Community Invited to the 2nd “Green Street” and 7th Annual Community Clean-up Day in San Ysidro

April 20, 2010 - PRLog -- SAN DIEGO, Calif.― The San Diego Redevelopment Agency, in partnership with Urban Corps of San Diego County and the San Ysidro Business Association, will host a volunteer community service event in San Ysidro on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.  Council President Ben Hueso will be on hand to address volunteers at 10:00 a.m. on the corner of West San Ysidro Boulevard and Smythe Avenue.  This is the second Green Street volunteer event in San Ysidro and the 7th Annual San Ysidro Community Clean-up hosted by the San Ysidro Business Association in conjunction with the Creek to Bay event.  

The public is invited to participate in this event and “clean up San Ysidro”.  Volunteers are to meet at the Community Service Center located at 663 East San Ysidro Boulevard. Urban Corps staff, Business Association staff and dozens of youth corpsmembers will be on-hand to coordinate volunteer service among area residents.

Volunteers will be divided into groups to tackle weeds, remove trash and debris, and power wash sidewalks along San Ysidro Boulevard, Beyer Boulevard, and Camino de la Plaza.  

In addition to the community clean-up, two home mini-facelifts will be performed—one on West San Ysidro Boulevard and the second on Beyer Boulevard.  Thirty-four tree plantings are also planned along Smythe Avenue.  Lunch for volunteers will be served at noon at the Community Service Center, courtesy of La Bodega Markets, Jennifer Goudeau, Raquel Moran and Tom Shultz of Subway.  

The San Ysidro annual clean-up has grown over the years from one dumpster and a handful of volunteers to five dumpsters and more than a hundred volunteers.  “With help from the Redevelopment Agency and  Urban Corps, we expect this to be one of our best clean-ups ever”, says Carlos Vasquez, president of the San Ysidro Business Association.

“Through the Green Street Community Enhancement program, we have refurbished 10 homes thus far and continue to make a positive impact on the community”, says Sam Johnson, Project Manager for the San Diego Redevelopment Agency.  “This wouldn’t be possible without our community partners and volunteers.”

The Green Street program features the renovation of 25 homes for low-income qualifying San Ysidro residents. Home renovations include a variety of interior and exterior upgrades designed to improve both the energy efficiency and curbside appeal of homes. Applications for Green Street will be distributed at the event.  Residents may begin the income qualification process on-site by bringing copies of tax documentation and paystubs.

The mission of the Redevelopment Agency’s Green Street Community Enhancement Program is to provide home and community improvements which conserve resources and enhance the public spaces of the redevelopment project areas within the City of San Diego, promoting healthy living environments while developing youth and encouraging public volunteerism, thereby increasing residents’ connection to and ownership of their own communities. Every effort is being made to employ green building methods and utilize durable, non-toxic and/or renewable materials. The program is also being implemented in Barrio Logan.

In its two decades of service to youth and the environment, Urban Corps has helped more than 7,000 youth in San Diego County attain job opportunities in the fields of conservation, recycling and community service. The majority of these participants are high school dropouts aged 18-25 with little or no job skills.  Urban Corps places a high premium on volunteerism and community service. Civic responsibility is extensively promoted by the program and each corps member participant is required to provide eight hours of volunteer community service per month. This results in approximately 9,000 hours of community service hours donated annually to the San Diego community.

About the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego
The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, created by the City Council in 1958, uses special legal and financial mechanisms to eliminate blight and improve economic and physical conditions in designated areas of the City. The Agency’s purview encompasses 17 project areas, study areas and affordable housing. Activities within the project areas are carried out by the city’s Redevelopment Division and two public, nonprofit city corporations: Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).  The Agency also administers seven Project Area Committees (PAC) that advise the agency on the adoption of redevelopment plans and implementing redevelopment projects. For more information, visit: http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/