PODCASTHON SPECIAL EPISODE — Transforming Excess into Empowerment: The Story Behind Every Day Action and PIFster
In this episode of The Passionistas Project, sisters Amy and Nancy Harrington introduce two inspiring nonprofits as part of Podcastthon, the world's largest podcast charity initiative. They first speak with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu of Every Day Action, who redirect Hollywood's leftover meals to feed Los Angeles' underserved communities. The conversation unfolds their personal motivations and challenges faced while navigating the entertainment industry's logistics to launch their impactful project. Shashana Kaplan of PIFster is also featured, sharing her innovative app that crowdsources $1 monthly donations to help small nonprofits across America. Shashana discusses her journey, the app's origins during COVID, and the diverse impact it has made on communities. The episode concludes with reflections on their personal dreams and aspirations for women, emphasizing the power of sisterhood, collaboration, and purpose-driven work.
Listen to the full episode HERE.
LINKS
ON THIS EPISODE
[01:03] The Passion Behind Every Day Action with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Huu
[01:52] Childhood Influences and Early Inspirations
[04:38] Journey into the Entertainment Industry
[12:25] The Birth of Every Day Action
[17:11] Overcoming Legal and Logistical Challenges
[23:09] Expanding the Mission of Every Day Action
[27:55] Introducing PIFster with Shashana Kaplan
[29:51] Heartfelt Stories of Impact
[30:19] A Lifelong Passion for Helping Others
[32:56] The Birth of PIFster
[36:02] Challenges and Triumphs in Nonprofit Work
[42:36] Success Stories and Community Impact
[52:19] Future Vision and How to Get Involved
[57:22] Final Thoughts and Sisterhood Invitation
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters, Amy and Nancy Harrington, founders of The Passionistas Project, an inclusive sisterhood where women find support, purpose, and empowerment. Each episode, we share stories of passion driven women, breaking barriers and redefining success. Today, we have a very special episode of our show for Podcasthon the world's largest podcast charity initiative.
Our show features not one, but two nonprofits making a difference in the world. First, we're chatting with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu, the powerhouse duo behind Every Day Action, who are turning Hollywood's leftover meals into a lifeline for LA. 's underserved communities. Then, we'll have a conversation with Shashana Kaplan, the visionary creator of PIFster, the app that makes giving back fun, easy, and impactful for local nonprofits.
We are so excited to have you here today and to spread the word about all the amazing work you're doing. And we want to start by asking you each, what are you most passionate about?
Hillary: Oh boy. Well, I mean, uh, here it's about, um, ending hunger in Los Angeles. Um, you know, I, um, I know Sam also feels this too, is that, um, no one in America should be hungry.
We have plenty of resources. So personally, I'm most passionate about solving that problem. On a national scale, because it just doesn't make any sense.
Samantha: Absolutely. And our, uh, you know, to add on more specifically for Every Day Action, our big passion, uh, where we started, it starts with our roots in the entertainment industry, and we are passionate about changing the way the entertainment industry looks at foodways and also looks at, you know, using their resources for good and putting it back into the very, uh, industry that's they're a part of.
Passionistas: So let's take a giant step back for a second because it seems like you both also just have this deep seated Um, will, like, desire to give back. So, where does that come from in your childhoods growing up? Were you taught when you were young to be of service to people? And tell us a bit more about what your childhoods were like.
Hillary: Um, my mom has certainly set that example to me as a young age. I was definitely dragged to every soup kitchen I could imagine. Actually, I have a big aversion to ketchup because when I was five, my job at the soup kitchen was to put the ketchup bowls on the table. And after, like, carrying these bowls of ketchup around, it's like, I don't know how that all started, but, um, my mom always, um, gave, um, and taught me to do that.
Like, when we would travel, like, you know, keep every toiletry item, like, you can't have that, you don't need that, like, take whatever the little you need and give, give, give. Um, she's also a nurse, and my dad is a pharmacist who's also, someone who's also taught me how to give my whole life. So my parents are people who really kind of always told me and taught me that, um, and to put others first, they was always.
Put into schools or systems and things that were very different that were not people that looked like me or, you know, people of all different backgrounds. And I think that really did open my eyes up to like lots of different experiences. And then as a grown up, you know, living in Los Angeles, I think it's something that you just can't ignore.
Um, but yeah, my parents are definitely people who taught me at a young age, um, that you should put others first.
Samantha: Yeah, same for me. I, um, you know, my dad is a Vietnamese immigrant. So, um, he just comes from a culture of not wasting. I grew up not wasting, uh, a single bite of food and, uh, other items as well, and always learning how to reuse things.
So I really sort of grew up accidentally a bit sustainable. Uh, and then also living here in Los Angeles and coming to a big city, you know, and not having much to eat and being food insecure insecure myself when I first came here. Uh, just understanding what that's like a bit. Um, and it's, you know, it's a city of millions, and it can also feel really lonely.
And, uh, you know, I just, I was, I was raised in a culture that food is the way you show love, and, uh, it's community and friendship, and it's how you can easily start a conversation and bridge a gap. So, um, I just, you know, I grew up around that, and my father also, for many years, uh, in our community, he started, he's one of the founding members of a local soup kitchen, and was really active.
You know, every week we would Go and deliver meals. So it just really sort of always carried over and was something that was really in the back of my mind, you know, when I first, uh, came out here, because I was also hungry.
Passionistas: So tell us about your individual paths to, uh, the entertainment industry and what you did.
Hillary: Um, I mean, working in the entertainment business is something I've always wanted to do. I saw a production of Charlotte's Web when I was five and like wanted to be an actress my whole life. And then when I got to college. I double majored in theater and film, um, like set foot on a stage and just had like such anxiety and just really realized that like being in front of the camera was no longer for me and I really enjoyed creating and helping and I, I always call Sam and I high stakes puzzle solvers.
Like I'm really good at uncracking a puzzle and I can like see a system in five minutes and figure out how to make it better. So, um, being an assistant director kind of, you know, found me in that, but I always wanted to be in the business. Um, When I graduated college in Massachusetts, I moved to L. A. I started working at a modeling agency because it was like the first job I got.
Um, I learned a lot of what I, um, don't want to do, though I loved that experience and that it wasn't entirely for me. Um, and then I found, um, luckily got into the DJ training program, um, after first seeing a movie, uh, in Massachusetts. First day assistant directoring a movie. And that kinda started my career and, uh, the rest, I guess, is history.
But, um, it's definitely something that I always wanted and still like there's days of work on, you know, you would get to set and be like, Oh my God, that light is so big or it's snowing in California. Like it always was still magical to me at some point of the day.
Samantha: No, same. I, um, I always wanted to work in TV and film. It was, you know, it's actually where my name comes from. I'm named after Samantha from, uh, Bewitched because my dad learned English by watching TV. So, uh, it's almost fate that I came out to work in television. Uh, myself, I just came out and started working in the industry right away as. a PA and as a non union assistant director.
And then, uh, a few years later, luckily got into the training program and, uh, really started my career from there. And, uh, same, same thing for me. I just, uh, I think we, you know, as assistant directors, we are the coordinators of SET, right? We're logistics, we're coordination, we're scheduling. Um, we're a lot of customer service too and caretaking.
So, um, I think we were really sort of meant professionally, like prepared to, to do what we do now. It's sort of like, um, an accidental career, uh, side door that we didn't realize we were going to end up in. Uh, but yeah, just, I always found TV and movies magical. That's how. You know, it's where we escaped and, um, yeah, it's been really great to work in it and also even greater to find a different path to make a difference in it.
Passionistas: So when did you guys meet and did being women ADs, assistant directors, was that and is that an unusual thing? And was that part of how you were drawn to each other?
Hillary: Being a female in the entertainment business is difficult in any in any profession that you're a part of. So if you're listening and you're in there, keep going.
We see you. We hear you. Yeah, it's definitely something that I think if you're a strong woman who supports women, you bond over. There are certainly, you know, people that aren't that way. And it can be a toxic place. But women who support. And champion together, like do bond. Um, I had been working on the set of NCIS, uh, NCIS Los Angeles, I think, for about eight seasons.
Um, I was a key second AD, Sam was coming in as a second second, and it was a time where I was, like, kind of, I guess, creatively in a rut there, and really wanting, like, just someone who made me laugh and had fun with. And we interviewed Sam via Skype, or, like, Zoom before, like, COVID, so it was before it was, like, a normal thing to do that.
and was hard to, like, get someone's personality through a computer. Um, and boy, did Sam, like, she just, we instantly vibed. And we just kind of became actually best friends, like, really quickly on set. It was, you know, you spend a lot of time with each other more than you do your family. Um, we travel a lot on our show, so I normally would stay with the second second at a hotel.
So it was, like, the first time we were at Long Beach, I was like, Hey, you want to share a hotel room? You know, we both were like kind of scared about it and had like the best time. So we definitely have bonded over that. And then just, you know, building Every Day Action is something that, you know, that's how we feel as people, right?
I think that's what's most important, like beyond our work on a film set is like how we felt about people and life. And we both see things Fairly similarly, but different and like compliment each other and like, yeah, finding a best friend who is passionate about, um, you know, being, um, a ball buster when you need to, but also being like super sympathetic and empathetic at the same time is like a special human. And that's definitely definitely Samuel. Yeah,
Samantha: I think with our, you know, when we met, I was, I had made my career with a day player. So I just work, you know, a few days here a day there. And, uh, I was really lucky because I stayed really busy. I was actually so busy that we had to do my interview on Skype. I was actually across the street, uh, working and took a, took a break out of my day to interview.
And I was looking for more of a home at the time. I'd sort of been bouncing around and while that was really fun, uh, I just kind of needed sort of a more family setting and I got it, um, at the show. And, you know, we really sort of hit it off as friends and then. Uh, you know, with lockdown, we really sort of saw that it was a chance to make a difference and we aligned in that way.
And, um, I just, I'm not sure, I'm not sure that it's possible really in the long term to, to do it oneself. You always need some sort of partnership. You know, we've seen many other smaller non, uh, nonprofit, you know, grassroots orgs that have sadly folded or just, you know, not been able to move on because it's just been that one singular person and this is definitely not.
A mission that takes a singular person. It definitely takes, um, a partnership and a friendship and, you know, real, uh, you know, Just real true like coordinators and friends on top of it. We we do everything And this organization together and I think because we worked well together already professionally, you know in the entertainment business This sort of just was a really easy segue.
Hillary: And it really helps us I think, you know have difficult conversations like Sam and I have such a solid friend base Like obviously there's times in every action where we have really disagreed.
There's been times where You know, one of us has done more or less and we've worked through that entirely together as a team and like I just feel like it's made us stronger because we're really focused on our mission and our work and that's like the most important to Sam and I so it's like we have this friend base I think that has allowed for us to grow things, um, you know, more organically and more like how we really want it to be.
Samantha: Yeah, absolutely. You know, behind the scenes we've been through so much, you know, in our first year of being open you know I lost my brother I lost my only brother. Um, just a few months after we first started, so, you know, we've been through, we've both lost a lot of, we've had a lot of personal loss on both ends, um, as well as, you know, uh, health issues that I've dealt with, and we've, you know, we've sort of run the gamut of, and then, you know, of course, uh, local, um, you know, uh, wildfires and emergencies, you know, no big, we've, uh, we feel like we've really run the gamut of that, and I don't think, uh, it's possible to keep going through if you don't have a really solid foundation.
Passionistas: Yeah, I'm so sorry. First of all, to hear about your brother. I can't even imagine that. And, uh, you guys are proof of the power of sisterhood, right? Um, so tell us about what inspired, uh, Every Day Action. Why did you start it?
Hillary: Sure. So, um, I mean, really, for my very first day in a film set, I went from an independent world of making a movie in Massachusetts to being on the set of Private Practice.
I remember the actor on this movie, Kurt Fuller, explained to me what an AC hose was. And I could not understand the concept. I was like, what do you mean they like paid a hose AC in and like fast forward to 10 years of my career, like where's the AC hose? You know, so I showing up to the set of private practice was like really insane.
I always, it was something I dreamed of doing. So, you know, being 22 years old from the age of five, it really did feel like, holy cow, this is nuts. You know, I was petrified of being late. So I really. There's a 400 day training program, I would go every day two hours early and sleep in my car in a sleeping bag because I was so afraid of oversleeping, and I also have insomnia, so it kind of worked out.
Um, so I would go really early and sleep and I would, you know, obviously be so, the first, you know, few months, everything was so magical. So, like, watching the truck spark was fun, so I would, I would watch the truck spark, and it was upsetting because it was, You know, in Skid Row, or everywhere in Los Angeles, um, that has, you know, unhoused.
And it would, it was like, we would just, like, crumble past them and then set up this, like, magical circus of nonsense and amazement of all this excess and then leave. And we would have the excess that day, you know, like, there would be extra catering, there would be extra food, and when I asked, like, I remember this day, I was, like, this stupid, like, oh, I'm so excited, I'm gonna donate all the food, and it was, like, Nails in a chalkboard like it all went into the trash and I was like, oh no, what are you doing, you know?
And they're like, oh, this is illegal. I'm like, oh yeah, that makes sense. This is illegal. Yeah, I gotta go back to work. And then like, I don't know, after a decade, it was just like this one day that I was like, why would this be illegal? This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I just like started to go down this rabbit hole of like, what?
And then thinking about it as like Grubhub, right? So Grubhub exists when you order food. Does someone come to your house and examine the temperature with which it has been delivered and the time at which it was traveled and who prepared it and all of that nonsense? No, it's not. You pay for it. It gets delivered.
You enjoy your food and you might get sick. You might not. That's your choice. But people who don't have choice aren't given that option. There's all of a sudden all these requirements, which is just insane. But Sam and I are high stakes puzzle solvers. So I just had this idea because I also spent a ton of time on a film set watching production assistants and background artists and many others in the business.
The pay scale just so drastically different and like watching people that were my friends, my coworkers not be able to live in their houses while coming to work and not be able to find other employment, you know, it was really difficult, especially as I moved up and was able to support myself and those people weren't.
And it was so frustrating to be in that environment. So I wanted to create a system where production assistants and background artists somehow got paid money to reallocate this food. To then people in need across in my 90 mile area of outreach and it was like this whole thing. I started, you know, thought up really on that day, but just never put it together.
And then COVID like hit this stop, right? I had time to think about things longer. I had time to do stuff. I was already Sewing masks, which is like a whole nother long story we don't have to get into, but during that, um, you know, Sam came over to my house, it was like the very first friend I invited over, we were like across the yard, I had, I was, she was modeling my new drinking mask, you could have a straw through it with like, a plastic, it was gonna be the new cocktail mask, like, what?
That nonsense. Anyways, Kari Murray, was there, who's like such a big part of also starting Every Day Action, and Um, we just talked about it, and, you know, I knew that I needed someone just like I described, like, someone who is insanely skilled in solving problems, who cares about people, who understands me.
It's like there, it just needed to be Sam, like, I just knew it was Sam. I really thought about this person long and hard. It makes me emotional because, like, we did build this plane and fly it together. She is so cool, and, yeah.
Passionistas: This is why we love Hillary. We bonded over being sensitive. First of all, I think the drink straw mask is genius.
And I don't, I think that could fund Every Day Action and you should take the Shark Tank, take, we're going to need them again. I can just feel it, God forbid. Um, so, so you were, you had this idea and you. We're hitting this wall of like, no, it's illegal. So how did you push through that? And how far up the chain in the entertainment industry, did you have to take that?
Cause red tape in the industry for anybody who hasn't worked in it can be insane. So what did you have to go through to make this happen?
Samantha: The truth is it's not illegal. It hasn't been legal for many years. Thanks to the. Good Samaritan Act, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act. It's also been ratified recently, so it includes even more, um, you know, uh, area of, like, coverage, and it's, yeah, it's just, it's not been illegal for a really long time.
It's something that, um, is something that most companies don't want to take the liability responsibilities, so. For us, when we realized it wasn't illegal, then we just knew right away what we needed to do because we work in entertainment, so we knew liability is what it's all about, and luckily most studios actually have donation agreement forms, it just wasn't something that they had signed over very easily, and we knew right away that that's what we needed, so one of our first things that we set up was a liability policy that's custom to, um, our needs, and Yeah, we, we really got our yeses that way pretty easily.
Um, you know, anytime you're like, I will take all the responsibility. It's all off you studios. They were super happy to add in, uh, extra clauses to put more blame on us. And we were, we'll, we'll take it. You know, when we looked at it, we, one of the first questions we asked was, um, you know, the truth is anyone can sue us and, and anyone can sue anyone for anything.
And is this worth it? And without hesitation, we both said yes, it is. There's Just no world there. It wouldn't be. And we knew with COVID at the time that the food would be prepared and handled even more safely than before. So there really wasn't a better time to sort of jump in this, uh, in this way and kind of, uh, show.
Firsthand to studios like, Hey, we can do this. This is possible. We can do this safely and responsibly and, uh, we'll take all the liability you want and just let us, uh, let us take your trash. Don't ask where it comes from. Just let us take your trash. We will give it to those who, uh, who need it.
Hillary: But yeah, Sam, you know, we had experience in the business.
So, um, to work on a film set, you have to fill out and start paperwork. That's like the size of a CVS receipt. It just kind of like folds out and they want to know, like, I'm surprised you need a fingerprint. So it's like, we just knew for people to let us pick up the trash that we needed to have the same sort of paperwork system in place so that they felt that we weren't coming after their protected bubble of the film set. We just want their trash. Like we always say, we don't care about Barnes Scorsese. We just want your mashed potatoes. You know, it's just thinking about that differently. Um, and then we were like, okay, we need to have a board.
Um, I remember Um, Carrie saying, I'll be on your board. And I went home and I was like, what's a board? You know, so we, we put together a board and we knew it needed to be people that were in the business that also could help spread the cause, right. Who had Instagram accounts that could help us that worked on film sets that were directors, actors, all those things.
So, you know, we had a Rolodex. So today, so all of us went on a Rolodex. We told every person we knew, Hey, we have this thing. Sam and I were working on NCIS LA Scott Gimmel, who's been a long time. Yeah. You know, support of Every Day Action was a showrunner at that time. Absolutely. Signed us on was our very first, our second show.
Actually. Good trouble was our first show that we got with train Bellisario. Who's one of our founding board members who is a star and, or sorry, a director of that show. Um, and so good trouble and every day, um, and say, yes, labor kind of the first two shows that like, you know, we're going to do it. And it was like, after that.
So like a third show called me and Sam were like, how'd you get this phone number? You know, and it just, it quickly changed from me and Sam having zoom calls of convincing people. To let us do it to then asking us to do it. So that went from, you know, this little thing to us not working with Netflix. We work with Disney really exclusively.
All the NCISs are a big fan of Every Day Action. You know, really every, it's really sad because film production is changing in Los Angeles so drastically. We pretty much have every production right now, which is about eight, which is. Very scary. Um, but you know, we are still picking up from all those sets and that's really how it grew was proven concept and then showing it was so easy.
And then it's it's Sam and I right. We both logistically handled all the logistics of it. We make call sheets for a living. We know how to read them. So we just get them in your distro. We put together details. We then put it back to a map that's very close. To traveling. And again, Sam and I travel with the circus, so we're aware that going to Santa Clarita one day and then going to Long Beach the next day and then going back to downtown, that's not weird for me and Sam.
That's a, that's a normal day. So our team really functions like a production company, which is why I think we've been so successful at working with production companies is we've always operated from the 80 mentality also in terms of like how Every Day Action operates.
Samantha: Yeah. In addition to that, our driver program, you know, our industry driver program is actually drivers from the entertainment industry, who've been PAs, who have been crew members, who have been background actors.
We started with just PAs and background actors, and then we had to sort of shift out further to crew members with, um, having the strikes and having the slow down. And so we were able to actually be a part of a set and just be in and out and really stealthy. Cause we are drivers. Understand how to be around a set.
There's a certain protocol, you know, there's, there's a certain way you even read the location map and that specialized skill is something that we really felt like was a smart way to sort of also drive a program to sort of get back into, you know, within our own community as well. So, you know, uh, for us, we, yeah, we just realized that, uh, our specialized skill as well as understanding how to navigate, you know, sets and production offices and And protocols, it just, yeah, it was a really easy progression for us.
Passionistas: So let's take a step back and describe to everyone what the program is, how it works, because you've been talking about partnering with the sets. So tell everyone what, what, what exactly that means and what you do once you leave the set.
Hillary: So we reallocate food from them and TV sets, corporate events, grocery stores, festivals, really anywhere that serves both gourmet catered food, but we also pick up raw food.
We also pick you know, McDonald's type foods. So really. prepared food or food of any kind that is about to be thrown out that's still edible. So, you know, it's something that is maybe one day past the specify date, but still edible. We pick that up and then we deliver it to a network of beneficiaries in need across a 90 mile area of outreach.
So we go from Santa Clarita to San Pedro every day, delivering food to people who need it. And that's people who live in lower income housing shelters, people fridges, the unhoused themselves. And local grassroots nonprofits that are also doing further efforts to feed those in needs. You know, Sam and I built this map ourselves.
We went, you know, from Santa Clarita to San Pedro calling every nonprofit and place we could find. We still onboard new beneficiaries monthly. We still go visit those places. Um, but all of those places, you know, have different hours, different times, and it's just kind of like putting the logistical pieces together.
Um, and we're actually sitting right now in like the evolution of Every Day Action. So you know, since founding, like we said, we operate like Grubhub, we pick it up, we move it to its place, we never have a place to stop. We pick up a lot of food late at night, especially on a Thursday or Friday because the film set has much later call time on those evenings or afternoons.
Um, and then it limits where the food can go because less places are open past eight o'clock. So this warehouse, um, it's called Operation Bare Bones right now, but FISH is the Food Insecurity Shared Hub, and it's in partnership with several other non profits in Los Angeles. Uh, SILA, DePaul Los Angeles, and St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, and it's sponsored by the Daughters of Charity, and it's gonna be a place where we can collectively come together and help more in need, both with mutual aid and in food. We'll have our own little storage units, and there'll be, eventually, a fridge and freezer, so we can bring our food here and repackage it.
Passionistas: Um, we have one last two part question for each of you, which is, um, what is your dream for yourself, and what is your dream for women?
Hillary: Oh, boy. Pfft. That's a big one. Um, I think my current dream for myself, because I think those always evolve and change as we go through life, um, because I'm turning 40 this year, is to really, um, let things go.
Like, I certainly just hold myself to a level of perfection that's stupid, and I don't want to do that. So I want to let that go. And then, I think that's also my thing for women. It's like, I think as women in general, we hold ourselves to this, like, unattainable level and we spend so much of our evening tearing apart all the things we did great.
Which, we should just be saying, look at all the great things I did! Um, because everyone does that enough. So I think that all of us as women need to, like, every day, maybe go home and write down how awesome we were, if you don't already feel that way, and then if you don't feel awesome, say it until you do, or call some of your women friends and say, hey, I don't feel awesome today, why am I awesome? I think we do that.
Samantha: Yeah. I think my, uh, my personal dream for myself currently is along the same lines, I think to be a bit more proud. I'm not Um, I'm not the person who is the out, the person who's out shouting that I'm awesome at all or trying to take the credit. And, um, I'm super lucky, uh, that I have a partner who is always, um, telling me how awesome that I am, but I don't necessarily like want attention.
And I think really sort of stepping into, um, accepting that and, you know, being proud, you can be proud. Thanks for having me. Um, and confident without being, you know, egotistical and it, you know, it's, it's a it's a fine like balance. And I think it's something that most females struggle with, you know, when they're in leadership, you're sort of like just slapped with imposter syndrome all the time, in addition to sort of like some competitiveness, which is not us at all.
And it never has been we're very much about collaboration and Supporting women and that's what I that's my like goal and hope for for females is that they they find partnership and friendship and and support networks like like we've been able to have and build together. Um, because I think that's just the only way forward you know it's the only way forward that I see in general overall for everyone is community, you know, and especially female community. That's my hope just to strengthen it and keep it going.
Hillary: And to dominate right now females need to dominate.
Passionistas: Next up, we're talking to Shashana Kaplan about PIFster. For just one dollar a month, you can join the app and make a difference by helping small local nonprofits achieve their goals. We are so excited to talk to you today and share about your amazing organization.
Shashana: Hmm. Thank you so much for having me.
Passionistas: What are you most passionate about?
Shashana: Oh, many things. Um, right now, you know, it's these smaller nonprofits, these people who have such a steadfast heart. To help their community without them. I think our communities would fall apart and they these people are just amazing and nothing stops them They're just tenacious and out there and they just don't let anything stop them And I love them and I want to give them a voice And a platform so that people know who they are You know, we all have these small non profits right in our backyard and we just don't know
Passionistas: So tell everybody what that platform is that you have created for them.
Shashana: I would love to. So, um, it happened during COVID when we, my husband and I realized that there were so many people in need. And I remember saying to my husband, and I'm sure many have said this before, if I had a dollar for everybody that cared, we wouldn't have these problems. And my husband said, you know, I think we should do something with that.
And I had no idea what that was going to take us into. So for two years we worked together and we created an app and it's called PIFster, the pay it forward app. And we are a 501c3, but what we do is we crowdsource 1 a month donations. And then we pay it forward every single month to charities and neighborhood causes that are suggested on and voted on by our users.
Then we make a video showing your money doing what you voted it to do because transparency is everything. We have been going for 26 months and we have done some amazing things. We helped a little boy in Oregon get heart medication that prepared him for heart surgery. We helped a horse rescue in Kansas.
We helped veterans in San Antonio get counseling. We helped people in North Carolina from the floods. We helped people in Palisades with the fires. I mean, it just goes on and on and we get the money directly in the hands of the people who need it, which is. So important.
Passionistas: And absolutely. So let's take a step back. Where did this passion for helping people come from? Have you always been passionate about that? Like, what was your childhood? Like, tell us a little bit about that.
Shashana: Well, you know, it's funny that you say that. Um, because I think I only realized now I'm 58. I only realized, um, as you know, well, you two know, I was a makeup artist in the film industry for four decades.
And what made me a good makeup artist was that I really. cared and nurtured and sort of coveted my client, you know, I, I really, and I, I didn't realize, oh my gosh, I've always been this compassionate person up until maybe just maybe a year ago. I realized, oh my gosh, it's always been there. But when I was younger, my house, I can remember in high school, all my friends would come to my house and I would do their hair and makeup before we'd go to school, you know, or we would all change clothes and I would be their stylist and not because I was good at it, but just because I had a heart.
You know, I, I love seeing women confident. There's nothing more beautiful than that. And so that sort of carried through right out of high school. I started doing makeup immediately and, um, I was very successful for 40 years and I loved it. I loved it, because, again, I was able to facilitate that confidence in a woman, and it was just, you know, it's not eyeshadow, it's, it's, it's just a perception of you feeling good, and that really just enabled them to transform into characters, or to just feel beautiful.
Passionistas: But that, that's not surprising. In relationship to what you've built, because you are so clearly a pay it forward person in life, in addition to the organization you've built. Like, the way you talk about other people succeeding, you're even more fired up than when you talk about your own personal successes.
Shashana: Yeah, well my success is other people's success. You know, we're all a team, you know, and I think that when you invest in people and it pays off, what, what better payoff is that? I mean, there is, there is no better payoff. Than that, you know, I just so that makes me proud and I'm I yeah, thank you. I like that I'm glad that you noticed that but yeah, I love I love other people's success again with you guys even with the passionistas project I mean, it's just kudos kudos kudos.
It's hard work You know and there's challenges but you know You remain tenacious and steadfast and you just keep going and and here we are and it's beautiful.
Passionistas: And it's so, it is so gratifying when you see it pay off. It really is. Yeah. So let's talk more about this. You alluded to this during COVID, you started PIFster.
Shashana: Yes.
Passionistas: You told us a little bit about the seed of the idea. So how, what was that process like? How did this happen?
Shashana: I highly suggest that you sit down and design your app before you take it to an app designer. Because if I had not sat down with Chris and said, okay, what does page one look like?
And where does page one, what does page one, how does page one lead into page two? It would have taken us years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because you just don't know what you don't know, you know, so my husband and I we sat down and we thought okay Well, what is the end result? What do we want?
You know, and we did some research on nonprofits as we were donating our time around our neighborhood. And we realized that there are 1. 8 million nonprofits in America and people only know of the top 10 and those top 10 get billions of dollars from our government and all of the others. Just don't have a voice in this vast pool And so as my husband and I started to donate our time, which we did anyway But this became a full time job as we were thinking.
Okay, how can we support them? We realized that these smaller non profits as I call them Are usually run by someone who suffered a trauma themselves And vowed that no one else would go through what they went through And they opened up a 501c3, they have no idea how to run a business, they only know that they want to care for people, and prevent them from going through what they went through.
And those are the people that my husband and I really wanted to give a voice to, and give fundraising, and you know, a platform, so not only do we raise money, But we promote them on social media, and then we keep them on the app so that people know that these nonprofits have been vetted and that every Christmas when you come around to your donations,
these people have been vetted, and they are a neighborhood cause that really depends on these donations. They don't get these big grants. You know, it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to hire a grant writer. And some of these people just can't, they can't do it. You know, they don't know how to run a business. They only know how to care for people. So now they're caring for people running a board and fundraising.
And like me, I, and I'm one of those people, I opened up a nonprofit. I don't know how to run a nonprofit. You know, I'm learning like them. And that's what I thought, if we could all pull together and help each other, Just like we do in the makeup department. You know, if we all come together, then we make each other better.
And, and it's been working for 26 months. It's been getting better and better. And we're raising more and more money. And, you know, and we're helping these amazing neighborhood causes. And these people really need it. They need it. Yeah,
Passionistas: It's so true. Um, how do you You know, you said you're you you're running a nonprofit now, too. So how much time do you spend focusing on being a nonprofit versus Helping, like, you know, reaching out and finding these other nonprofits to support. It seems like that must just be an overwhelming amount of work.
Shashana: Um, it is, it is, and there are times where I'm like, I can't do this! You know, and luckily I have friends who run other n pnrofits and I call them and they're like, You know encouraging.
I mean, that's what I mean about like a department, you know, like we encourage each other So there thank god there are people that I can lean on who I call or they call me And that has been life changing so on our app you can always suggest a non profit that you care about because We help non profits all across America and I can't tell you What's happening in Alabama.
If I have an a PIFster who an Alabama, sorry, a PIFster who's in Alabama, they know what's happening in their neighborhood and they hopefully will have something they're fond of so they could go onto the app and suggest a charity. So that's how we've helped people all over America is because we have PIFsters from here to Hawaii, New York, Texas, Oregon.
I mean, it's yeah, it's it's amazing. It's amazing. And all of those people have Obviously gone on the, the app and have suggested a charity. And I spend my day vetting these charities, you know, and making sure that, you know, that they are who they are, that there's consistency that, you know, at least 85 percent of the money coming in gets used on the cause because you'd be surprised.
How many people only donate 20 to 30 percent and I can't, I can't, I'm not here to help you make money. I'm here to help you with your cause. So, I mean, the non profit world is kind of tricky, you know. Anyway, so 85 percent of the cause and then also to make sure that there's no, you know, fraud in their history.
To make sure that, you know, their board is on the up and up and, you know, and that they're good people doing the right thing. And luckily I've had more of those good people than others.
Passionistas: So tell us about the voting process and how that works, how you select the four every month and then how the voting process works.
Shashana: So, um, wow, that's funny. Um, that is my biggest challenge. Now we have so many suggested charities. So right now it's just kind of like whoever I finished vetting goes up next month. Um, and, and that's. Last month, we kind of pushed people a month because we had the unexpected fires and I really wanted to help people with the fires.
So everyone sort of got pushed down a month and I had to rush to vet those charities every month. We have three new charities and a runner up from the last month. Because I want to give somebody a second chance because they work hard to get people to get on the app and to vote for him. So I give them a second chance.
So we have three new charities that go up and every month you can go onto the app. You join, you become a PIFster and you can vote every month. And whomever has the most votes at the last minute of the month gets the monthly dollar pot.
Passionistas: That's great. I didn't know you, uh, you gave, I didn't notice that you gave the second chance. Because we've been going on every month and voting, but it didn't register to me.
Shashana: Yeah, yeah, yeah, well again, that's me, because, I mean, people work so hard to get people to get on the app and vote, and God bless them, you know, I want to help everybody, so we give them a second chance, or a third chance, Adopt Me Rescue has been up for three months because they've come close so many times, you know.
Passionistas: Fantastic, um, and, and when, I don't know that we've been clear to say that to become a PIFster and to become someone that gets to nominate people and gets to vote is $1 a month.
Shashana: Yes, just 25 cents a week, 1 a month. I don't, it's the best dollar you'll ever spend. And we need dollar donors so that we can help these smaller nonprofits and causes.
Yes. So please, anybody listening, go to PIFster.Org or app.PIFster.Org and become a PIFster. It's the best dollar you'll ever spend. And you actually see your dollar working because we make videos showing your money doing what you voted it to do.
Even though they're gut wrenching, the videos, and heart wrenching. But they're, they're, it's great to see people take the money and really make it work. Yeah.
Passionistas: Yeah. And, you know, I think we all know there are people who are like, it's only an extra $20 a month. It's only an extra, you know, it's a dollar. And I have to say, like, even for people that are struggling. I, you know, I don't have a ton of expendable cash right now.
I always feel good about my dollar every month. I feel like, Ooh, and I vote every month because it's like, Ooh, okay. I get to be part of this decision. I get, you know, sometimes I know that the charity or I am real, feeling really connected to what their mission is for some personal reason. And it's really. You know that they're going to get way more than a dollar, you know, that all you had to do was give a dollar and your time. And I also love that you allow people, you give people a mechanism to make donations beyond the dollar if they want to.
Shashana: You can always make a direct donation, and no matter who gets the most votes, they will always get that direct donation.
Always, yes. Because sometimes people are fond of two things. They're like, oh, I love this one, and I love this one. You can always donate to both, and then vote however you want to go. But I really, I think that's what really got me with this app, is that there was never, I couldn't find Any nonprofit or any way to donate my money and dictate what I wanted it to be used for, you know, like, like, you know, your $20 a month.
And I'll just say ASPCA. I can't dictate what I want my money to be used for. You know, I want it to be used for the shelters, not media. Not the commercials, even though those commercials make me cry. Yeah, you know, and so this is the only app where every voice, every vote, every dollar makes a difference. And it's up to you.
Passionistas: You mentioned a couple of couple of the recipients briefly, but can you give us a couple more success stories of people that you've helped through PIFster?
Shashana: Yes. Oh my gosh, where do I begin? So, um, oh gosh. So there is Max, the little boy that I told you. Um, He was on our app twice and my mother in law found him.
And apparently this boy was born with bacterial disease, which is no esophagus and no anus. So he was a million dollar baby within the first five minutes of his life, immediately into surgery. And they created all this and they predicted that he wouldn't live. to be more than a toddler, and he's now seven years old.
But my mother in law found him. He was very ill, and he takes his allowance, buys top ramen and gives it out to the homeless in the streets of Oregon. And my mother in law met him that way and said, Shashana, you've got to meet this little boy. And, um, his name is Max Dollarhide and this kid's incredible.
So he needed heart surgery and, um, it was very expensive. Just the prep. He needed a special diet, a special system, special medication, and that medication was almost 800. And so we put him on the app and, um, we raised 804 for him. And then we found out that. They didn't have enough money to get the whole family to Cincinnati to get surgery.
His mom could go with him, but we thought, you know that you are going to respond better to a health crisis when you have your loved ones around you. So again, we put them on the app and we got his mother and his father all to Cincinnati for the heart surgery. And that was, that was amazing. Amazing. There is, um, a horse rescue in Kansas that became aware of some farms that were buying horses and taking them to Mexico to be slaughtered.
And so we put them on the app and we raised enough money for her to not only buy the trailer that they were using to transport them, but she bought the horse farm. So all of those horses were saved. Little things like that that are amazing. Yeah. It's just, it feels so good. We've helped the people in North Carolina.
We helped, uh, heal corporation. We helped them install, you know, when, when they were flooded, all the water, um, what are they called? Uh, water filters, everything was destroyed. So all that bacteria that lives in the water, all of that was, they were having a hard time filtering out everyone. Everything had to be boiled.
So we were able to get. Uh, water filters out there so that they could run their water through the systems so that they had cooking water drinking water You know, I mean little little things and we raised I mean it was still less than a thousand dollars and that it made a huge Difference for them. I could go on I could still go on there are many more many more We helped last year.
We helped an amazing nonprofit called. She is hope la which supports single mothers And last Thanksgiving, we were able to get 35 turkeys for women who couldn't afford large turkeys. And we got them, thank God it was the month of November, so we got them Thanksgiving turkeys, 35. Can you imagine 35 families that weren't able to get turkey?
I mean, I just, I don't know where I'm extravagance, and then you see people who just need just a little. Just a little. So, so yeah, so a turkey was what we got them. We helped Project Pop Drop, which is another amazing organization that organizes schools to get, um, hygiene kits and food. And we help them, they just show up at a homeless shelter and pass out.
Food and hygiene kits and little notes of encouragement, which is, you know, I know it's hard, but keep your chin up, you know, here's some shampoo, take a shower. You'll feel better. I mean, not as blatant as that, but, but little things like that. We helped, um, there's a thing called showers of hope. We paid for them for a month to travel around to different parks and to give homeless people showers.
Yes, which costs a lot of money. I didn't realize like the gas, the money and they also give you they gave everyone little hygiene kits. So that was really great. We helped seniors. We helped a place called maps, which is the mission to assist and provide for senior citizens. There were senior citizens that were choosing between paying their electric bill and mobility because they had an electric chair.
So we were able to help a couple seniors pay their utility bill off for where it was at the time so that they could actually have mobility. Yeah, just these little, little things, you know, but it's amazing to pay it forward. It's just, honestly, it's the most blessed thing I've ever done in my life. And every single month it's the gift that I get to do.
Passionistas: So it's a gift to so many. And I also want to say you have helped Passionistas last year. Also supported Aaron's Coffee Corner and Carolyn, which it was so dear to our heart. Carolyn is a dear friend and a long time passionista. So to see that that worked out, we're so grateful to you for that.
Shashana: She is an amazing, strong woman. You know, I don't again, another woman who sees something and says, okay, that's it. No one's going to go through this. And I don't know if people know she has an ill son who is constantly in the hospital. And she noticed that the nurses that work 12, 15 hour shifts had to leave the floor. to get a cup of coffee, which is just, it's ridiculous. Yeah, it's just ridiculous that a nurse who is so devoted can't get a cup of coffee where she works. So she started Aaron's coffee corner and she got coffee machines and coffee right on the floor. So those amazing dedicated nurses could have coffee during their 12, 16 hour shift. While they're caring for these people.
Passionistas: Yeah, it's amazing. Yes. She got the family members the family members who you know you don't think about this till you're living it like she Carolyn can't take the elevator ride down to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee when she's carried for Aaron in the hospital Well, the family members don't have to go down.
So it was such a gift to all of us in the Passionistas community who love Carolyn so much for you to do that. And I think that's one of the amazing things about paying it forward the way you do it is it impacts so many people. And the other thing I love about you and what you do is. You reach out to each of these people directly.
It's not, I think people hear the word app and they think technology and cold and a process. But you really get to know each person that created this organization and why they do it. And you do it with such heart and it's really beautiful. And I think that, um, that's something I really want people to understand about what you're doing. This is, this comes from a, such a loving place.
Shashana: Yes, these people, again, um, these are our warriors, our neighborhood warriors. And I think without these people, the world would be a really cold place. You know, these are the people that are walking down our streets that say, Hey, how are you doing? They keep our communities together.
And Carolyn, especially, boy, she, yeah, yes, I do. I do want to know about these people because I want. to give them a voice and a platform so that other people can have hope and to see that, like, you can do it. You, you yourself, if you see something that needs to be done, you can do it too. Like, look what Carolyn's doing, you know, or if this is something that's important to you, you can continue to help Carolyn.
Because even though we just helped them for a month, they need continued support. Yes, and we continue to support them, and we continue to promote them, and thank you. Yes, I, I, these, these people are, um, important to us, you know, and important to the world.
Passionistas: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. If they weren't doing what they're doing, so many more people would suffer.
Shashana: Yeah, you know, it's funny, I close my eyes and I think, wow, just in L. A. we have 10 million people. Just 10 million people. If, if everyone would donate a dollar, even if one hundredth. donated a dollar. That's so much money that could resolve some of these problems and really put these caring people on a, on a, on a trajectory trajectory that could really do a lot of good.
You know, I can't do what they do. I would be a blubbering mess. I mean, you know, I rescue dogs and I, and I'm still crying, you know, and it's like I say to my husband, if I gave a dog rescue 10, 000, they're not going to go to Hawaii on vacation. They're going to rescue more dogs. You know, and I can't do what they do, but, but I could give them a dollar to do that and I can support them in what they do, you know, and I hope that other people can do that too, because we, we need these people, we, we need these caring warriors in our neighborhoods.
They really, they give people hope, you know? Absolutely. So what's your vision for the future of PIFster? Oh my goodness. More dollar donors, more dollar donors. Yeah, no, I've, if we could get up to a mount where we could start dividing the amount and helping two or month, three a month, that that's my dream.
That would be my dream where we could vote on three different organizations. So that again, cause there's 1.8 million nonprofits in America. You know, if I'm just going to do one a month, it's going to take me a while to help. You know, so I would love to get to a financial place where we had so much money coming in that we could give, you know, 20,000 here, 20,000 there, 20,000 this one. That, that's my dream.
Passionistas: You'll get there. You'll definitely get there.
Shashana: Oh yeah.
Passionistas: So, to help you get there, how can people support you? Where do they find you? And how do they become PIFsters to donate? And also, how do they nominate other people?
Shashana: So there's two things you can do. You can suggest a charity that you're fond of or a neighborhood cause, um, right on our app, which is PIFster.org and to become a PIFster you'll go to app.PIFster.org and you'll, um, there's a tutor that will take you through how to donate your dollar and then you could start managing your subscription and then you can start right away voting and, and, uh, suggesting. And can people suggest their own organization?
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. Because again, some of these smaller nonprofits are again run by someone who suffered that trauma and said, no, one's going to go through this. So yes, yes, please. We love that. We love that and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of them because the goal is also you know on Our website we have something called PIFster pals and also not only to financially offer support and Fundraising and a voice but I would love and this is a bigger dream than just the fundraising I would love for mental health Nonprofits to be able to work together, you know, because a lot of times a lot of the training comes from the top down and they have to wait for that information.
But there are so many people who could come together and learn from the bottom up. You know, and so we've done this thing called PIFster Pals, where we're having all of these nonprofits join and then they start to get to see, Oh, look, there's another mental health organization. I'll get to, I'll get to know them and, and it's working like new horizons is now working with task, the adult skill center and they're learning from each other.
At first it was kind of interesting cause they were like, Oh, I don't know if we want to share in the fundraising. And I'm like, well, you need to get over that right now because listen, the goal is to help these people and it doesn't take money all the time. It's not always money. I get that money is how you help people, but really let's start with the basics.
And so now task is working with new horizons and there's some senior centers that are working together. And, um, that just, that is, that's the best part. That's the best part when you see them working together, because now they're going to do fundraisers together.
Passionistas: Well, in awareness, you can't put a price tag on awareness of an organization, but also of an issue. Like, it's so hard. There's so much noise. There's so many issues. It's like, the more we amplify, you know, what the charity is about, what the organization is about, and why they're doing what they're doing, the more people understand what other people are going through.
Shashana: Yes. Yes. And because I know what my ladies like Tisha from She is Hope and Nikki from Project Pop Drop, I know what support those ladies have been for me.
I, I wish that upon all nonprofits that they have other nonprofits to lean on and to encourage them and to educate them and to share in their experiences because that's how we grow.
Passionistas: Absolutely. All right. I can't believe our time's almost up, but we have one last two part question for you, which is what is your dream for yourself and what is your dream for women?
Shashana: Ah, wow. That's big. That's big. Um, well, of course I go back to my makeup artist self for my women. I, I, I want women to know that they are perfect just the way they are that, um, especially with makeup, um, nothing makes you better.
It just enhances the perfection that you are. That's what I want to leave for women. And for me, personally, I would love to get Every Day Action to where it is self sustaining so that I could leave it as a legacy to continue to support these smaller non profits.
Passionistas: Thanks for listening to The Passionistas Project.
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