On Saturday, October 29, people of all ages from across Los Angeles converged on the 2000 block of South L.A.’s 68th Street, where they spent the morning painting three houses, cleaning up trash and debris from the street, and planting raised-bed gardens for South L.A. Neighborhood Pride Day.
Local government officials Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson came out and supported the event, which was also sponsored by corporate donations from the Home Depot, L.A. Health Care Plan, Disney VoluntEARS, Omni Development, and Republic Services. As always, KJLH Radio provided energy from the DJ booth.
“We’re here today to show the neighborhood some love,” NHS President and CEO Lori Gay told the volunteers. “At the end of the day, we’re going to leave this place better than we found it.”
Neighbors got their hands dirty too. “Seeing all these people out here spending their time fixing up my street, it makes you want to take pride,” said Antoinette Jackson, whose house was painted by volunteers. “It makes me want to do more in my neighborhood and volunteer more.”