L.A. volunteers aim to prevent local high school dropouts
By Rick Orlov
September 30, 2009
ENGAGE: City Year program enlists 150 to give their time
Los Angeles City Year kicked off its third annual volunteer project on Wednesday, with a new goal of working to prevent high school dropouts.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa administered the organization's oath to the 150 volunteers, ages 17 to 24, during a ceremony on the steps of City Hall.
"When you think about democracy, when you think about the fact that so few people are voting, that they feel cynical and don't think they can make a difference, you are showing that democracy can work," Villaraigosa said.
Dressed in red and yellow jackets, the teams of young adults began the day with mild physical training and enthusiastic responses from their team leaders.
Los Angeles City Year is part of a nationwide program, which has 1,500 volunteers conducting community service projects. Los Angeles has seen the fastest growth of the program, with double the number of volunteers from just two years ago.
In Los Angeles, the volunteers are committed to working at a dozen campuses to improve the grades of at-risk students and trying to persuade them to stay in school.
Villaraigosa said the City Year teams also served as an example of the volunteerism he has supported.
Recently, he and other big-city mayors pledged to increase volunteerism in their cities, with Villaraigosa promising to get 100,000 people involved in activities this year.
City Year received a $1 million donation this year from the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a charity that is also coordinating a weeklong series of public-service announcements that will air beginning Oct. 19 on all the major networks.
"We believe our industry is uniquely positioned to ignite a service movement in the country," said EIF President Lisa Paulsen.