these youth they are valued. As PAL representative Eula Fritz highlighted, when young people feel invested in by their community, they respond with engagement and pride. This collaboration with Unisource has created a space where the next generation of leaders and innovators can see their potential reflected in their environment.
"Our community starts here. We believe that our youth are assets in this community...when they feel like they are invested into by their community, they have so much to offer."
– Eula Fritz, PAL Director at City of Santa Monica
Each Thanksgiving, our partnership with St. Lucy Church brings similar moments of connection to residents at Bay Breeze Care, a Long Beach facility serving individuals with disabilities, where their youth choir performs while adults serve meals and share in the season's warmth.
As we move farther into the holiday season, our community partnerships continue to grow. Unisource is coordinating a gift bag collection drive with the Youthful Offender Resource Network (YORN), reaching incarcerated youth in 3 juvenile halls, 14 camps, and 14 foster group programs across Los Angeles County—tangible reminders that their community hasn't forgotten them.
While we're grateful to contribute our design expertise to these community partnerships, the need across Southern California remains great. This Giving Tuesday, we encourage you to support organizations addressing food insecurity and homelessness in our region. Consider donating to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which distributes millions of pounds of food annually to families in need, or the Los Angeles Mission, which provides meals, shelter, and comprehensive services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Together, we can ensure that thoughtfully designed spaces are matched by the essential resources our neighbors need to thrive.
These partnerships reflect our broader philosophy: meaningful community impact comes from consistent engagement with organizations serving those who need support most. As we look ahead to 2026, we remain committed to leveraging our design expertise to create spaces and opportunities that bring people together and help them thrive.