Bobbi Lampros.
PHOTO COURTESY BOBBI LAMPROS
Forever mindful of her good fortune, Bobbi Lampros is keen on giving back. The Oregon native, who’s owned a home in the desert for 20 years and called the area home for the past eight, also has a passion for fashion. Becoming involved with Fashion Week El Paseo thrilled her from the onset because it combines two lifelong interests. Not only does Lampros get to indulge her interest in the latest clothing styles, but she also gets to shine the spotlight on deserving Coachella Valley charities.
Sometimes looking at the world in its entirety, we don’t see as much beauty as we’d like,” Lampros says. “The big picture can be depressing. I try to focus on the little picture because I feel I can make a difference, plus I can see the difference that I make.” Her main area of concentration is the welfare of children and young adults.
Charities like Oak Grove Sanctuary Palm Springs, for instance, provide resources for LGBTQ+ youth who are aging out of the foster care system. Lampros also focuses on SafeHouse of the Desert, which provides 24-hour emergency shelter, intervention, and outreach services to youth in crisis. “I want them to eat, and I want them to stay healthy,” she says, her voice laden with emotion. “I want the ones who didn’t choose to be in the position they’re in to feel loved.”
As giving sponsor of Fashion Week El Paseo for the third consecutive year, Lampros is often found sitting front row and center, so as not to miss a single stylish design appearing on the runway. However, for her, the greatest reward is succeeding in getting others to feel the same joy she feels in giving back to the community. Over the past few years, Lampros has been quite instrumental in increasing the annual event’s charitable profile.
The poet Maya Angelou once said: “The best part of life is not just surviving but thriving with passion and compassion and humor and style and generosity and kindness.” These are the very words Lampros chooses to live by. “That’s my motto, and Maya is my model,” she says. “It’s important to me to pass on the concept of giving.
I want my actions to be infectious.”
Two other nonprofits that will benefit from Fashion Week El Paseo this season are AAP – Food Samaritans, an organization that distributes monthly food vouchers to low-income and health-compromised individuals and the Mizell Center, whose Meals on Wheels program offers nutritional support for seniors in the region. Both are representative of Lampros’ firm belief that no one should go hungry. A close family member’s experience also prompted her to begin supporting DAP Health many years ago, and the event will recognize that nonprofit this year as well.
Lampros has discovered the secret of happiness, and she’s willing to share it: “Nothing has given me more pleasure and satisfaction in life than the act of giving back and sharing my good fortune,” she says. “My goal is to get other people to feel the same joy through the act of giving.”
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Get to know this year’s featured nonprofit organizations.
Oak Grove Sanctuary Palm Springs
This transitional housing placement program offers resources for LGBTQ+ youth, ages 18 to 21, who are aging out of the foster care system. As they reach adulthood, this community faces higher rates of substance abuse, sex trafficking, incarceration, homelessness, and suicide, which Oak Grove Sanctuary works tirelessly to prevent.
SafeHouse of the Desert
Located in Thousand Palms, SafeHouse of the Desert provides 24-hour emergency shelter, intervention, and outreach services to youth in crisis, including those who are unhoused. Beyond basic necessities and a stable environment, it offers transitional-living programs designed to educate at-risk teens to help them find jobs and housing.
AAP – Food Samaritans
Originally founded in 1991 as AIDS Assistance Program to help low-income people compromised by HIV/AIDS in the Greater Palm Springs area, the organization has since expanded to include people suffering from cancer, MS, heart or liver disease, and other chronic illnesses. They work to ensure that all clients can continue to live their lives with dignity and self-respect.
Mizell Center
Mizell Center operates the Coachella Valley’s largest Meals on Wheels program, serving our local communities and those as far away as the Salton Sea. Each weekday, the organization prepares and delivers over 600 nutritious meals to low-income seniors at home and at community centers.
DAP Health
Founded in 1984, DAP Health has been the Coachella Valley’s primary not-for-profit resource for those living with, affected by, or at-risk for HIV/AIDS. It works to ensure these individuals lead healthy and happy lives by receiving the comprehensive and compassionate care every human being deserves.