RESIDENTS PITCH IN TO HELP EACH OTHER.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer Hundreds of volunteers across 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. picked up cigarette butts, pulled weeds and gathered clothes for the needy on Saturday as part of Make a Difference Day. The nationwide campaign to spur volunteerism vol·un·teer·ism n. Use of or reliance on volunteers, especially to perform social or educational work in communities. volunteerism involved nearly a dozen Valley groups - from Girl Scouts Girl Scouts, recreational and service organization founded (1912) in Savannah, Ga., by Mrs. Juliette Gordon Low (1860–1927). It was originally modeled after the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, organizations created in Great Britain by Sir Robert Baden-Powell during to the Ladies Auxiliary of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2805 to the Committee for a Clean and Beautiful Glendale. ``We are trying to do something to make the world a little better place to live,'' said Brenda Gilbertson, a 57-year-old retired grocery store clerk who organized a clothing and toiletries toi·let·ry n. pl. toi·let·ries An article, such as toothpaste or a hairbrush, used in personal grooming or dressing. toiletries npl → artículos mpl de aseo (= drive for the Guadalupe Community Center in Canoga Park. ``You get so much more back than you ever give,'' said Gilbertson, as she and nearly a dozen other VFW See Video for Windows. and auxiliary members loaded three trucks with bags of donated clothes, toys and toiletries. Earlier this year, Gilbertson, a retired grocery store clerk, was herself on the receiving end of the donations. A 20-week strike against Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons left her at times wondering how she would make ends meet. She turned to the Guadalupe Center and its food pantry for needy families. ``It's nice to be able to give back,'' she said. In Glendale, volunteers gave back in other ways. More than a hundred business owners, residents and teens from local schools spent the morning picking up litter along a two-mile stretch of Foothill Boulevard The following streets are named Foothill Boulevard:
``It's about empowering people to do something in their communities,'' said Joe Mandoky, chairman of the volunteer-driven Committee for a Clean and Beautiful Glendale, which co-sponsored the event. Volunteers filled more than 100 garbage bags with fast-food cups, cigarette butts and other trash littering the thoroughfare THOROUGHFARE. A street or way so open that one can go through and get out of it without returning. It differs from a cul de sac, (q.v.) which is open only at one end. 2. Whether a street which is not a thoroughfare is a highway, seems not fully settled. . ``Now people feel like they live in a nice and clean place,'' said 15-year-old Erik Medina, a Hoover High School Hoover High School may refer to any of the following:
Juan Gonzalez, Glendale's public education coordinator, smiled upon overhearing Medina. ``It takes everyone pulling together to make the community a better place,'' he said. Rachel Uranga, (818) 713-3741 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Volunteers arrange donated items at Guadalupe Community Center on Saturday, Make a Difference Day. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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