Volunteers are out in force to clean Ventura Boulevard
Community members, business groups and elected officials' staff members all do their part
Members of Volunteers Cleaning Communities were out in force on Saturday, with community members and elected officials to pick up trash along 16 miles of Ventura Boulevard from Universal City to Woodland Hills.
The nonprofit group said about 250 volunteers pulled on protective gloves and used various implements to clean up litter and trash for the Earth Day weekend event. Volunteers were paired with a partner and assigned to roughly a half-mile section on the north or south side of the boulevard.
Volunteers came from all over the San Fernando Valley including mem- bers of chambers of com- merce, neighborhood councils, Shepherd Church and Notre Dame High School.
Elected officials — or their team members — working up a sweat included Los Angeles City Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, John Lee and Nithya Raman, State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Congressman Brad Sherman and state Sen. Henry Stern.
Volunteers Cleaning Communities, founded in January 2021, has clean-up events scheduled 5-6 times a week in the San Fernando Valley. “It's not a hobby,” said Jill Mather, founder of the organization.
The nonprofit welcomes new volunteers to pick up a range of trash from small pieces of litter on streets to bulkier items alongside roadways on their scheduled clean-ups. Working with a partner and as a team is the fun part.
The group also has a once a month “Don't Litter” awareness sign campaign where volunteers hold up signs to motorists along north-to-south streets, including Balboa and Reseda boulevards and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. People need to be reminded, and Mather said they get plenty of thumbs-up and honks of approval.
To join the group at their upcoming scheduled cleanups or make a donation for supplies, go to volunteers cleaningcommunities.com.