Central Los Angeles : GET A JOB

Forget about the lazy days of summer.

Strapped for tuition money and facing dismal summer work prospects, 12 Crenshaw-area college students created their own jobs by starting Run Us Around, a multi-service business that offers customers everything from housecleaning to dog-walking.

Misty Wilks, 22, a Howard University law student, started the business a month ago with four friends. They charge neighborhood customers from $5 per quick errand to $60 for cleaning a two-bedroom house--windows and dishes included. Wilks runs the operation out of her Crenshaw-area home.

The group has some corporate help: Lucky Food Center in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza provides free photocopying, and an Inglewood real estate agent has offered the students free computer use and leads for housecleaning jobs.