LA Leaders Kick Off Summer Night Lights 2012
Walmart Grant to Help Provide Summer Jobs to Teens
Yesterday, Walmart participated in the launch for Summer Night Lights 2012. Jerry Spencer joined Mayor Villaraigosa, Police Chief Charlie Beck, Deputy Mayor Guillermo Cespedes and Summer Night Lights Program Director Alicia Avalos at Cal State Los Angeles for a press conference.
In addition to warm remarks from the Mayor both before the event and from the podium, Walmart was the only corporate sponsor featured as a speaker. There were half a dozen cameras, from both English and Spanish stations. This is Walmart’s second year partnering with Summer Night Lights, and the second year Walmart has been included on the podium. Walmart did not participate in a Q&A.
This year, Summer Night Lights received a $347,200 from the Walmart Foundation’s Summer Giving campaign for youth hiring (part of a coalition of groups that applied and received funding) and general support funds from public affairs, BU and Ops. Additionally, Walmart has committed to engaging its employees on two designated nights- one at Jim Gillian park (near the Baldwin Hills store) and the other at Sepulveda Recreation Center (near the Panorama City store) (Dates TBD.)
About Summer Night Lights
Summer Night Lights (SNL) has evolved into one of Mayor Villaraigosa’s signature accomplishments in his tenure as Mayor of Los Angeles. Launched in 2008 as part of the Mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development initiative (GYRD), the program’s purpose is to create safe environments during peak times for gang related violence and in communities most affected by violence. The program provides extended programming between the hours of 7pm and midnight, 4 days a week, throughout the summer months. Since its inception, there have been a total of 1.8 million visits to these sites. Initially launched in eight faculties, the program has significantly expanded into 32 facilities throughout the city. The program has also expanded in terms of the services offered at the parks – from informational sessions about healthy eating and exercise to community fairs showcasing the community organizations/services in the area, SNL has continued to respond to the community’s needs in each of the parks throughout the county. The results from the program have earned national/international interest.
