MALL SHOPPERS SOLD ON VOLUNTEER WORK.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer Between racing from one department store to another Saturday, holiday shoppers at the Northridge Fashion Center Northridge Fashion Center is a large shopping mall located in Northridge, California. It opened in 1971. It was severely damaged during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, but renovated extensively in 1995 and 1998. stopped to offer their communities something invaluable: time. With sagging bags of presents in tow, hundreds of shoppers signed up as volunteers for more than 20 groups in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. - from the YMCA YMCA in full Young Men's Christian Association Nonsectarian, nonpolitical Christian lay movement that aims to develop high standards of Christian character among its members. Infant Care Center to the American Heart Association American Heart Association (AHA), n.pr a national voluntary health agency that has the goal of increasing public and medical awareness of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and thereby reducing the number of associated deaths and disabilities. . Also during the second annual Share the Care festival at the center, nine of the Valley's top volunteers were recognized for their work. The festival was created to promote volunteerism in the Valley by giving nonprofit groups a chance to showcase themselves at the center and recruit helping hands. ``What it does is it gets us out in front of the public - gives the public an awareness of what we do,'' said Ryan Kodama of New Leash on Life, a Woodland Hills-based animal rescue group. ``I think there's a strong sense of volunteerism here.'' Kodama said about 20 people signed up to work for New Leash on Life, which aims to lower the number of unwanted pets through owner education. Each person who signed up for one or more of the nonprofit groups Saturday was invited to leave a paint-soaked hand print, as a symbol of commitment, on a giant wall outside Macy's. And those honored as the area's top volunteers encouraged newcomers. ``As we look at what they've done this year and years past, it's clear to the rest of us what it's possible to do,'' Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (born August 18, 1935) is a former American decathlete. Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but moved to Kingsburg, California at age 9. In high school, he played on the school's football, baseball and basketball teams. , a world and Olympic record Olympic Records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. As the Olympics occur only once every four years, many of these records do not correspond with world records, though they are holder in the decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. , said about other award winners. Johnson, who helped found the California Special Olympics and has worked for years on behalf of mentally and physically handicapped children and adults, also got an award. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Volunteers who were honored are, from left, Jim Morrow, Gail Lippner, Rafer Johnson, Erika Clemens, Linda Montanez, Scott DeSimone, Ellie Vargas, Steve Brown and Brother John Crowe. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion