Volunteers to Clean Chatsworth's Riding Trails Today

[News release from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.]

Volunteers from the Canoga Park Stake (similar to a diocese) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and other citizens in the community will unite for a cleanup of the Chatsworth Equestrian riding trails.

Nearly 200 local men, women, and children from will participate in this annual effort called “Mormon Helping Hands Day” during which thousands of Mormon volunteers across the state of California and Hawaii clean up community parks, roads or perform other community interest projects.

Work will begin Saturday, April 28, at 9 to 11 a.m.

Volunteers from the Canoga Park Stake include members from congregations (“wards”) in Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana and the Korean branch. The project will include branch trimming, weeding, trash pick-up and leaf removal all along the local Chatsworth riding trails.

This cleanup effort was a result of a request from the Chatsworth Community Neighborhood Council and the City of Los Angeles.

"It is a great opportunity to work together and assist organizations that are having difficulty getting all the projects they wish done in these tough economic times," said Canoga Park Stake President Tom Peterson. President Peterson, along with Diana Cass, the project coordinator, will be supervising the Chatsworth Equestrian Trails cleanup effort.

The Mormon Helping Hands program was established in 1998 and, in the last decade, hundreds of thousands of Mormon volunteers have donated millions of hours of service all over the world. Last year in California, more than 70,000 members of the Church and community participated in community projects throughout California.

Anyone is welcome to join the volunteers for the project on Saturday. Bring your own equipment, including hoes and trimmers, to weed and help cut back brush and debris from these beautiful riding paths. Registration is at the corner of Chatsworth Street and Canoga Avenue. Watch for the people dressed in yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" vests who will guide you to the through registration. The project will include snacks for all volunteers.