VOLUNTEERING'S MECCA: VAN NUYS; FORGET THE RECENT DISPLAY OF SELF-CONGRATULATORY SPEECHIFYING IN PHILADELPHIA. THE TRUE SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM LIES WITH A VALLEY STATUE.

Byline: David Honda

THE recent messages about volunteerism would have rung clearer in Los Angeles had they originated in Van Nuys rather than Philadelphia.

The politicians and glitterati espousing volunteerism in Philadelphia were barely credible, or do we really believe in the sincerity of celebrities such as Jesse Jackson and Ariana Huffington when they espouse volunteerism? Their essentially self-serving pleadings would have had at least a credible Valley symbol in Van Nuys for their assigned topic.

Admittedly, the mid-San Fernando Valley is somewhat short on national symbols, but we do have a statue of the Indian boy Fernando, which is more to the point of the subject than Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.

It wasn't just symbolism that wasn't quite right in Philadelphia. There was seemingly a lack of understanding of what makes a volunteer; a fairly difficult concept for our current crop of elected officials. Witness President Clinton, who didn't quite grasp then-President Bush's ``Thousand Points of Lights'' idea and today he endorses compulsory community service for teen-agers - a term, when translated into teen talk, that means punishment.

To borrow a line from T.J. Rodgers, president and chief executive officer of Cypress Semiconductors, ``When good works cease to be voluntary and become compulsory, charity becomes confiscation and freedom becomes servitude.''

There was little said in Philadelphia about the volunteering of time and talent that comes from the heart and not from a perception of self-gain or self-preservation.

Although some grand ideas were brought forth, little was said about humble volunteerism such as giving blood or helping at the animal shelter.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who only recently got into politics, probably did as good a job as any when he dedicated the pylon last year in Woodland Hills that carries the names of the Fernando Award recipients on the base of the statue of the Indian boy, Fernando, at the Van Nuys Civic Center. He opened his remarks with a reference to the San Fernando Valley being the ``home of volunteerism.''

And he was right. There are a large number of people here in the Valley who volunteer to help others. Whether it's Rotarians pulling out their checkbooks, or Kiwanians rolling up their sleeves, or folks helping out at the library and the hospitals, many in the Valley spend a good deal of time, money and energy helping their fellow citizens.

It is often these sort of humanitarian acts, done selflessly, and often anonymously, that set a people apart and determine to a great degree the collective compassion of a community.

In fact, that's what the Fernando Award is all about. Every year Valley communities are asked to honor a person whose ``individual lifetime of volunteer achievements on behalf of charitable and civic causes'' merit the award. The award, started in 1959 by Valley chambers of commerce, is for someone who ``earned the public's admiration, respect and gratitude.''

Note the word ``earned'' and the absence of words such as ``entitled,'' ``grants'' and ``dole.''

Although the statue of the Indian boy doesn't have the catchiness of the Liberty Bell, and Van Nuys certainly isn't Philadelphia, a message about volunteerism coming from that venue would make a lot more sense to Angelenos and those of us here in the Valley - the ``home of volunteerism.''