Community Invited to "Green Street" Volunteer Event in San Ysidro
SD Redevelopment Agency & Urban Corps Team up to Beautify Homes, Community
The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, in partnership with Urban Corps of San Diego County and San Diego City Council District 8, will host a volunteer community service event in San Ysidro on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 at 9 a.m. as a kickoff to the Green Street Community Enhancement Program.
The community of San Ysidro is invited to roll up its sleeves alongside San Diego City Council President Ben Hueso in the public clean-up effort, which be headquartered at the San Ysidro Civic and Recreation Center located at 212 West Park Ave. at the intersection of Hall Street. Urban Corps staff and dozens of youth Corpsmembers will also be on-hand to coordinate volunteer service among area residents. Lunch will be provided care of the Redevelopment Agency. In addition, three 40 yard waste and green waste oversized garbage bins will be available to dispose of large-item debris from the surrounding community.
“Volunteers will be divided into sub-groups to paint over graffiti, tackle weeds, and remove debris,” explained Hueso. “Those who have attended cleanups in the past know it can be dirty, yet satisfying work. We always manage to enjoy the process. At the end of the day, the area will look better and neighbors will have become closer.”
In addition to the volunteer community improvement event, the Green Street program features
the renovation of 25 homes for low-income qualifying San Ysidro residents. Home renovations include a variety of interior and exterior upgrades designed to improve both the energy efficiency and curbside appeal of homes. Applications for the Green Street home renovation program will be distributed at the event and residents may begin the income qualification process on-site by bringing copes of tax documentation and paystubs.
The mission of the Redevelopment Agency’s Green Street Community Enhancement Program is to provide home and community improvements which conserve resources and enhance the public spaces of the redevelopment project areas within the City of San Diego, promoting healthy living environments while developing youth and encouraging public volunteerism, thereby increasing residents’ connection to and ownership of their own communities. Every effort is being made to employ green building methods and utilize durable, non-toxic and/or renewable materials. The program is also being implemented in Barrio Logan.
In its two decades of service to youth and environment, Urban Corps has helped more than 6,500 youth in San Diego County attain job opportunities in the fields of conservation, recycling and community service. The majority of these participants are high school dropouts aged 18-25 with little or no job skills. Urban Corps places a high premium on volunteerism and community service. Civic responsibility is extensively promoted by the program and each corpsmember participant is required to provide 8 hours of volunteer community service per month. This results in approximately 9,000 hours of community service hours donated annually to the San Diego community.
About the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego
The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, created by the City Council in 1958, uses special legal and financial mechanisms to eliminate blight and improve economic and physical conditions in designated areas of the City. The Agency’s purview encompasses 17 project areas, study areas and affordable housing. Activities within the project areas are carried out by the city’s Redevelopment Division and two public, nonprofit city corporations: Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC). The Agency also administers seven Project Area Committees (PAC) that advise the agency on the adoption of redevelopment plans and implementing redevelopment projects. For more information, visit: www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/ |
