Funded by generous support from the California Community Foundation, and based on the recent report from USC's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity called Immigrant Integration in Los Angeles, L.A. Works has shown itself at the forefront of efforts to work with communities with large immigrant populations to promote volunteerism as one pathway toward achieving community self-reliance.
Focusing on the community of Pacoima in the northeast San Fernando Valley, in 2009 L.A. Works engaged residents, community leaders and community-based organizations to create pathways to neighborhood volunteerism. While neighbor-to-neighbor involvement is a large and important part of the fabric of this primarily Latino community, more formal and structured volunteer opportunities, often with community-based organizations, are largely absent. These structured opportunities can provide experience and skills that are beneficial to integration into mainstream social institutions, including employment. At the same time, community-based organizations can benefit from increased volunteerism to expand their capacity to carry out their missions.
Guided by the principle that residents should have abundant opportunities to be change agents and equal partners on the giving end of service in their communities, and not only as recipients, L.A. Works worked closely with local community-based organizations to encourage them to develop accessible opportunities for local volunteers. At the same time, L.A. Works worked closely with local residents to learn about their priorities, interests, and assets and discussed how service opportunities could be designed to be more accessible.
L.A. Works will be following up on this pilot project in 2010. Our intention is to build on our efforts in Pacoima, work with additional communities to encourage neighborhood volunteerism, and adapt our programming and infrastructure to be more accessible to the diverse communities living in Los Angeles. We will keep you tuned in about our progress.
We would like to thank two community-based organizations in particular for their guidance and partnership in this initiative. The Youth Policy Institute (YPI) provides education, training and technology services to lift low-income families out of poverty. They work throughout Los Angeles and have a Valley Office located in Pacoima. Youth Speak Collective (YSC) is a youth-driven initiative empowering low-income communities in the Northeast San Fernando Valley with the skills necessary to pursue higher education and create strong communities.
L.A. Works partners with Univision
As one of the premier Spanish-language broadcasters in the United States with an important presence in Spanish-speaking households in Los Angeles, Univision is a natural partner in L.A. Works’ efforts to promote volunteerism in immigrant communities. Already engaged in a number of community service initiatives, including Cadena de Gente Buena (Chain of Good People) and Deja Huella (Leave Your Mark), Univision was eager to support the initiative in Pacoima in which L.A. Works engaged residents, community leaders and community-based organizations to create pathways to neighborhood volunteerism.
L.A. Works is excited that this collaboration with Univision will support our continued effort to make our volunteer programming more accessible to the diverse communities living in Los Angeles.
Check out some recent Univision news footage covering the L.A. Works-sponsored community volunteer event in Pacoima called Project Youth Green as well as an interview conducted with L.A. Works’ staff member Marco Ramirez.
