Amalfi staff include (left to right) Brian Bogulisk, Desi Willis, Briar Pecsok, Chad Singer, Britney Penouilh, Anthony Marguleas (founder) and Jack Marguleas. Resident Alex Slatkin received a pie.
Amalfi Estates Founder Anthony Marguleas and his staff hosted their seventh annual Thanksgiving Pie Day on November 22.
“We’re so thankful to be in this community,” Marguleas said. “We do this to thank our friends and clients.
“We’re thankful to be able to live in such an amazing place,” he said, and admitted, “I like the pumpkin.”
A long-time resident Marguleas had purchased more than 120 apple and pumpkin pies from Homeboy Bakery, and they were stacked by the front door at his office on Monument, waiting for clients and friends to stop by and take one home.
The apple and pumpkin pies are purchased from Homeboy Industries, one of five charities that Amalfi and its agents support. Ten percent of agent commissions are given to Wags and Walks, Make-A-Wish, American Cancer Society and People Assisting the Homeless. Since 2015 Amalfi has donated more than $2 million to charities.
Margueleas supports the Palisades Village Green with a $5,000 donation every year and, one year, stepped up and saved the Fourth of July parade with a $40,000-plus donation.
“Our partnership with Homeboy Industries has provided tattoo removal for 523 gang members,” Marguleas said.
The Thanksgiving pies from Homeboy Bakery are made from scratch and freshly baked in a small-batch kitchen in downtown Los Angeles.
The Homeboy Bakery is a social enterprise division of Homeboy Industries, a community-based nonprofit organization that provides a second chance and safe space for young individuals, who have been incarcerated or involved with gangs. An 18-month training certification program teaches participants essential skills and helps the youth rebuild their lives.
“There is no us and them, only us,” said Father Greg Boyle, who founded Homeboys in 1988 the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. “I have never seen a hopeful person join a gang.”
Visit: homeboyindustries.org.