“Dream Team” recruited for Watts school make over
Veronica Villafañe | Managing Editor | 10-27-2011 | Bookmark and Share | Print this Page

More than 100 volunteers, professional athletes, and the mayor of Los Angeles teamed up this week to help renovate Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School in Watts.

imageWasserman Foundation CEO Casey Wasserman, Trey Thompkins, Mayor Villaraigosa, Cesar Ramos and Alexi Lalas paint mural on handball court. (Photo: Larry Kahm)
U.S. World Cup soccer star Alexi Lalas, LA Clippers’ Trey Thompkins, Xavier Henry from the Memphis Grizzlies, Addison Reed from the Chicago White Sox, Cesar Ramos from the Tampa Bay Rays, and St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Kenny Peoples were part of the mayor’s “dream team” during the day of service this past Wednesday.

imageVolunteers paint mural by the school cafeteria. (Photo: Larry Kahm)

Volunteers painted murals, planted gardens, and repainted the cafeteria, as part of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s efforts to create public-private partnerships to improve the learning conditions of students in low-performing schools.
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The event, sponsored by the Partnership of Los Angeles Schools, ended two weeks of improvements and renovations to the school, thanks to the Wasserman Foundation, which donated new trees, a new student entrance, new cafeteria tables, and re-painted columns.

"The Wasserman Foundation’s make-over of Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School shows the real power of a public-private partnership in improving our children’s learning environment and making an immediate and dramatic impact in their lives,” said the mayor in a statement.

L.A. Works also contributed to the school makeover, providing supplies, artists, and guidance. Diamond Landscaping provided discount fees on all landscaping and donated their paving services.

imageStudents celebrate the school improvements.(Photo: Cheryl Rodman)

 

Tags: florence griffith joyner elementary school partnership of los angeles schools south la wasserman foundation watts