City Honors Broad Spectrum of Volunteers

Like many others here, George Hunt is in it for the kids.

Each week he heads down to the Robertson Library in West Los Angeles, selects a handful of books, takes a seat and starts to read aloud.

“Believe it or not, the kids like it when I read Shakespeare,” Hunt said. His voice is rounded, deep and melodic--perfect for storytelling.

“On a bat’s back I do fly, listen where the owls do cry,” Hunt demonstrated, slightly bungling a pair of lines from “The Tempest.”

“Reading at the library gives me the unequaled thrill of seeing kids respond to the beauty of the written word,” Hunt said. “Their eyes get big, their faces light up, it’s wonderful.”

Hunt, a member of the library’s Grandparents and Books program (shortened to GAB), was one of 1,500 altruistically-minded citizens honored by the city’s volunteer bureau Saturday morning at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Officials estimate that there are about 30,000 volunteers working for the city of Los Angeles. Among them are after-school tutors, park docents and even reserve police officers who patrol the city with paid police.

Their reasons for joining are as different as their jobs, and often very personal.

For art lover Jacob Rochelle, it took the slow decay of Hollywood’s culturally focused Barnsdall Park to prompt his participation in the Department of Parks and Recreation cleanup programs.

Marie Alban was inspired to join a school tutoring program because of her father’s illiteracy. “Everyone deserves the chance to read,” Alban said quietly.

Boredom and bad TV prodded 75-year-old Judite Mitelman to heed her community service conscience.

“I was so bored when I retired. Eventually I decided that if I saw Geraldo or Oprah one more time I’d kill myself,” Mitelman said. “That didn’t sound good, so instead I volunteered.”

For two years now, she has answered phones and directed lost tourists at a police service center on Sunset Boulevard. “I like the out-of-country guests best,” she said. “They’re always so lost, and they need so much help.”

On Saturday, Mitelman received a round of applause after being recognized as a 1998 Outstanding Volunteer nominee.

So did Andy Viault, who started coaching youth sports seven years ago at Mar Vista Park to spend more time with his own children.

“I used to play at the same park when I was a kid, so it seems right to give back to it now,” Viault said, explaining his reasons for signing up. “And besides, it’s really, really rewarding in itself. I’ve watched a lot of the kids grow up, learn how to play sports, learn how to handle themselves.”

As speakers thanked the crowd and the zoo’s exotic birds squawked in the background, volunteers competed at cheering. The Police Department group gave a roar, then the Park and Recreations crew. Finally, the library volunteers were up.

It was close, but the librarians were loudest.

“I pick up a book, pull the children close around me and read while they look up at me with these rapt faces,” said Anne Webster, also a member of GAB. “Of course we cheer the loudest--look at what we get to do.”