Frontline Foundation

The Frontline Foundation of downtown Los Angeles, California, is a non-profit charity organization that serves emergency meals to people on Skid Row. As of July 2006, it has served over 860,000 meals. Each day, volunteers prepare food and serve over 200 homeless people.

The Frontline Foundation was founded in 1987 by Raymond Castellani, a former character actor who most often played bad guys in Westerns. During the 1970s, Castellani became homeless after a struggle with alcoholism. Initially, Frontline consisted of Castellani serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a pot of coffee to a group of homeless people at 5th and San Pedro streets. Today, the Frontline Foundation operates on a budget of approximately $60,000 per year. In 1995, President of the United States Bill Clinton honored Castellani with the President's Service Award, the United States' highest award for volunteers. [http://frontline-foundation.org/longwalk.htm]