Cleanup Effort Seeks Volunteers, Supplies

The San Fernando Valley’s biggest neighborhood cleanup program has hit hard economic times, forcing officials to ask volunteers to bring along tools, paint and supplies for the first time in its three-year history.

Operation Sparkle, which gets under way Saturday morning, limped into its third year with a donation budget of about $1,500, down from the $10,000 it had in 1991, said Lt. Joseph Garcia of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Bureau, which sponsors the event.

Consequently, not even the popular T-shirts given to volunteers in the past to protect them from dirt and grime will be available this year, he said.

Organizers are even asking volunteers--who paint over graffiti and clean up trash--to bring their own paint.

“The economic climate is rough, so we’re asking people to just make do with what we’ve got,” Garcia said.

A variety of paint stores have donated paint, but not enough to cover the graffiti volunteers hope to obliterate, Garcia said.

Last year, Operation Sparkle attracted nearly 5,000 volunteers, who hauled in 214 tons of trash, Garcia said.

This year, the Southland Corp., owners of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, will provide food and beverages. Waste Management Co. loaned the dumpsters.

Kaiser Permanente-Woodland Hills has announced it will present two community service grants totaling $7,500 Saturday, but the money is not for the event. It is earmarked for the Neighborhood Beautification anti-graffiti program in Woodland Hills, Tarzana and West Hills. Some of the money also will be used for computer equipment for Neighborhood Watch newsletters in the West Valley.

On Saturday, each Police Department division in the Valley will have different meeting places or drop-off sites for the cleanup, and volunteers can call the community relations departments of local stations to volunteer.