Meet Marie “Mandie” Davis, founder of Worthy of Love, a non profit organization that hosts birthday parties for the homeless, allowing them to have a chance to celebrate themselves and experience new forms of self-love. Worthy of Love’s origin story has its roots in a sweet personal anecdote of Mandie (read on to learn more), and has been throwing monthly birthday parties since January 2013! Having been sponsored by celebrities like Steve Harvey, Mayim Bialik, and Kelly Clarkson, the non profit hopes to continue to expand in the future to other cities and events. Read Mary “Mandie” Davis’s interview with Jejune Magazine to know more about this wholesome initiative, and, remember, you are worthy of love.

Where are you based?
We are based in Los Angeles and currently serve five shelters, four in Los Angeles, CA, and one in Houston, TX.

Can you tell us a little about your organization Worthy of Love (WOL)? What inspired the name?
Worthy of Love throws incredible birthday parties for families that are experiencing homelessness. We want them to feel seen and safe, as well as normalize their environment, but above all we want them to feel worthy of love. When I was a little girl, we moved to a new town. It was my birthday, and I was sad because I didn’t have any friends. I felt so alone. My teacher knew it was my birthday and got me a gift. She handed me a plaque that said my name, “Mandie” and underneath “Worthy of Love.” She said, “this is what your name means, worthy of love.” I still have that gift on my mantle as a reminder that I am worthy, and my birthday is a very special day. I felt seen and no longer alone. I felt worthy of love.

How did WOL get started?
My husband and I met in Skid Row volunteering with adults experiencing homelessness. We never imagined that there would be children in that environment. We also wanted to be parents and kept seeing more and more children in Skid Row. After we had a miscarriage, we wanted to do something in honor of our child. We couldn’t throw a birthday party for our baby, so we decided to do it for the children we kept seeing in DTLA. Our first party was in January 2013, and we have been celebrating every single month since.

The homeless crisis is an ever-increasing problem, with so many factors. What made you decide to focus on birthday parties for the kids? Why do you think it is so important for these kids to have birthday parties?
When experiencing homelessness, you lose a lot of dignity. We strive to help restore self-love and dignity for each person. Birthdays help us celebrate the miracle of being born. We don’t just celebrate the kids that were born that month, we celebrate everyone’s birthday. Each person wears a name tag with their name and their birthday. It’s shocking how many children we serve don’t even know what their birthdate is and have never had a birthday party. At every party we say the following messages and repeat them out loud multiple times during the night. 1. “I am worthy of love.” 2. “Your birthday is a very important date.” 3. “You are worthy of love.” We also count to three and everyone shouts out the day they were born. We talk about how all you had to do was to be born to be worthy of love. It’s more than just a birthday party. It transforms our minds and our hearts with powerful self-love.

What goes into putting together one of these parties? Do all the parties have all the same fun activities?
Each party has its own theme and entertainment. There is a lot of planning and preparation — we have surprises at every party from celebrity guests, new t-shirt designs, camels, sloths, dinosaurs, robots, dancers, and the best food in town, or even being held at incredible locations such as the Dodger Stadium. Our parties are one of a kind and the most popular event at every shelter.

Do you normally partner with other organizations to throw a party, or do you work with individuals?
We partner with multiple vendors, corporations, and individuals to throw a party. We love having the support from so many people in the community. Los Angeles is truly the city of angels and we’ve had the privilege of partnering with so many of them.

What is your favorite part of the party?
When we all hold hands at the end of the party and look to our left and our right to tell each other that, “you are worthy of love.” Then we sing the song, “Stand By Me” hand in hand. It’s always the most beautiful display of how love can easily be spread.

In addition to having the party, you use this opportunity to also give out backpacks with school supplies and hygiene products. Why did you feel this was important to incorporate into the events?
The families need these items, and it’s important to us to make sure they not only get an amazing birthday party but necessities they can use every day.

Where do you see WOL a few years down the line? Do you hope to get it in more cities?
My dream would be for there to be no more homeless families. That we would have a happy ending with no more families in crises. Realistically, I see us growing and helping as many families as we can. Utilizing the organization's expertise in event planning, WOL will launch a new social enterprise initiative: Worthy of Love Productions (WOLP). WOLP will employ family members experiencing homelessness, training them in highly marketable event production skills. In addition, WOLP will produce events for the civic community focusing on milestone celebrations like birthdays, weddings, religious occasions, and micro-events like corporate dinners and other social gatherings. We want to provide more opportunities to end the cycle of homelessness.

The homeless crisis is only getting worse. What changes would you like to see done to help?
We need more solutions and more housing for families. Housing built for the homelessness are usually for single men or women called SRO’s (Single Room Occupancy). I would like to see more family units established. There aren’t enough affordable housing options available for families.

What advice would you give someone who is homeless?
I don’t know if I would offer advice but instead, I’d provide encouraging words and a listening ear. I would mention to never ever give up and that they are worthy of love. I would also encourage them to get the help they deserve and share information of the resources available.

How can our readers get involved? What are the best ways we can help?
Donate, volunteer, and treat people experiencing homelessness with respect. The smallest acts of kindness can change the world. I know the birthday gift from my teacher changed mine.

The pandemic was not a great time for parties. How did you navigate the difficulties of covid?
We delivered the party to the shelters such as pizza, cake, t-shirts, balloons, and party favors, then donated tablets so they could meet us on Zoom where we had a party every month without fail. The tablets were also helpful with their schoolwork during the pandemic. We made it work, and we never thought we would grow during that time, but we did due to the rising increase and demand.

How did you stay positive during this time?
For me it was almost impossible. My sister Catherine was a nurse and died of Covid in June of 2020. She was the very first donor and supporter of Worthy of Love. It was heartbreaking to lose her, to say the least. Worthy of Love forced me to keep going. We had a party theme “Not all heroes wear capes” in her honor where we celebrated all the essential workers during that time. Catherine was so proud of what we had accomplished, and she wouldn’t want us to ever give up. She continued to serve her community even though it took her life. So, I keep going in her blessed memory. Not all heroes wear capes, mine wore scrubs.

What is your motto in life?
I had the great honor of traveling the world with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Semester at Sea and he taught me something that changed my perspective on the world and became my motto. “Treat everyone you meet as a brother or a sister and every child like they are your own.”

To know more about Worthy of Love and Mary “Mandie” Davis, please follow:
Website: www.WorthyofLoveLA.org
Instagram: @worthyoflovela
Facebook: Worthy of Love

Images courtesy of Worthy of Love.

Mary “Mandie” Davis - Bringing Home To You