In its Oct. 7 report, CBS San Francisco showed volunteers packing notebooks, Bibles and cards for chaplains to share with people behind bars. The scene was one small piece of Compassion Week, a community-service initiative that began in Los Altos. Other Compassion Week projects include cooking meals, cleaning beaches and making items local organizations can use.
The 2026 program runs from Oct. 3 through Oct. 11. Los Altos United Methodist Church, one of the event’s organizers, describes the week through three ideas: learning about local needs, understanding neighbors through conversation and serving through hands-on projects. Its event page lists 70 local organizations and over 200 projects held each October and throughout the year.
The effort began in 2012, when Jan McDaniel and a small group at Los Altos United Methodist Church wanted to help people meet one another while serving their community. McDaniel told CBS the first event brought about 300 volunteers together for half a day. She described an unmet desire among residents to take part in practical service and make their community more compassionate.
Since then, the event has grown beyond its original church setting into an annual effort involving multiple faith communities and local nonprofits. CBS interviewed McDaniel and volunteers for its Oct. 7 report, while the church’s event page explains that Compassion Week is open to the wider public, not only church members. The common thread is a set of projects people can join without needing a large group or a specialized skill.
Some tasks happen together in person. CBS reported that volunteers cook hot meals and clean beaches, along with preparing materials for chaplains. Other projects can be done from home or school: participants can pick up supplies to make fleece blankets, decorate grocery bags used for meal deliveries or paint designs on clothing for people who are unhoused. These options let organizers match different kinds of work to different schedules and settings.
The organizer says projects welcome people of all ages and abilities, whether they participate in person or from home. Its FAQ says participation is free and open to community members, including friends and neighbors who are not part of the church. LAUMC says it organizes opportunities from age four through adulthood, with some projects geared toward children, families, youth or seniors. That structure offers more than one way to contribute: someone can join a group project, prepare items at home or take part in a community conversation.
CBS reported that this year’s special focus includes teen mental health and serving immigrants. The church’s event page also points to participating organizations that work on food, shelter, schools, support for veterans and services for immigrant neighbors. The program therefore includes both direct tasks and opportunities to learn about groups working on needs that persist after the event week ends.
The event’s published totals distinguish past results from this year’s plans. Los Altos United Methodist Church says 4,400 volunteers contributed more than 8,500 hours across 214 projects for 70 organizations in 2025. A September announcement from sponsor Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation described more than 4,400 participants and over 200 projects as expectations for 2026, not as a final count. Neither source had published a completed 2026 tally when this draft was prepared.
CBS reported that some participants continue working with partner nonprofits throughout the year. The church’s page likewise says projects are held in October and at other times, and invites people to join from home or alongside neighbors. The week gives a public shape to that service, but the accounts so far describe activities and plans rather than a measured change in community outcomes.
Compassion Week’s scale comes from the accumulation of specific jobs: packing supplies, preparing food, cleaning shared spaces, making blankets and helping local organizations carry out their work. The 2025 numbers show how many people and projects the organizers counted last year; the 2026 totals remain unreported. For now, the documented story is a community event that makes participation possible in several forms and connects volunteers with organizations working across the Bay Area.
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