L. A. WORKS
*Engaging Volunteers *Building Stronger Communities *Developing Leaders

L.A. Works is a nonprofit, volunteer action center that creates and implements hands-on community service projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Founded in 1991, L.A. Words addresses three principal needs:

1) to increase volunteer participation in community service projects;

2) to provide community service organizations with access to volunteer labor and other resources; and

3) to educate and encourage people to engage in the broader social issues affecting the greater Los Angeles Community.

With the help of large and small businesses, 400 community service organizations and schools, and a growing base of over 12,000 committed volunteers who perform 60,000 hours of service each year, L.A. Works has made significant, visible and lasting contributions to Los Angeles County. L.A. Works has:

• Contributed over one million volunteer hours of service to Los Angeles
• Spent over 80,000 hours reading books to children and at-risk youth, 65,000 hours tutoring and 50,000 hours providing activities for the elderly
• Served over 10,000 meals to the homeless, and
• Painted hundred of murals at schools and non-profits.

Click here to see some of the many murals created by L.A. Works muralists and volunteers.

Engaging Volunteers

Our Calendar Program offers up to 150 team-oriented volunteer projects each month that impact the most pressing social issues in L.A.. Projects include repairing wheelchairs, serving meals to the hungry, helping children with special needs, reading to kids, mentoring at-risk teens, providing companionship to seniors, landscaping parks and planting trees. The list is endless. See our Volunteer Opportunities Calendar for more information.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service is a powerful day of activism and reflection. Our volunteers mark this day with meaningful service, learning and remembrance.

L.A. Works Day is the city of Los Angeles' most prominent day of community service. Volunteers from all parts of the city, civic organizations and leading corporate groups team together to create murals, paint, plant, landscape and transform a neighborhood -- in just one day! No other event in Los Angeles makes such a profound difference in the character of our city. Click here to find out more about L.A. Works Day

Building Stronger Communities

Hands On Schools transform schools through physical improvements, civic learning and community building – inspiring student achievement and community engagement.  In the last 16 years, our volunteers have worked at several hundred schools across the city.

Service Inclusion Initiative seeks to include people with disabilities as volunteers and project leaders, and to ensure that our projects are accessible by refurbishing wheelchairs and building ramps.

DreamSaver is an after-school financial literacy program designed to instill goal setting and financial basics in 8 – 13 year olds. Our project leaders work with 650 children from across the city each year.

Developing Leaders

BusinessWorks  is a fee-for-service program for large or small companies that wish to contribute to strengthening their communities by engaging employee teams in hands-on-service projects. We customize projects on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. These projects create team-building opportunities and reinforce the importance of corporate citizenship.

Volunteer Leadership Trainings explore various leadership topics and avenues of service. Adults and youth meet like-minded people who are passionate about social issues and they graduate with tangible leadership skills, a deeper understanding of community issues, and a plan for their volunteer evolution.

Citizen Academy Online provides volunteers with access to issue oriented educational program on pressing topics such as homelessness, AIDS, and environmental degradation.

Our Partners:

Community Service Partners

Points of Light & Hands On Network

Sponsors


Our Team:

Board Members

Staff (Contact Us)