KidsCan Turns Trash Into School Cash

On Wednesdays, the lines of students at the playground at Washington Elementary School in Burbank don’t lead to the swing set or the seesaw. The children wait instead to dump their families’ and neighbors’ empty aluminum cans and plastic bottles into four garbage cans set around the yard.

The Burbank students are participants in a new program meant to turn cans into cash for computers and other equipment for schools in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The project is a joint venture of a Los Angeles-based organization called Technology for Results in Elementary Education (TREE) and the firm Environmental Products Co. of Fairfax, Va., which manufactures automatic recycling machines.

By the end of the month, 26 schools in the four counties are expected to be participating in KidsCan, including the 18 now active in the program.

Instead of computers, Washington Elementary, one of the first to join, plans to use its recycling money to buy seeds, soil and spades for its new environmental garden.

“I think it’s absolutely wonderful to reinforce the idea of recycling,” said teacher Megan Farnsworth, student council adviser, who heads the school’s effort.

Volunteers are needed throughout the program to help at schools, do administrative work from their homes and transport containers to recycling centers, said Dana Richdale, executive director of KidsCan.

For more information about the program, call (800) 648-KIDS.

Other volunteering opportunities:

Today is the last day to apply for Women Helping Women Services’ paraprofessional volunteer training class. The 10-week class trains volunteers who work on the Women Helping Women Talkline. Training begins in March. Classes are held at the Women’s Center at Council House in Los Angeles. The nonprofit organization helps women cope with challenges such as poverty, divorce, domestic violence and depression. For more information, call (213) 655-3807.

Catholic Big Brothers is seeking men throughout Los Angeles County to become role models to children ranging in age from 7 to 14 who are in single-parent families. The organization also needs Big Brothers for hearing-impaired children ages 6 to 18. For more information, call (213) 251-9800.

Hospice of the Canyon, a nonprofit organization that provides care for terminally ill patients in their homes, is currently interviewing prospective volunteers for its spring training classes, which begin with an orientation March 10. Volunteers are needed to work with patients and their families and to provide periodic care. Other volunteers are needed to work in the hospice office and to help in the Attic You Love, a nonprofit gift shop in Calabasas. Those with limited time can also provide rides to medical appointments. Call Pat Nolan at (818) 591-1459 or (818) 313-0928.

The Bureau of Jewish Education needs volunteers to be trained as puppeteers for preschool programs promoting disability awareness. Training is on Monday mornings and performances will be on Tuesday mornings. For more information, call (818) 990-8640, extension 2417, or at (818) 506-6066.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program needs volunteers 55 and older to help in school libraries, serving as teacher aides and tutoring students. For more information, call the Panorama City-based RSVP at (818) 908-5070.

The American Red Cross Valley District is looking for volunteer leadership in the community to assist with projects implemented throughout the year. For more information, call Jan Mayhew at (818) 376-1785.

The Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center is looking for volunteers to escort patients and work in the volunteer office and at the information desk. Call (818) 995-5036.

Jewish Family Services needs a volunteer to teach English to Russian seniors for one hour two afternoons a week at the Valley Storefront, its North Hollywood center. Call Judy Raffel at (818) 984-1380.

Getting Involved is a weekly listing of volunteering opportunities. Please address prospective listings to Getting Involved, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338.