VOLUNTEERS HELP PAINT, CLEAN HOMES IN VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

PACOIMA - Tina Aguirre, 80, of Pacoima, smiled from her wheelchair Saturday as a swarm of eager volunteers painted her house a cheerful yellow, trimmed the spreading tree in her front yard and hauled away trash from her back yard.

``I'm still in shock,'' Aguirre said. ``I can't believe it. So many good-hearted people!''

More than 400 volunteers spent Saturday repainting, repairing and planting flowers at 10 houses on Bromwich Street between Bradley Avenue and San Fernando Road.

The Neighborhood Pride Day was sponsored by Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services, a nonprofit organization that revitalizes neighborhoods and provides home-buyer education, financing assistance and other services.

Lori Gay, president of LANHS, said the cleanup was a way to empower neighbors, maintain homes and bring the community together by encouraging corporate and individual volunteers to invest in the community.

``Volunteerism is everything,'' Gay said. ``It's up to all of us to make Los Angeles a better place to live.''

``The burglars go elsewhere when we fix things up,'' Gay said. ``They don't go into neighborhoods where there isn't blight and deterioration. People start to figure out that these are not neighborhoods that should be written off.''

Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla, who helped pour paint with his younger brother, Ackley, agreed: ``Crime tends to gravitate to neighborhoods where the neighbors aren't organized and don't talk to one another.''

Companies donated cash and in-kind contributions that totaled about $100,000, Gay said, adding that it costs her organization about $5,000 per house to paint and do minor repairs. LANHS will use the remaining funds to help homeowners whose homes need more extensive repairs, she said.

Before the volunteers arrived, the city repaved the street and repaired curbs and gutters, Gay said, at an estimated cost of $50,000 to $75,000.

Not all the volunteers were adults. Sen. Richard Alarcon's ``Young Senators'' group of teens was out in force as were about 45 middle school students from The Valley Schools and 30 Kennedy High School students and many children of adult volunteers.

Taking note of the number of young workers, Padilla told the volunteers that it reminded him of the many Saturday mornings he was rousted out of bed by his mother so he could participate in various community projects.

``It's a whole generation growing up with the idea of community service, and it'll continue to grow,'' Padilla said.

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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Adults and teens alike helped paint, sweep and haul away trash in the 12500 block of Bromwich Street in Pacoima as part of a face lift to spruce up their neighborhood.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News