Southern California: AmeriCorps Week Review

“Getting things done,” motivated the Los Angeles California Safe Corps members to plan daily service activities throughout national AmeriCorps week. As a group we wanted to reach out to our local Los Angeles community and “get things done” within our own area. We served six different organizations and performed seven different service projects:

5/12 Independent Beach Clean Up: To raise awareness about the importance of a clean environment the AmeriCorps team picked up trash around Venice beach

5/13 L.A. Food Bank: The L.A. Food Bank provides thousands of people, who would otherwise go hungry, with food and nourishment. At the L.A. Food Bank the team sorted and organized food for distribution.

5/14 OPCC (Ocean Park Community Center, Daybreak): Daybreak is a day center specifically designated for mentally ill homeless women; the center opens its doors and offers a place for women to find support in day to day living. At Daybreak, the team painted its facilities to provide a warm and welcoming environment.

5/15 Rebuilding Together: Rebuilding Together is an organization that rebuilds low income housing. With the Rebuilding Together team, the AmeriCorps group prepared an elderly women’s house for the upcoming build days.

5/16 Project Angel Food: Project Angel Food is an organization that prepares meals for men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. The AmeriCorps team prepared over 1,200 meals in one day.

5/17 Project Angel Food: Each meal at Project Angel Food is delivered inside a hand decorated delivery bag. The AmeriCorps team decorated fifty delivery bags for Project Angel Food.

5/18 Tree People: Tree People is an organization that educates the public about the environment and plants trees around the surrounding Los Angeles area. With the UCLA Pathways program, the AmeriCorps team planted seventeen trees along Temascal Canyon Road.

Our week of service reminded us how such a small group of volunteers can make such a large impact in a community. It was a great opportunity to partner with different organizations and show how the AmeriCorps team “gets things done!”

By: Elda Kong