Disclaimer!! – My mic was doing something funky this episode, so my voice is a little hard to hear. But Kayla's voice is crystal clear and she's the one to hear! I hope you enjoy this episode!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints partnered with America 250 to sent 250 semi-trucks of food out into the United States in honor of the America's milestone birthday. The San Diego Food Bank was a recipient of one of these trucks and Kayla is here to talk it!

Kayla works at the San Diego Food Bank – a local nonprofit aiming to aid San Diegans in need. In our conversation, Kayla speaks on the real threat of food insecurity we have in our town and what we can do to help our neighbor.

Maliya Jones is the granddaughter of Sidney and Thelma Cooper – pioneers of Juneteenth celebrations here in San Diego!

She speaks with us today about the history of The Cooper Family Foundation, the significance of Juneteenth, and the importance of acceptance and community healing.

From humble beginnings, the Cooper Family Juneteenth Healing Community Festival is now an award-winning event, focusing on education, acceptance, respect, and understanding of community and culture here in San Diego.

2026 Event Details:

Saturday, June 20, 2026

11:00 am - 6:30 pm

Memorial Park, 2975 Oceanview Blvd, San Diego, CA

Instagram: @thecooperfamilyfoundation

Facebook: The Cooper Family Foundation

We spoke with Jessica Stephens – president of Water and Kindness. In this conversation, Jessica speaks on the importance of helping others in your local community and proposes some ways we can effectively look out for each other. She also discusses the differences between charity work and mutual aide and some ramifications of both.

As the world continues to grow more connected, Jessica emphasizes the need for more local community support.

This episode, we hear from a city council member and deputy mayor of El Cajon: Michelle Metschel! Michelle speaks about how she became an elected official in El Cajon and the rewarding parts of her position. She speaks about her political stances on immigration and homelessness and gives background on her stances.

Michelle talks about kindness – being kind out of the goodness of your heart, not for praise. Her message to all: it costs nothing to be kind.

Rebecca talks about helping JustServe in its beginnings and bringing it to San Diego! Talking about the history of the organization, Rebecca recounts the difficulties and successes of the volunteer platform in its early days.

Sharia is the founder/CEO of Sharia's Closet – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help clothe the underprivileged with dignity and respect. She speaks about the beginnings of Sharia's Closet, her family, the needs of the organization and what loving others is to her.

Listen as Shamine expresses her love of serving others and the symbolism of purple bags and butterflies!

We spoke with Julie Harper! She is a JustServe club specialist for San Diego County! She spoke about high school JustServe clubs, the opportunities they present and the projects they get involved in. She also encourages possible growth to universities as there is only one JustServe university club in all of the United States.

Liz is a JustServe area specialist in Vista! During our conversation, she talks a little bit about what her position requires, and how it's affected her life. She also talks about Global Youth Service Day on April 25, 2026.

Celebrating unity, Liz is excited about the volunteer opportunities that JustServe provides for everyone in our community.