BIG
SUNDAY
Largest Community Service Event in the
Nation
On April 28th and
29th, a legion of over 50,000 volunteers equipped
with rakes, shovels, hammers, paint brushes, garbage bags and
enlivened by community spirit hit the streets of Los Angeles.
Together they participated in the country’s largest community
service event: Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa presents Big
Sunday ’07: All Over Town, All Weekend
Long.
At Hazard Park, the
Mayor kicked off Big Sunday with a ceremony that brought
together thousands of volunteers. They Mayor, pictured with
Big Sunday founder David Levinson, Northeast Trees
Director Larry Smith, Recreation and Parks General Manager
John Mukri, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, Councilmember Jose
Huizar, The Goodfellas from KDAY-FM and LAUSD Boardmember
Monica Garcia, planted the first tree of Big Sunday after the
opening.
 At a house in El Sereno, the
Mayor joined volunteers to remodel the home of Mr. Masaru
Taota with the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation's
Handyworker Program and the Painters' Union Apprenticeship
Program.
The volunteers constructed a walkup ramp,
painted and renovated the interior and exterior of the home
and made major repairs to plumbing and electrical systems for
Mr. Taota.
At Casa de Rosas Sunshine Mission
in South LA, volunteers worked on painting, furnishing,
landscaping and exterior beautification projects for the
shelter which assists homeless women transition to stable,
independent and dignified
living.
At 20th St. Elementary School in
South LA, the Mayor joined volunteers to recognize the
school's spirit of academic achievement and volunteerism and
planted flowers with the students to create a community
garden.
From preschoolers to seniors, coming from
schools and organizations throughout Southern California, over
50,000 volunteers worked on over
350 community service projects in
neighborhoods all over Los Angeles. Activities included
landscaping and rehabilitating schools, cooking and serving
meals in homeless shelters, singing
to lonely seniors in senior centers, landscaping youth
and homeless centers, knitting clothing for premature babies,
assembling packages for our troops, and many, many other
projects. The
weekend culminated with a pizza party at the Griffith
Park Recreation Center for all
volunteers.
 At Leo Baeck Temple in
Brentwood, volunteers cooked hot dogs for other
volunteers coming from the Westside and South LA at a
community party where a variety of service projects took
place.
At
Precious Blood School in the Westlake community, a Big Sunday
participant for many years, volunteers planted ivy to
create a natural barrier around the schoolyard fence,
providing shade and
protection.
At Bert Corona Charter School in Pacoima, the
Mayor thanked over 400 volunteers from the community
and The Walt Disney Company and laid the final pieces of sod
for a new soccer field.
What does it take to pull off such a
momentous event? Here are some
numbers:
6,000
trees
100,000 bottles of
water
3,000 gallons of
paint
350
projects
150,000 volunteer
hours.
But to really appreciate why Big Sunday was such
a special event, you have to listen to the stories people tell
about their experience. Here are just a few that have
come into the Mayor's Office.
Creating
Community
Woodbine Street in Palms is your typical Los
Angeles Street. It's a mix of single family homes and
apartment houses. Residents don't interact that
much. Marina G. was looking for a way to bring residents
together and plant the seeds of a vibrant community. Along
came Big Sunday. With the assistance of Tree People and Big
Sunday, Marina and some friends organized a tree planting and
block party. Neighbors planted dozens of trees and transformed
their street. Marina happily reports that people are now
lining up to volunteer for tree care and pruning training
through Tree People.
Mayor Villaraigosa lends a hand in planting ivy
around the school yard fence at Precious Blood
School.
Giving People a Stake in their
Neighborhoods
The tennis courts at Narbonne High in San
Pedro don't get much respect. Passersby throw their trash over
the fence, cluttering up the courts. During Big Sunday,
students swept and cleaned the courts. it was hard, sweaty
work and took over four hours. When Narbonne High's tennis
coach asked one of the student volunteers what she will do the
next time she sees someone litter on the courts, the tired,
but gratified student replied, "I'll tell them to
stop. I'll tell them how hard I worked to clean
them."
 During the
1st Annual Big
Sunday When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade
Stands, Big Sunday volunteers ran lemonade stands
all over town with proceeds divided among a few amazing and
inspiring charities who have made lemonade out of
lemons.
These stands, like this one at Bert Corona
Charter School, were up at most of the Big Sunday hub
sites, as well as many
schools.
Making Things Beautiful, Making
Beautiful Things
The Eagle Rockdale
Community Garden and Art Park in Eagle Rock has received a
beautiful gift. Local artists are transforming five recycled
park benches into functional art honoring our natural world.
The artists started their projects on Big Sunday and will be
finished in time for the opening reception on July 14th. If
you're in the neighborhood, stop on by and enjoy some of the
new beautiful things our City has to offer thanks to the
creativity and inspiration of our Big Sunday
volunteers.
At
Walden House in Souht LA, the Mayor joined a group of recovery
residents and their families to paint over graffiti on nearby
walls.
There are many more stories out
there. Talk to your neighbors, ask around. We are sure
you will hear many more wonderful Big Sunday moments. Mayor
Villaraigosa looks forward to joining with more Angelenos next
year to make a difference in all of our neighborhoods through
community service.
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Asian and Pacific Islander American
Heritage Month Contest Winners
Announced
Congratulations to
the creative writing and poster competition
winners!
The list of this year's winners is
presented on www.apahm.org
All student winners received Disneyland tickets from
The Walt Disney Company and savings bonds from Wells Fargo or
Time Warner
Cable.
It's
OurLA
Looking for a way to make your
mark in OurLA? Start today by participating in
one of the ways below:
HIRE LA's Youth
2007
Help us train and place young
adults in summer jobs. This opportunity will allow
youth the chance to gain valuable job readiness training
and on the job work experience. For more information please
call 3-1-1 or go to www.hirelayouth.com
Become a
Mentor!
Studies have shown that students
with mentors are 70% more likely to graduate from high
school. 90% of these graduates go on to
college. Make a difference by going to connectinglosangeles.com.
Million Trees
LA
One million new trees in the City
of Los Angeles will create an extraordinary environmental
legacy that will serve as a watershed for other environmental
changes. To participate and get your tree go to
http://www.milliontreesla.org/
OurLA
Events
We hope you check out these events in
OurLA.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Exhibition
The San Diego Natural History
Museum’s exhibition Dead Sea Scrolls is the largest,
longest, most comprehensive ever assembled in any country.
Spanning two floors and 12,000 square feet, 27 Dead Sea
Scrolls—10 exhibited for the first time ever—will be on
display over the course of the exhibition. For more
information visit www.sdscrolls.org
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