Torrance Honors Volunteers During Appreciation Event

It’s always a great time to volunteer. Here at the Volunteer Program we are having a blast, having just celebrated National Volunteer Week last week, and now celebrating Earth Day today! Thank you volunteers for all you do for the Torrance community!

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The 17^th annual volunteer recognition event was an opportunity for the City of Torrance to honor all the volunteers and everyday heroes who help make the community a better place.

It is because of this volunteer effort that the City is able to host a wide variety of programs and services, including the Farmer’s Market, the Bartlett Center for seniors, and the Torrance Art Museum among others.

According to Mayor Patrick J. Furey, the 7,200 volunteers within the City of Torrance have dedicated more than 51,000 hours of volunteer time this year, adding up to more than $1.3 million worth of effort.

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Students in Torrance’s Sister City Exchange to be Announced Tonight

Congratulations to all of the students selected to travel to Kashiwa, Japan as part of the Torrance Sister City Association exchange program! Also a huge thank you goes out to our TSCA volunteers who contribute throughout the year to make these experiences possible!

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A group of high school students from Torrance will represent the City in a cultural exchange this summer.

Since 1973, the city of Torrance has enjoyed a relationship with Kashiwa, Japan, through the Sister City Program. The objective of the program is to provide citizens in both countries with an opportunity to discover the similarities and differences of each city, and to promote international friendship.

One of the activities includes a student cultural exchange program, which was introduced in 1974. Selected students from Torrance will have the opportunity to travel to Kashiwa for three weeks this summer to experience Japanese culture and customs first-hand.

In exchange, Kashiwa students visit Torrance for three weeks to learn more about life in the United States.

Selected students have been chosen from Torrance high schools and will be announced at tonight’s City Council meeting.

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Torrance Unified Hosting College Fair This Weekend

Calling all high school students! Volunteering is always a great way to show community involvement when applying to colleges. Make sure to attend the College Fair at West High School this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and let them know how you’ve made a difference in the City of Torrance.

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On Saturday, Feb. 21, the Torrance Unified School District will have their 34^th annual College Fair at West High School. The event is open to all students from all the Torrance campuses.

Sponsored by the Torrance Council of PTAs, the District and the PTAs at North, South, Torrance and West high schools, the event offers students assistance as they navigate through the various steps to higher education. The day provides students and parents the opportunity to speak to a variety of representatives from junior colleges to Ivy League universities.

The College Fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. West High is located at 20401 Victor Street.

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Program Teaches Students about Local Government

It’s never too early to get engaged in local government and your community, and Students in Government Day is a great way to do so! We highly encourage any and all eighth grade students to apply to this amazing program.

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The City’s popular Students & Government Day program is back, encouraging youth participation in community affairs.

Eighth graders interested in applying this year are asked to submit a 100- to 150-word essay on the question: The 26^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants U.S. citizens who are 18 years of age or older the right to vote. What can you do now and in the next few years until you are 18 to prepare yourself to be a well-informed voter and how will this preparation help your decision making? 

Information and forms are available at local schools and online at www.TorranceCA.gov/students.htm. The deadline for application is Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Selected students will invited to take part in various activities including shadowing the Mayor, members of the City Council, and executive staff in their jobs. Students then act in those roles they shadowed. Participants will open a regularly…

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Local Company Amps Up Volunteering Efforts

Thanks for your volunteer efforts and community involvement Saatchi & Saatchi!

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One Torrance-based advertising agency is taking volunteering to another level, encouraging the company at large to do good for others.

Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles will close ts office Thursday, Nov. 6 for a “Saatchi Good Day”, allowing staff to volunteer at multiple charities and make a difference in the local and surrounding communities in the Los Angeles area.

Different from other corporate volunteer program models that typically focus on one specific cause, Saatchi Los Angeles staff breaks into smaller groups to work with different organizations in the surrounding communities. Non-profit organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, Surfrider Foundation, Children’s Institute, Los Angeles Food Bank, and the Union Rescue Mission are just a few of the charities that are participating in this year’s event.

Saatchi Good Day originated in the early 1990’s when small volunteering gestures led to the development of the Saatchi Community Involvement Team, an extensive strategic philanthropy…

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Those Helpful Honda People were at it Again

Thanks Helpful Honda People!

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The Helpful Honda Guys in Blue were out in full-force this past weekend.

Helping to kick off the Halloween festivities, nearly 100 families were surprised with free pumpkins at the local Cottone and Sons Pumpkin Patch just outside of Del Amo Fashion Center. The helpful team even offered to carry these heavy pumpkins out to customers’ cars. In addition to the free pumpkins, kids also received complimentary glow-in-the-dark trick or treat pails.

Beyond buying out 24 pumpkin patches across Southern California, the Guys in Blue were also bringing Halloween to children in local hospitals by surprising them with pumpkins for decorating, complimentary costumes, and Halloween decorations. The free events will continue through this weekend with event details available on www.Facebook.com/SoCalHondaDealers.

Be sure to ‘Like’ them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter at @Helpful Honda to find out where Random Acts of Helpfulness will take place next.

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Halloween Carnival for All Ages!

Here’s a great option for some Halloween fun for the whole family on Friday!

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On Friday, gather up the kids and head over to the Wilson Park for the City’s annual Halloween carnival.

There will be games, music, a costume parade, and many more activities offered between 4 and 8 p.m. as an alternative for those not trick or treating. Then at 6:45 p.m., there will be a special showing of the animated film “Hotel Transylvania.”

Wilson Park is located at 2200 Crenshaw Boulevard between Carson Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.

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Local Gym Joins the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Thanks UFC Gym for engaging the community and supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

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The UFC Gym in Torrance rallied members from around the South Bay to wrap up Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The local gym encouraged its 10,000 members to each raise a dollar to be donated to the Avon Foundation for Breast Cancer Treatment. The challenge was a “cardio-a-thon” where members who joined one of the gym’s special classes or pledged to work out on their favorite piece of cardio equipment for a full hour.

Later in the day, the gym held a viewing of UFC’s pay-per-view fight and made it free to the public. They also auctioned off Ultimate Fighter Championship clothing and gloves signed by current UFC Fighter and South Bay local, Lyoto Machida, among other items.

Altogether, an estimated $2,000 was raised. According to the American Cancer society, 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year. It is the leading form of cancer in women and the second…

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Volunteers, Farmers Market Expand Produce Donations

If you are looking for a great volunteer opportunity this fall please check out our friends Food Forward. At every market, the nonprofit needs three volunteers and a team leader, who coordinates farmers’ donations. It is a daily time commitment of about 2.5 hours. Volunteers are asked to donate their time monthly, so ideally about 16 volunteers are needed to staff each market. For more information you can email volunteer@foodforward.org.

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A group of volunteers have teamed up with the Torrance Farmers Market to pay-it-forward with fresh produced to the needy.

Non Profit group Harbor Interfaith Services has been picking up enough unsold fresh fruit and produce from the Torrance Farmers Market to feed 40 to 50 people cannot afford to feed themselves. Making those donations possible are volunteer “gleaners” from fellow nonprofit group Food Forward, who pick up boxes of unsold produce from farmers at the end of the market at Wilson Park. The produce is then given to Harbor Interfaith, which, in turn, provides it to families in need.

Food Forward is now preparing to expand the program to the Saturday Farmers Market in Torrance beginning Oct. 18 and in Calabasas starting Nov. 8.

The group already recovers food from seven Los Angeles County farmers markets on Saturdays and four on weekdays.

Food Forward is looking for more volunteers to…

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Coastal Cleanup Day Comes to Torrance Beach

Come out this Saturday, September 20th for Coastal Cleanup Day at Torrance beach!

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Volunteers are getting ready to roll up their sleeves and help clean up the local beaches in the upcoming Coastal Cleanup Day.

Considered one of the world’s largest single days of volunteering, Coastal Cleanup Day is expected to see about 15,000 people across Los Angeles County join other environmental groups and various organizations to fill bags with trash. Volunteers from all ages will scour Torrance Beach this Saturday. It is one of 50 clean-up sites Heal the Bay will oversee.

Since Heal the Bay began participating 25 years ago, representatives said more than 200,000 volunteers have shown up across Los Angeles County, collecting enough trash to fill two commercial airliners. Some of the most common items collected are cigarette butts, food wrappers and plastic bottles and caps.

You can join the event happening at Torrance beach on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. until noon. For more information, call (310)…

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