KIDSMARCH WILL AID ABUSED CHILDREN.

Byline: DIANA PEYTON Community Columnist

Several young people from the area will start campaigning in January for Kidsmarch, a 10- to 15-mile walkathon set for this summer to help find homes for children who have been abused, neglected or orphaned.

Brandon Keefe, 16, of West Hills is one of the promoters of the event to benefit Hollygrove Children and Family Services in Los Angeles and Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services.

Brandon first became acquainted with kids at Hollygrove when he was 5, while he attended board meetings with his mother.

``I used to be friends with a lot of the kids there. Not that I can understand what they are going through, but ... in some ways I think I can,'' he said.

The Chaminade College Preparatory student started the Bookends Project in 1993 to provide the Hollygrove facility with donated books. The program has grown - it now distributes 90,000 books to 40 schools, libraries and youth organizations in Los Angeles.

On June 29, Kidsmarch participants will walk from La Canada to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where children and parents will have an overnight campout.

There will be tents, meals, an outdoor movie theater, popcorn and other treats, and the next day the group will walk into downtown Pasadena.

Other participants who will be speaking to students and promoting this event in the community are: Nikhil ``Nique'' Bhatia, who attends Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City; Emily Caplow from Oakwood School, North Hollywood; Maddy Ignon, a student at Campbell Hall in Los Angeles; and Jonathan Dobson, a fourth-grader at Kenton Canyon Charter School in Los Angeles.

To join the group, register by calling Pallotta Teamworks at [phone].

An art award has been given to a local student, and an application for a scholarship is now offered.

Janeva Zentz, a senior at Louisville High School, has been given a Merit Award in Visual Arts by the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, 2001-2002.

Janeva was selected as one of 236 winners from more than 3,800 entries. The award will be administered by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

For students pursuing an education in music, theater and visual arts, the California Alliance for Arts Education Scholarship is accepting applications.

Four students will receive up to $20,000 each and eight runners-up will get $1,000.

Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 1. For more information call [phone].

Volunteers at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) raised $5,000 to provide a ``whisper room'' in the Reseda Studio.

The new room will allow the agency to record directly onto a computer, replacing reel-to-reel tape recording.

Funds were raised by 170 volunteers - many who typically read at the facility just two hours a week but put in as many as 16 extra hours a week for the contest.

``I don't know how they do it, some of the reading is textbooks, and they read bibliographies and tables of contents, things that require a lot of focus and intensity. They're an extraordinary bunch of people,'' said Diane Kelber, RFB&D public affairs director.

California Lutheran University has awarded instructor Sandy Lofstock with Inspiration Awards for her contributions as a teacher, administrator and volunteer.

She also received an undisclosed cash award, donated by an anonymous CLU graduate.

A donation has been given to a local agency and a grant has been awarded to a libary in the East San Fernando Valley.

Cusumano Real Estate Group donated a 15-passenger van to Partners in Care Foundation in Burbank.

The proceeds from the van's sale will be used for the Children and Families at Risk and other Foundation programs.

Verizon Communications has given a $50,000 grant to the San Fernando Library for a wireless computer center.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

West Hills teen Brandon Keefe promotes a summer walkathon to benefit Hollygrove Children and Vista Del Mar services.