Making A Difference in Your Community : Camping Trip in Exchange for Hard Work

The National Park Service is offering a free weekend camping trip this month at the recently dedicated Palo Comado Canyon.

There’s only one catch: It’s free for those who volunteer to work both weekend days to widen, fill and repair hiking and biking trails, help remove old fences and put up trail signs.

The Park Service and the Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Assn. (CORBA) are asking nature lovers to help work on trails at the 2,329 acres formerly known as Jordan Ranch and at the abutting Cheeseboro Canyon Park, which covers another 2,147 acres.

The National Park Service bought Palo Comado Canyon from entertainer Bob Hope last June for $16.7 million after a battle over a 750-home development and golf course planned for the site. The canyon has been open to the public since October.

The volunteer work weekend is scheduled for April 23 and 24. Trail work starts at 8:30 a.m. both days and volunteers should be at the site no later than 8:15 a.m., said Jean Bray, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the national parks system.

Bray encourages people to go out and experience the national parklands this time of year, and do a little hard work while they’re out.

“Everything is so green and lush and beautiful right now,” Bray said. “Everybody that goes out there has a great time. There’s a lot of sweating because it is hard work.”

Bray hopes that between 100 and 200 volunteers help out during the weekend.

“The more the better, so we’ll be able to finish the work sooner,” she said. “A comment I hear from a lot of the workers is they want to give back to the park for the ability to recreate in it.”

Volunteers can work either day or both. Camping at the old Palo Comado caretaker’s area is free for those who work both days. A barbecue will be held Saturday after trail work and a program about the canyon is set for 3 p.m.

Volunteers should register ahead of time and should bring gloves, sturdy shoes, lunch and camping equipment if they plan to stay overnight. Drinking water will be provided.

For more information on trail work, call (818) 773-3555. For information on camping or the barbecue, which costs $8.50, send your name, telephone number and whether you want to camp or attend the barbecue, to: CORBA, 1 Clipper Road B, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274, or fax the information to (818) 591-9029.

Other volunteering opportunities:

* Family Service Agency of Burbank is looking for volunteers to assist in a case management program for frail senior citizens who wish to remain at home. Training and supervision will be provided. Contact Nell at the agency, (818) 845-7671.

* Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, a non-sectarian center working with victims of domestic violence, needs volunteers to work as case aides, court advocates, support line counselors, teen program presenters and office staff. Seniors, minority women and bilingual volunteers are encouraged to apply. If interested, contact Eve or Carole at (818) 908-5007.

* The Asian/Pacific American Education Commission is encouraging parents, students, professionals and community members to apply for four vacancies on the 29-member commission.

Commissioners are required to attend one evening a month and be available for other commission duties. Commissioners serve two-year terms.

The commission is one of seven established by the city Board of Education to serve in ombudsman roles for groups representing school district students and employees.

For more information or to obtain an application, contact Dr. Carmencita Davino, director of the Asian/Pacific American Education Commission office, at (213) 625-6796. Application deadline is April 29.

* San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council is looking for peer counselors for its senior centers in the East Valley and Pacoima. For more information, call (818) 766-5165 or (818) 899-9548.

* The West Valley Jewish Community Center Chorus in West Hills is looking for new participants. For more information, call (818) 587-3283.

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.