L.A. Works Thanks it's Project Leaders

L.A. Works Makes it Easy to Volunteer in Los Angeles

We Salute our Project Leaders
April, 2005

Project Leader of the Month

April Fields

This month's Project Leader of the Month is long overdue for recognition. April Fields has been vitally active in L.A. Works for over ten years -- leading projects, serving on committees, organizing Project Leader retreats -- virtually participating in every activity L.A. Works has to offer! She even met her husband Mike, another L.A. Works volunteer, in the course of her volunteering!

She's been part of the fabric of the organization for so long, we almost take her for granted. No longer! This month we let April tell us the story of her involvement with L.A. Works as we salute her as Project Leader of the Month!

"My name is April Fields and I am a native of Southern California. I was initially introduced to L.A. Works through a corporate volunteer project in 1994. My first L.A. Works project was painting the interior of an elementary school. At the end of the project, I took one of the LAW pamphlets offered to me, liked what I read and decided to volunteer with the organization. The rest is history!

I have been volunteering since the ninth grade because I enjoy helping people – it’s in my nature. I began by collecting donations and participating in the annual March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon. It wasn't easy getting teenagers to give up some of their lunch money to help babies, but I was persistent! Many years and many blisters later, I added the AIDS Walk-A-Thon and AIDS Dance-A-Thon to my annual list of fundraising activities, and in my senior year of high school I volunteered with a friend at a nearby senior center. As an adult, I volunteered sporadically outside of these activities - until L.A. Works. The monthly calendar had so many different projects to choose from and I took advantage of this. I have done just about everything over the years from small interactive projects with kids to community clean-ups to tree-plantings, large scale painting projects and more!

With L.A. Works, I jumped right into leading projects without any training (however I would not recommend this method to others). One of the first projects I led was at the L.A. Mission serving food to the homeless and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. Recently, I have been leading arts and crafts projects at Good Shepherd in Hollywood. The kids there are great and it is so much fun to see how excited they get about doing an art project.

Another one of my favorite projects that I have been leading over the past couple of years has been Alexandria House, which is a transitional residence for women and children. Although I have been leaning in this direction for some time, I have decided to focus more on projects pertaining to women and children as the issues affecting them are important to me.

In addition to all the projects I have participated in and lead over the years, I have also been actively involved with various committees, especially for L.A. Works Day. I have served on the In-Kind committee, the Logistics committee and was a co-chair on the Projects committee. That was a lot of work, but definitely worth it. L.A. Works Day is always challenging, but it is great to see all the people from all over the city work together to make our city a better and more beautiful place to live!

While my goal in volunteering was to make a positive impact in my community and to help others, a side benefit of being a part of L.A. Works has been the fantastic friends I have made over the years (you know who you are!). In addition, I met my wonderful husband, Mike, while volunteering for L.A. Works Day ’97. Although he doesn't have much time to volunteer anymore, one of my favorite activities is when we are able to volunteer together.

L.A. Works has been a wonderful enhancement to my life and I know I will always be a part of it, one way or another. I especially love the flexibility that it allows. One can volunteer every week, like one of my friends does, or one can volunteer once a month or once a year or whenever their schedule allows! I know that many people are hesitant to volunteer because they do not, or cannot commit too much time in advance. So, whenever I meet someone new, I take the opportunity to tell them all about L.A. Works and stress how convenient it is and what a great organization it is as well."

We can't stress enough how important volunteers and leaders like April are to L.A. Works. Thanks for your ten-plus years of service, April!!!

This Month's Project Leaders

Thanks to all of our Project Leaders who are leading projects during the month of April.

You are the real leaders in our community! The Staff & Board of Directors of L.A. Works thanks you for being the real superstars of our community!

Andrew Abeyesinghe
Aniko Alexovics
Bobbi Marin
Bryan Kadatani
Cindy Finocchi
Cynde Knerr
David Trilling
Ed Simon
Emily Barclay
Helga Hung
Henry Meyer
Jacquie Moreno
Jane Rockwood
Jay Ross
Kathryn Perez-Fraga
Kristen Yolas
Laura Bonilla
Luis De Avila
Mark Kimura
Mary Lawler
Mia Farrell
Michael Hicks
Russell Ali
Sandy Boscarino
Sandy Lieu
Teresa Castelli
Veronica Cruz
Viet Hoang

Want to join the ranks of L.A.'s most involved citizens? Become an L.A. Works Project Leader.

It's easy, it's fun, and it doesn't require a huge amount of your time.

Go to the Courses section of the website and sign up for Project Leader Training or call Natalie at (323) 224-6510 to find out the date of the next session.

Past Project Leaders Of the Month

March, 2005 - Mia Farrell

February, 2005 - Sandy Boscarino

January, 2005 - Andrew Anura Abeyesinghe

December, 2004 - Jacquie Moreno

November, 2004 - Timothy Dickey and Howard Weiner

October, 2004 - Russell Ali

September, 2004 - Suzanne Wiener

August, 2004 - Veronica Cruz

July, 2004 - Margaret Conway

June, 2004 - Ellen Dugas

May, 2004 - Luis de Avila

April, 2004 - Mandana Dayani

Mar, 2004 - Cindy Finocchi