Volunteers Clean Up Community Buildings
More than 100 people, most of them employees of Shell Oil Co., gathered in Watts early Wednesday to clean and paint three community buildings, part of an ongoing effort to improve the image of the South Los Angeles neighborhood.
The event, organized by the Parents of Watts and Shell Oil, included painting a shelter for the mentally ill, a social service building and a training facility for social workers.
“We want to clean the whole community, and we wanted to start right here,” said Sweet Alice Harris, who founded Parents of Watts in 1979 with the goal of improving the quality of life in the neighborhood.
“We are right in the middle of five housing projects, and we want to show the gangs that if they want to take over the neighborhood, take over the right way by cleaning it up.”
Harris said conditions in Watts “are getting better and better. We want the young people to know that we do care about them,” she said.
“Our motto is ‘Don’t move, Improve.’ ”
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