About Clay It Forward
At Not Another Pottery Studio, we believe creativity and community go hand in hand.
Clay It Forward is our member volunteer initiative, created to celebrate the incredible people in our community who give their time to support others. Whether it’s helping at a local nonprofit, volunteering at a school, participating in mutual aid, or lending a hand at a community event, members who complete 10 hours of volunteer service receive a small thank-you from us in the form of studio credit.
More than a rewards program, Clay It Forward is about recognizing kindness, encouraging connection, and celebrating the many ways our members help make our communities stronger.
Each Clay It Forward story highlights a different member’s volunteer experience, the organizations they’re supporting, and the impact these experiences have had on them. We hope these stories inspire others to find meaningful ways to give back—both inside and outside the studio.
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Name:
Emily
Where did you volunteer?
Water Drop LA and Dawah Delivery
What did you do while volunteering?
For Water Drop, we hand-delivered gallons of water to residents of Skid Row. The org has divided all of the area into about 12 routes, and 40+ volunteers disperse to try and reach all of Skid Row. I was a driver and, paired with another volunteer as passenger, we loaded my trunk with water and drove our assigned route to pass out 2 gallons per person. If someone wasn’t home, we would still leave some water for them outside their tent, tarp, RV, or car for when they return. Depending on what items were donated to the org that week, we were also sometimes able to hand out things like snacks, electrolyte packets, socks, and hygiene items.
For Dawah Delivery, it was my first time being a driver. They typically do grocery deliveries for folks in Southeast LA and South LA. The group started in response to last summer’s ICE raids and organized this as a way for people to get essential items without having to leave their homes and make themselves vulnerable. People give monetary donations, others use the funds to grocery shop according to the recipient’s list, and others drive to deliver the groceries. Like DoorDash but better 🙂
This time though, they organized a group of volunteers to build air purifiers in response to the tire fire that was affecting air quality in South Gate. They were DIY air purifiers, called Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, made with HVAC air filters and a box fan. I, like many others, learned about them in the aftermath of last year’s January fires. Once those volunteers were done building them, driving volunteers delivered them to recipients. I was able to load 4 into my car and delivered them to homes.
The best part about volunteering was…
…reminding myself that there are so so so many helpers in our city doing the work. There are orgs but they are also just “ordinary” citizens who aren’t waiting for the next crisis to jump into action. They’ve invested in ongoing, creative, resourceful ways to build community and address material needs. “Many hands make light work,” as I heard one person say.
Volunteering means I get to jump into this ecosystem and be of help, and it also brings me some assurance that when our systems fail or we have yet another new normal we’re forced to adjust to, there are plenty of underdog heroes already building and maintaining backup plans.
And this doesn’t just apply to the volunteer orgs. What I’ve seen of Skid Row is that there are pockets of community there too, despite the images we’re fed that depict otherwise. I’ve been assigned to many different routes and have met multiple people who I see as the mayor of their block. When we pull up and open the trunk, that person will let us know who lives on their block. “This tent, they’re not home right now, but they’re a family of four – can you leave extra?” “This neighbor, he prefers the small bottles because they’re easier for him to drink from.” A couple weeks ago, we met a man who was looking out for his block in this way.
He “knocked” on a neighbor’s tent, his neighbor unzipped the opening and peeked out, and the man signed letter by letter to him in ASL. His neighbor signed back and he translated for us. I imagine he learned some basic sign language so he could look out for his hard-of-hearing neighbor.
Imagine living on Skid Row (or anywhere!) and not having your sense of hearing to help you know what’s going on around you. Then imagine a neighbor who has made it his responsibility to make sure you don’t miss out. I was so touched by this.
I also get to meet a lot of new people I might not otherwise. At Water Drop so far, I’ve ridden with college students (who are already so tapped in and well-informed), finance guys, social workers, fellow former teachers, bookstore founders, activists, artists, labor organizers, healthcare workers… the list goes on. We have all gathered together around a common pull to do what we can with what we can. In a city like LA that can get so fragmented and feel so sprawling, I’ve found a lot of connection through volunteering.
It made me think about…
…how to be a helper without falling into saviorism. Something I appreciate about Water Drop is the constant reminder that we are entering someone else’s neighborhood. They start every drop with a brief info session with some key points about how to maintain dignity and a trusting relationship with Skid Row residents who don’t have the luxury of walls and privacy like most of us do. Among the key points: Don’t take pictures of people, their pets, or their belongings without their explicit consent. (Their lives are not content for us to exploit for storytelling or shock value.) Keep your mask on while you’re delivering water. (Folks here already have limited access to healthcare and simple comforts like cold medicine or Kleenex.) If there is someone having a medical emergency, call 911 and tell them “my friend” needs medical help. (This might encourage some more compassionate and timely care from first responders.)
These are seemingly little things that I’m learning from very seasoned mutual aid organizers that can end up making larger shifts in mindset.
Volunteering has changed the way I spend some of my Sundays, but it has also rewired a bit for me internally too.
Something I saw on Instagram that I keep thinking about these days (heavily paraphrased): The average US citizen is closer to being homeless than being a billionaire. Most of us are just one crisis away.
Mutual aid is one way I’m trying to live accordingly.
