Volunteers in L.A. Join Global Drive to Beautify Cities

In an effort to clean parks and schools and improve communities, hundreds of volunteers across the Southland took part Saturday in the first Global Outreach Day.

Children and adults worked side by side to paint murals, erase graffiti and trim shrubbery. The project is part of a worldwide, one-day effort to reduce urban blight in 30 countries. It was coordinated by Hope Worldwide, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that helps lower-income communities across the globe.

At Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park, for instance, youths painted two new murals while others trimmed trees and bushes in the horticulture area. In a matter of hours, kids and their parents were able to clear a fence once covered with shrubbery and discovered a koi pond buried underneath a pile of branches.

At sites throughout Southern California, volunteers beautified their communities. Workers planted trees in west Anaheim, refurbished an Oxnard recreation center and slapped new coats of paint on several convalescent homes in South-Central Los Angeles.