Four years ago, three friends decided to do something practical for love on Valentines Day by launching the Love Ride to support the homeless of Venice Beach. So on February 14th 2013 they gathered some more friends and rode bicycles together along Venice Boardwalk giving out care packages of toiletries and clothes to the homeless.
The three friends, Anael Bonsorte, Liz Devin and Bertie Sepulveda started Savage Hearts as an umbrella organization under which they run Love Ride. Savage Hearts is also home to Wench Toast, Clean Carriage Soap Co and the amazing Butt Patrol which raises awareness of the serious environmental impact each cigarette butt makes – they give out informational pocket ashtrays to try combat the fact that 30% of all trash are cigarette butts and one butt pollutes 10 liters of water). Information on all of these extremely cool initiatives can be found on their website.
Among the Love Ride’s partners is Conscious Period, which offers deals in which consumers can buy tampons for homeless women. The Love Ride Care packages feature survival gear such as water, snacks, blankets, sunscreen, lip balm, toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizer, underwear, socks and feminine hygiene products. “I have seen what a difference we can make in another person’s life by simply being kind and listening,” Love Ride founder Liz Devin says. “Love Ride gives us a chance to take the time to acknowledge the brothers and sisters that are in different places in life than we may be, but we are all still connected.”
Volunteers dress in pink and pin red hearts to their clothing. “My dream come true will be when people are celebrating Valentine’s Day with Love Rides all over the world,” Devin says. “We are all about sharing love, smiles, kindness and hugs.”
Love Ride has become an annual event in Venice Beach and this year it also expanded to San Francisco and Miami. If you are interested in hosting it next year in your city or getting involved with one of the existing Love Rides, get in touch with Liz Devin via [email protected] and let her know you want to get involved. And please spread the word by sharing this via the social media buttons after the last picture.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 The Love Ride 2017
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders before setting out to distribute Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders setting out to distribute Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders setting out to distribute Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along the Venice Beach Bike path to the first distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 A homeless encampment on Venice Beach.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way past one of the homeless encampments on Venice Beach.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along the Venice Beach Bike path to the first distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 The first Love Ride distribution point on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Ride co-ordinator Liz giving a Care Package to one of the homeless on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Ride co-ordinator Liz giving a Care Package to one of the homeless on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders hugging whilst setting up the distribution point on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Ride co-ordinator Bertie with her mother before distributing Care Packages on Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders gathered for a group picture before distributing Care Packages on Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Rider Chuki distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 One of the homeless at Breeze Ave eating dry Ramen Noodles.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Rider Chuki pointing out the Breeze Ave distribution point to some of the homeless on Venice Boardwalk.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 One of the homeless and a Love Rider greeting one another on Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Breeze Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders DeeDee & Bertie making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders setting up the distribution point on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders getting ready to leave the distribution point on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders Lindsay & Rina making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders arriving at the final distribution point on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Rider DeeDee distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Rider DeeDee distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders DeeDee & Nixie sharing a live video moment at 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders with a happy client after going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders Liz & Brandi sharing a moment on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Rider Co-ordinators Liz & Bertie sharing a moment on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2017-02-14 Love Riders gather for a group photo at the end of their day distributing Care Packages.
And as I shot the Love Ride in 2016 but didn’t post the pictures, I thought I’d post them up here as well…
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Bicycle decorations waiting to be used on Love Ride 2016
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders preparing Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Rider Naomi talking about the Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders Naomi & Gabe taking a break from preparing the Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Lawrence very generously made his house available so the Love Riders had somewhere to prepare their Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Lawrence very generously made his house available so the Love Riders had somewhere to prepare their Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Ride Co-ordinators Liz & Bertie sharing a moment after finishing the preparation of the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Rider notes of the contents of the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Riders sharing a moment after finishing the preparation of the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-13 Love Ride Co-ordinators Liz and Bertie with Lawrence, who very generously made his house available to the Love Riders so they had somewhere to prepare the Care Packages for Love Ride 2016.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders before setting out to distribute the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders before setting out to distribute the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders Lindsay & Gabe before setting out to distribute the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders before setting out to distribute the Care Packages.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider DeeDee distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages along Venice Boardwalk at Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders and their bikes at the Navy St. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Kyle strikes a pose at the Navy St. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Tani at the Navy St. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Co-ordinator Liz distributing Care Packages on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders getting ready to leave the distribution point on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders rolling out from the distribution point on Navy St..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders arriving at the Dudley Ave. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Tribute to a fallen Love Rider at the Dudley Ave. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Dudley Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Dudley Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Dudley Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider DeeDee distributing Care Packages at Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Lindsay distributing Care Packages on Venice Boardwalk at Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Lindsay distributing Care Packages on Venice Boardwalk at Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders getting ready to leave the distribution point on Sunset Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders arriving at the Wavecrest Ave. distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders distributing Care Packages at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Ride Co-ordinators Anael & Liz share a moment at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Ride Co-ordinators Anael & his mother share a moment at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders Anael & Barbara distributing Care Packages at Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Ride Co-ordinator Anael waving his flag to alert the Love Riders of their imminent departure from Wavecrest Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders making their way along Speedway to the next distribution point.
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Homeless going through boxes of clothes supplied by Love Riders on Horizon Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Riders arriving at the final distribution point on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Rider Naomi at the final distribution point on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 Love Ride Co-ordinator Bertie sharing a moment with her daughter and granddaughter on 17th Ave..
Venice Beach, CA. 2016-02-14 The Love Riders gather for a group photo at the end of their day distributing care packages.
