ONELIFE LA EXPECTED TO DRAW THOUSANDS TO DOWNTOWN LA ON JAN. 23 IN CELEBRATION OF THE BEAUTY AND DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE
January 8, 2016  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

OneLife_poster

2nd annual event features inspirational speakers, musical performances, and service projects including hair donations to create wigs for ill children and collection of clothes and toiletries for victims of human trafficking

Mexican actress Karyme Lozano and actor Danny Jacobs, have been added to the roster of inspiring international and local speakers who will join Archbishop José H. Gomez at OneLife LA, on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at Grand Park (200 N. Grand Ave.) in downtown Los Angeles. OneLife LA is the only large-scale event that celebrates the beauty and dignity of every human life from conception to natural death in Southern California.

“This will be a day of family and friendship in celebration of the beauty and dignity of every human life – from conception to natural death,” said Archbishop Gomez. “Join me and thousands in declaring a commitment to valuing and protecting all human life, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.”

Inspired by the example of Pope Francis, OneLife LA seeks to promote a culture of life, where every human life is valued, especially the marginalized. The second annual event, themed “Who do you live for?” will start at noon (12 p.m.) with a walk led by Archbishop Gomez through downtown streets. It will conclude at 4 pm, followed by the “One Life, One Light Requiem for the Unborn” Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gomez at 5 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Visit http://archla.org/requiem for more information about the Mass.

OneLife LA keynote speaker, Nick Vujicic, who travels around the world sharing his powerful story of challenges and blessings despite being born without limbs, will speak about his passion for life and achieving victory over his struggles through faith. “If God can use a man without arms and legs to be his hands and feet, then he will certainly use any willing heart,” said Vujicic. His deep-rooted faith helped him see his disability as a blessing and formed the nonprofit organization Life Without Limbs when he was 17 years old.

OneLife LA speakers and presenters include:

  • Emmy award winning actress Patricia Heaton is an outspoken advocate for life. She currently stars as Frankie Heck in the ABC sitcom, The Middle. Her brilliant career includes starring roles in film, television, and stage.

 

  • Retired LAUSD school teacher Millicent “Mama” Hill, who founded the nonprofit Mama Hill’s Help, to help teenagers who often live under the clouds of violence, grief, abandonment or abuse. She has changed the lives of thousands of young people through her innovative teaching style.

 

  • Jenna Gassew and Dan Haley are known as the parents of the “Bucket List Baby” who was born with a birth defect called Anencephaly. Although the diagnosis was dire, they did not wait until his birth to celebrate his life, which they chronicled on the Facebook page, “Prayers for Shane.”

 

  • Mexican actress Karyme Lozano, who has been chosen three times as one of People en Español’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” She co-starred in the movie, For Greater Glory, and is a diligent pro-life advocate working with the Guadalupe Medical Center in Los Angeles, and has significantly helped many young women choose life for their unborn children.

 

  • James J. Hanson, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, husband and father to a two-year-old son, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and has survived long after his doctors predicted. He is an advocate for public policy changes on behalf of patients and assists with fundraising efforts to support cutting-edge clinical research that is crucial for finding a cure to this terrible disease.

 

  • Emcees of the event will be international speaker Lianna Rebolledo, founder of Loving Life, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent domestic violence and abuse, and actor Danny Jacobs, best known as the voice of King Julien on The Penguins of Madagascar and its sequels, and the Netflix series All Hail King Julien.

 

In solidarity with Pope Francis’ call to show love to others during this Year of Mercy, OneLife LA is uniting with more than 20 community partners to encourage event attendees to get involved in community activities such as feeding the homeless, finding families for foster children, supporting pregnant women, and visiting the elderly. A local salon will offer free haircuts to attendees willing to donate their hair to an organization that creates hairpieces for ill children.Multiple organizations will join forces to create a space dedicated to human trafficking awareness and education, service projects sign-ups, and collection of clothing and toiletries for victims. For more information about OneLife LA community partners visit http://onelifela.org/sponsors-and-partners/.

Watch One Life LA 2016 event highlights video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyRhFTgrKD4.

OneLife LA, spearheaded by the Archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace, was first celebrated on January 17, 2015. The event united nearly 15,000 people to “Be Somebody to Somebody” in their own communities through good works.

To see more highlights from OneLife LA 2015, please visit http://onelifela.org/2015event/.

To follow OneLife LA on social media and for more information visit www.onelifela.org, https://twitter.com/1lifela, or https://www.facebook.com/1lifela.

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