'BIG' REASON FOR PRIDE VOLUNTEERS ROLL OUT OF BED TO FIX UP NEIGHBORHOODS.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer Suddenly, there were vegetables in North Hollywood. Troop care packages in Encino. A spruced-up animal shelter "Dog Pound" redirects here. For the rap group, see Tha Dogg Pound. An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats. in Chatsworth. Community service erupted across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, during a Big Sunday volunteer weekend billed as the largest volunteer give-back in the nation. "Normally, I'd be in bed with my wife, asleep," Dexter Conner, 28, of Toluca Lake said while raking soil to create a "hidden garden" in North Hollywood. "I'm just trying to help out when I can." And help out they did -- and will. As many as 50,000 volunteers are rolling out of bed to paint over graffiti, plant gardens, spritz schoolyards and more. The Big Sunday event, which has grown in popularity since 1999, encompassed 362 volunteer projects in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , Ventura, Orange and Riverside counties. Big Sunday, a partnership with the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , is still enlisting volunteers at www.bigsunday.org for 237 community projects today. The give-back ends in a big pizza bash at Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large public park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is situated in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,210 acres (17 km²) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. tonight. In Los Angeles, organizers say the outburst of community service wipes out the stereotype of a self-absorbed city hostile to its neighbors. "Oh, man ... it's just been an amazing day -- there is so much (being) accomplished around the city it could take your breath away," exclaimed Big Sunday spokeswoman Rachel Schwartz. In Pacoima, 400 volunteers sodded an entire soccer field at Bert Corona Charter School in two hours. In North Hollywood, about 50 children and adults created a Rio Vista Rio Vista may refer to:
"You can actually make soup out of these squash blossoms," said Rhonda Hakimovich, a Rio Vista Elementary School elementary school: see school. teacher making a mound for squash, corn and beans for a succotash for her students. In Encino, nearly 100 volunteers sorted T-shirts, CDs, suntan lotion and other treats destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. for troops overseas. Operation Gratitude, working in numerous shifts at the state National Guard Armory, drew volunteers from as far away as Rancho Cucamonga. "I feel a debt to those in the service under fire today," Jack Knight, a 69-year-old volunteer from Studio City, said in between crooning showtunes for care-package sorters. "If we didn't have (volunteer) Little Leaguers, food-bank workers, church volunteers, this country would stand still," he said. In Chatsworth, dozens of volunteers shared in a Help Some Old Dogs Find Some New Homes event, decorating and painting signs at the West Valley Animal Care Center. "I even gave up my finals soccer game for this thing," said Jose Ruiz, 14, of Winnetka. "This is my good deed for the day." dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Volunteer Natalie Tijerina of Encino, above, holds Cutie cut·ie also cut·ey n. pl. cut·ies also cut·eys Informal A cute person. , who is one of the rabbits available for adoption at the West Valley Animal Care Center in Chatsworth, during the Big Sunday community service event held Saturday at numerous locations. At right, Jason Vasquez, 8, and Andrew Weyman do some shoveling at the Rio Vista Elementary Hidden Garden in North Hollywood. (3) Volunteers sort CDs Saturday for Operation Gratitude care packages for troops at the California Army National Guard The California Army National Guard is a component of the California National Guard, the United States Army and the United States National Guard. The California Army National Guard is composed of about 20,000 soldiers. Armory in Van Nuys. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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