L.A. Works Organizes Fix-Up Day at Schools

More than 3,500 residents, corporate executives and community leaders are expected Saturday for the fourth annual volunteer work day in which 27 city schools will be spruced up.

Participants in the “L.A. Works Day ’96 Help-A-Thon” will go to eight San Fernando Valley campuses of the Los Angeles Unified School District and another 19 in other sections of the city.

Volunteers for Valley schools will gather at 8 a.m. at Monroe High School, 9229 Haskell Ave., North Hills, for a breakfast and a half-hour morning stretch.

Participants will then be transported by school buses to their designated work sites.

The Valley campuses are Bassett Street Elementary and Cohasset Elementary in Van Nuys, Colfax Avenue Elementary in North Hollywood, Fullbright Avenue Elementary in Canoga Park, Granada Hills High, Haddon Avenue Elementary in Pacoima, Pinewood Avenue Elementary in Tujunga and Monroe High.

For five hours, volunteers will plant shrubbery, paint classrooms, bungalows and murals or help renovate playgrounds. Valley volunteers will end their day with a light lunch at Monroe High.

This yearly event “is very important to the district because it is a collaborative effort between our schools and the community to fix up and beautify school sites,” said spokesman Dan Austin.

“This is a win-win situation for everyone.”

The event is one of L.A. Works’ community outreach endeavors.

Founded in 1991 as a nonprofit volunteer action program, L.A. Works has annually mobilized more than 7,000 volunteers to tutor students, deliver meals, create community gardens and assist various homeless programs.

Anyone interested in volunteering should show up Saturday morning at Monroe High School.