Englander E-News: 12 Ways to Celebrate 12-12-12

COUNCILMEMBER ENGLANDER'S E-NEWS
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Dec. 12, 2012

12 Ways to Celebrate 12-12-12! 

Today is the once-in-a-lifetime date of December 12, 2012! It's a great time to celebrate the Twelfth District with you and thank you for all that you do to make our community a better, safer, more beautiful place to live, work and play. 

Here are 12 ways to celebrate the Twelfth District. Twelve ways that you can help improve and beautify our community even more. Our Council District 12 staff is always on hand to assist you with any of these 12 items. 

1. Donate to a Non-Profit Organization in Our Community
Most giving occurs around the holidays, but non-profit organizations that work to address needs in our community depend on donations of money and supplies year round. By donating throughout the year, you can help non-profits provide their services at a time when many of them struggle with shortages. 


2. Serve as a Board Member
Serving as a board member or volunteer for a non-profit organization in our community is a great way of going the extra mile to help with a service organization or non-profit in our community. Make the commitment to regularly volunteer or serve on the board. Many non-profits are struggling to find leaders in the community. You can make a difference in our community by committing time to an organization that you are passionate about. 


3. Report potholes, shopping carts or other quality of life issues to the City
Many people often assume that someone else will report quality of life issues that they see around town. The sooner the items are reported, the sooner they can be addressed. Issues in the community can be reported to 311 or our Community Service Center at (818) 882-1212. 


4. Organize a Community Clean-Up Project
The City's Office of Community Beautification makes tools such as rakes, shovels, and landscaping tools available to community groups at no cost. Arrange a clean-up in your neighborhood to help out a neighbor who may not be able to maintain their parkway, clean up a blighted corner or maintain a public median or sidewalk to help keep our community beautiful. For more information click here.  


5. Host a Block Party
A block party is a great way to meet your neighbors and build community. Permits to close a street for a block party can be obtained through the Bureau of Street Services. For more information on how to obtain a permit, click here. 


6. Support our Troops
Several non-profit organizations in our community send letters and care packages to troops serving our country overseas. Every year, Operation Gratitude sends 100,000 care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individual U.S. service members deployed in hostile regions, to their children left behind and to wounded soldiers, veterans and first responders. You can help lift the morale of our military men and women during lonely and dangerous times, show them our community supports them, and bring them some small comforts from home. 


7. Shop Locally
Shopping at local businesses can have a significant impact on the local economy. Businesses pay sales tax to the City where the business is located and that goes toward improvements to City infrastructure. When consumers choose to shop in another City, Los Angeles loses some of that benefit. Supporting local businesses also helps them to provide jobs for families in our community. 

8. Attend a Neighborhood Watch Meeting
Neighborhood Watch meetings are the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent crime. The Neighborhood Watch programs fight the isolation and detachment from the community and fellow residents that crime creates and feeds upon. Neighborhood Watch groups bring residents, businesses and local Police together, working in closer cooperation to reduce crime and make neighborhoods and business districts safer. 


9. Volunteer with the Department of Animal Services
The City Department of Animal Services seeks volunteers who want to give love, attention and care to the abandoned and orphan animals at the Animal Care Centers. Volunteer opportunities include fostering a puppy or kitten; serving as a Good Samaritan to animals in need of special medical care; or regularly volunteering at Animal Care Centers, doing day-to-day tasks. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer with LAAS, click here. 


10. Prepare for an Emergency
Every week during our Year of Emergency Preparedness, our newsletter features a new item in an emergency preparedness checklist. These are simple steps that everyone in Los Angeles should take in order to be prepared for any large-scale emergency or disaster. To view the list visit http://tiny.cc/YearofPrepWeek44.  


11. Properly Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste
Drop off paint, batteries, electronics and other Household Hazardous Waste at the new Nicole Bernson SAFE Center in Granada Hills. The new SAFE Center offers Northwest Valley residents a convenient and safe location in their own community to drop off Household Hazardous Waste. The SAFE Center accepts electronic, automotive and Household Hazardous Waste, including TVs, electronic toys, motor oil, paint, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs, and batteries. 

It is illegal to throw away these items into the regular trash, because once in landfills, they can leach toxic pollution into the air, soil and groundwater.

Nicole Bernson SAFE Center
10241 N. Balboa Blvd. (at Devonshire St.), Granada Hills
Open Saturdays & Sundays, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
For more information including a list of exactly what the SAFE Center accepts, click here or call (800) 988-6942. 


12.  Use Public Transportation
When you use public transportation, you help reduce traffic congestion on our roads and reduce air pollution. It saves you money and reduces stress in your daily commute. In recent years, Los Angeles has seen great strides in improving and expanding our public transportation system.  It also is a vital component for a healthy economy. 

This year, the Canoga Ave. Orange Line Extension opened, running from the Warner Center Orange Line endpoint in Woodland Hills to Chatsworth Depot Metrolink Station. The four mile busway connects Metrolink train service to the Orange Line dedicated busway, which crosses nearly the entire San Fernando Valley, and links to the Red Line subway. 

The Canoga Orange Line extension also has a landscaped bicycle and pedestrian path that has beautified the public right-of-way. This fast, safe and convenient transit resource opens up the entire regional public transit system to Northwest Valley commuters. 

HAPPY 12-12-12 FROM COUNCIL DISTRICT 12!