Local Groups to Get $2.8 Million in Aid

Mayor Richard Riordan and a Clinton Administration representative announced Monday the release of $2.8 million in federal grants for local volunteer organizations to provide services and assistance to victims of the Northridge quake.

The grants will be distributed to 13 volunteer organizations to provide quake cleanup in low-income neighborhoods and parks, tutoring for students whose schools were closed and day-care services, among other programs.

At a City Hall news conference attended by Clinton Deputy Assistant Rick Allen, Riordan said the grants are “yet another example of the extraordinary response we have seen since the earthquake from the federal government.”

Grant recipients include the California and Los Angeles Conservation Corps, whose volunteers are planning to use their share to repair damaged public facilities such as schools, colleges and parks, and to assist low-income residents with quake cleanup. Members of the corps will set up headquarters in Northridge.

Another recipient, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) plans to organize after-school and weekend activities for children at Red Cross Centers. The National Senior Volunteer Corps will use its share of the grants to provide support programs for frail and traumatized senior citizens.