USC Support to Neighborhood

* Your May 21 article on the relationship USC has with its neighbors couldn’t be more off base. I am president of a small block club. We have directly benefited from USC’s resources and generosity. The instances of USC’s commitment to the community are too numerous to list, but I must name just a few that impacted us personally:

1. They provided students to teach and mentor in our after-school program. These students donated over 1,000 hours in five years.

2. USC provided speakers for several of our monthly meetings and demonstrations for the kids from karate to origami. They also provided networking opportunities for our officers.

3. Our block club was awarded a $25,000 grant through the USC Neighborhood Outreach program to bring earthquake preparedness to our area. They then worked with us closely for one year to help us implement the grant.

4. USC’s Resource Hotline directed many of our area residents to services during their times of greatest need.

5. USC has provided numerous cultural and athletic opportunities for our members and children. They also gave us scholarships to their children’s basketball camp.

I never imagined when we moved here 12 years ago that our most neighborly neighbor would be USC.

MARIANNE MUELLERLEILE

President, Adams Normandie

Neighborhood Assn., L.A.

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As part of a family-owned garment contracting business within the USC neighborhood, I know firsthand the pressures being placed on companies within our industry. At a time when people are predicting the death of the apparel industry within this city, the USC Business Expansion Network consultants have provided hundreds of hours of free consulting services at no cost to us. They helped us strategize about how to best restructure the business operations in order to be more competitive and recently assisted us in getting over $250,000 in much-needed capital.

Though I cannot speak about all of the university’s programs, I can safely state that the BEN’s efforts on our behalf have made the difference between the success and failure of this 35-year-old business.

EDWARD MOYA JR.

Park Pleating Co., L.A.