BeachLife brings another kind of music to the holidays
Redondo Union High School Principal Jens Brand accepts holiday contributions from BeachLife communications director Tammy Saunt. Photos by JP Cordero Last May’s much-anticipated, second annual BeachLife Festival was canceled, but the organization behind it has been busy with a project more relevant to our times. Instead of entertaining residents, they’re helping them with a program that gets gift cards to people who can use some help. It’s called Operation Smiles, and it’s a lifeline for local businesses as well as their patrons. As BeachLife founder Allen Sanford puts it, “We could have, as a business, gone to sleep until the next festival, or we could do what we’ve decided to do and be part of the community. We have been building outdoor dining spaces for restaurants, and now we’re buying gift cards and distributing them. They’re at restaurants and retailers that are small businesses in this community, including flower shops, toy stores, and clothing stores.” Anyone might see how widespread unemployment might make a gift card for clothes and food useful, but why a flower shop? Allen says that they’ve already had a grateful recipient. “Everybody has different needs. One person…
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