Hollywood Village volunteers make their neighborhood shine for tourists arriving from across the world
Each month, Hollywood Village volunteers hold a neighborhood cleanup to keep Hollywood beautiful, safe, and clean. With visitors pouring into the city over the summer from around the world, this was not the season for the volunteers to take a vacation from their monthly initiative. Setting out from the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre, where they pick up their trash bags, shovels and brooms, volunteers took off to clean up the neighborhood.
To welcome those arriving in the neighborhood via the famous Hollywood Freeway, one team of volunteers tackled trash that had collected on a prominent offramp. Another team took on a go-to location for paparazzi and tourists wishing to catch a glimpse of celebrities dining at its trendy bistros.
After their cleanup, volunteers invite others to Set a Good Example and Safeguard and Improve Your Environment—principles featured in The Way to Happiness, a book of common-sense values that informs the initiative. They hand out copies of the booklet to those they meet and place boxes of The Way to Happiness in local takeouts, restaurants and shops to share with their customers.
“This is a new kind of moral code,” says the coordinator of the project. “It was written by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. It not only includes values common to people of all faiths and backgrounds, it even provides tools you can use to change your life. I have seen this book create miracles.”
Some months, their activities include creating murals and other artistic projects. Each November, they hold a massive cleanup to show Hollywood at its best for the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Anyone wishing to join the initiative is invited to do so. Hollywood Village is a partnership of the Church of Scientology, The Way to Happiness Foundation, and the Los Angeles Police Department. It has grown into a community coalition of people of all faiths, ideologies and backgrounds, working together to make Hollywood shine.
