Person of the Year!

John Paul was awarded Person of the Year at the Friendly House LA’s Stronger Together Awards Luncheon. His friends Angus Mitchell and Keely Brosnan surprised John Paul by presenting him with this award. The Friendly House provides women seeking recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders with a safe, structured and supportive home-like environment that fosters recovery, personal growth and civic responsibility. John Paul and Eloise have both been dedicated to helping folks living with addiction to find treatment and recovery. We want to thank Brandy Ledford for her commitment to Friendly House and her work on making this day a success!

El Buen Samaritano - fresh food delivered!

Though they have served Austin for 35 years, we first met El Buen Samaritano a year ago and started brainstorming ways to help them with their food pantry/food delivery model. They serve more than 12,000 people a year, increasingly in areas that are further away from Central Austin as the city grows and gets more expensive. We helped them purchase a refrigerated van that will help carry 280 boxes at a time (their old van could only hold 80 and wasn’t climate controlled) to make sure they can get food to families and partners who need it. As El Buen Director Dr. Sylvia Murillo said, “When people see this van, they get to experience happiness, joy and respect.” That’s our hope for the families and individuals who may be new to the Austin area or who might just need a little assistance right now. Thank you especially to Juan Rosa for making all the deliveries!!!

Common Ground Film

Last week was an exciting one to be in Austin — Common Ground premiered at and SOLD OUT our beloved partner and Austin institution, the Paramount Theatre. John Paul is a proud executive producer of this film that highlights the importance of returning to indigenous practices and regenerative farming to help our planet and our bodies heal from years of industrial, chemical-laden farming. In addition to helping produce the film, the foundation just donated to make sure the film can be shown in as many schools as possible to make sure that children are educated about the importance of healthy soils and foods. If you can, check out this film in a city near you!

Sunrise Navigation Center

We have known about the work of Sunrise Navigation in Austin for years and have many partners working with them to help coordinate services for unhoused folks. Their data below gives a compelling picture of who they are and how diverse their services are — they serve more than 10,000 clients a year! We are proud to say that we will begin partnering with Sunrise Navigation in their diversion program that identifies people who need help reconnecting with kin or accessing existing resources to get into housing as quickly as possible. We are so grateful for their critical work.

If you are experiencing homelessness in the Austin area, you can call or text Sunrise right now at 512-522-1097 to get help. If you are in the Austin area and would like someone to come check on a neighbor in need that you see on the streets or in a camp, you can Send Sunrise to go check on them by following the link below.

A decades-long commitment

We watched this video recently and it was hard to believe it was so long ago! In 2006, John Paul went to Mozambique with Mineseeker Foundation to support the eradication of landmines and treatment for victims, like Maria in the video.

On that same trip, John Paul went to South Africa and met with Sir Richard Branson, Brad Pitt and Nelson Mandela to highlight the work of 46664. 46664 was Nelson Mandela’s number in prison on Robben Island, Cape Town where he was held for 18 years, and became the name of an HIV/AIDS initiative as well. Mandela explained the project this way:

““46664 is committed to HIV AIDS awareness and prevention. We create and support initiatives that deliver sustainable solutions to help combat the HIV AIDS pandemic that is so tragically affecting our world,”

You can read more about the initiative and John Paul’s work from almost 20 years ago in this 2008 Vanity Fair article. Since our foundation is only 12 years old, it’s so fun to go back and look at work from back then that still informs our work to this day.

Fast forward to just this week, when we got a message from our longtime partner (and an even longer-term partner of John Paul Mitchell Systems) Food 4 Africa in South Africa. The foundation recently donated towards food and hygiene product donations in a township in Port Elizabeth. Love to trace the history of friendships and good work across the decades!

Happiness Hall of Fame

We are pleased to announce that John Paul was inducted into the Happiness Hall of Fame last week — it’s an organization that recognizes special people that have advanced the cause of happiness throughout the world. The Hall was founded to celebrate and encourage incredible people and organizations that make other people happy.

This probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has met John Paul — this is the perfect award for him! As someone who started the Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation and works to spread this to others, John Paul was thrilled to be included among fellow inductees include Muhammad Ali, Deepak Chopra, Steph Curry, Serena Williams, Derek Jeter, Tony Robbins, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Greg Allman, Tom Petty, Robert Plant; Mother Teresa’s Missionaries Of Charity,  Make-A-Wish and The Ronald Mc Donald House.

Together for the Oceans

John Paul has been friends with Captain Paul Watson for more than 30 years. In that time, John Paul has personally boarded ships to stop the practice of whaling, funded missions to save the vaquita in the Sea of Cortez and is now entering a new phase of his commitment to the oceans with Captain Paul Watson Foundation. The MV John Paul DeJoria, the newest ship in Neptune’s Navy, entered New York Harbor last week and anchored beside the Statue of Liberty. John Paul, Eloise and Constance, three foundation director, was on hand to celebrate with the crew and christen the newly outfitted ship with a bottle of Bandero Tequila.

John Paul’s longtime partner Angus Mitchell and other folks from John Paul Mitchell Systems were there as well to show their commitment to supporting Neptunes Navy and helping to stop the extinction of marine life.

News 12 was on hand to film the event, so be sure to check out their video.

The crew of the John Paul DeJoria is now on its way to help save fin whales from being hunted and killed through Operation Paiakan. Commercial whaling is a violation of the International Whaling Commission’s global moratorium on commercial whaling. If the ocean dies, we all die. If you want to learn more about joining Neptune’s Navy or supporting them, please check out their website!

Welcome Home: TOOF!

On May 12, we gathered at The Other Ones Foundation to celebrate the opening of Peace, Love & Happiness Village — 50 cabins for unhoused folks looking to stabilize and live in community.

When we first visited, the location was just inhospitable asphalt. People camping there had died from heat and cold exposure. The TOOF folks showed up and began providing services and listening to residents about what they needed and wanted. John Paul was one of the first donors to stand up and commit to a whole village - a place to with a roof over their head a door that would lock to help them feel safe.

Being there, seeing each home full, porches full of plants or with a dog out front, really made our hearts sing. John Paul and Eloise served lunch, there was an old school ice cream truck and a great band. The ribbon cutting was symbolic, because people were already living there. The community was open. People had even moved out or were on their way out to permanent housing, which we love to see. Meeting folks where they are is such an important part of seeing them succeed, and we are so proud of the TOOF team and the Esperanza residents.

Here’s some local news coverage: