Mayor Declares Citywide
Day of Volunteerism
October 8
8:00am - 1:00pm
 Here's a cool community event we know our volunteers will want to get involved with:
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has declared October 8th a citywide day of service. To make it easy to volunteer that day, the city has set up beautification and clean-up projects in and around the city.
On the West Side of town projects are set up at
Venice High, Mark Twain Middle School, and Beethoven Elementary.
Specific projects include: Beautification of the entrance to Venice High, tree-planting at Beethoven Elementary, landscaping at Mark Twain, and clean-up in the Venice High neighborhood. The event will begin at 8 am and end at 1 pm. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. Please wear work clothes and sturdy shoes. Any other equipment needed will be provided at the site.
To get more information on this referral project, click on the "Have Agency Contact Me" button on the project referral page on the L.A. Works website. Click here for details and to indicate your interest in getting involved!
For those of you living in South Los Angeles, the city has also set up a project at Freemont High School in South L.A. This project will include painting of murals, creating a community garden and tree planting. If you'd like to volunteer in South L.A., click here to get involved.
For a full listing of volunteer opportunities available on October 8th, click here.
L.A. Works Facilitates
California Day of Service and
Corporate Month of Service Projects
California Service Corps Volunteeers, working together with volunteers from The Home Depot, KaBOOM, Albertsons and Starwood Properties built KaBOOM! playspaces at Gabriella Charter School and Ocean Charter School on Sept 26th. Over 800 volunteers came together at two sites, dramatically changing the landscape of the school with the addition of playgrounds, landscaping, painting projects and construction of planters, benches, and new gardens.
Gabriella Charter School is located on a historic, multi-use property near downtown Los Angeles that also includes a low-income housing project with 143 families. This is a densely-populated neighborhood where recreational opportunities are few or non-existent. The community has one of the city’s highest child poverty rates and highest child obesity rates. Although there is a local park, Lafayette Park, across the street, the park is overrun by transients, drug dealers and gang members. Many families avoid using Lafayette Park because of crime concerns. The new playground gives the charter school students, members of their dance program, "Everybody Dance", and children living in the housing community access to a great place to play in a safe and supervised environment.
Ocean Charter School serves over 200 students and the playground will be open to the public. This playground will offer families a greater sense of community and create a central place for parents to congregate while their children play. Previously the only place the children had to play was on the parking lot.
The day served as the state kickoff for the California Service Corps and volunteers included California First Lady, Maria Shriver. These projects were part of a nationwide Corporate Day of Service facilitated by the Hands on Network with a goal of generating 500,000 volunteer hours of service nationwide. Our two projects added another 6500 hours to the national total!
If your company wants to join the growing legions of empowered corporate citizens, contact L.A. Works at 323-224-6510 to find out more about BusinessWorks.
Hurricane Katrina Updates
Thanks to the many L.A. Works volunteers who have signed up to assist with disaster relief efforts locally and in the gulf. The quick response of L.A. Works volunteers to ongoing calls to action has been an inspiration and galvanized the city's agencies looking for volunteers. We'll continue to post the latest news on disaster-relief related volunteerism and trainings on our Hurricane Blog edition, accessible from our home page at www.laworks.com
How to find the Newest
and Hottest Projects
Looking for something new? Want to find our projects with greatest need? Use the Advanced Search feature in our Project Calendar section to "Search by Project Category." From there you can search for Projects that are Group or Team Friendly, "New", or "Hot." To get there, just click on PROJECT CALENDAR, then select the SEARCH PROJECT Tab, and finally click on the ADVANCED SEARCH Link.
Click here for a list of NEW Projects.
Click here for a list of HOT Projects.
We're looking for personable, fun, creative, sparkling leaders like yourself!
How do we add new Projects to our calendar? By recruiting more Project Leaders! If you've got the desire to take the next step in volunteerism, please attend this informative, fun session on how to join the ranks of our Project Leaders. You'll learn good leadership skills, and find out how easy it is to take a leadership role in our community. Join us at the L.A. Works office near Dodger Stadium on Wednesday evening, Oct 12.
Click here to sign up!
Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
The L.A. Works web site also lists ongoing volunteering opportunities for non-profit agencies that have long-term volunteer needs. These referrals are not L.A. Works managed projects but we think these opportunities may be of interest to our volunteers. The link to the list of ongoing opportunities appears at the bottom of the calendar page on the web site. Click here to see the ongoing opportunities section of the web site.
Want a Million dollars? Go to College!
Volunteers are needed to assist 13,000 Los Angeles students and their families as they discover how education can be accessible and affordable. College graduates earn $1 million more over a lifetime, on average, than students with only a high school diploma.
The City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Community College District, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Unified School District, UNITE-LA, Los Angeles Community College District and the Los Angeles City Workforce Investment Board are pleased to be leading this year’s efforts to help Los Angeles families and their children access higher education and career opportunities. The 4th Annual Cash for College: College and Career Convention will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, October 26-27, 2005, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall. The Convention will be open to the public on both days between 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Admission is free for all. The event will feature colleges and universities throughout California, special speakers, scholarship opportunities, interactive career demonstrations, financial aid information, “Passport to College Knowledge” game, and other information to help today’s high school students understand the importance of college.
Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, workshop facilitators, and assist with event organization and flow.
For more information or to get involved as a volunteer, click here or visit
www.lacashforcollege.org
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