Community Graduation 2014

HOLA AND DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS TO CELEBRATE WESTLAKE AREA COMMUNITY YOUTH GRADUATES 4th Annual Community Graduation Ceremony Celebrates Outstanding Achievement Los Angeles, CA (June 6, 2014) – Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks will hold a Community Graduation to celebrate the accomplishments of elementary, middle, high school, college AND graduate school graduates in the West Lake Area of Los Angeles. Many of the graduates are the first in their families to graduate from high school and go off to college and special acknowledgement will be given to those students who are graduating from college and graduate school. This year, thanks to the generous support of several funders, HOLA will distribute over $200,000 in college scholarships to graduating seniors. The Community Graduation will be held in Lafayette Park from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. HOLA Alumna Deborah Loperena will deliver the keynote address. The festive celebration will include musical performances, the marching of the color guard and presentation of certificates to all of the graduates.

The Lafayette Recreation Center is a result of the historic public-private partnership between HOLA and the Department of Recreation and Parks to transform Lafayette Park into a versatile campus that provides exceptional academic, arts, recreation and athletic programs to the surrounding community. The Community Graduation exemplifies the community benefit and highlights the educational and enrichment accomplishments that are achieved when best in class partners and individuals come together to help solve larger societal problems. “The work that HOLA and the L.A. City Department of Recreation and Parks do together in the community is made all the more powerful because of our community partnerships,” said Tony Brown, Executive Director of HOLA. “This community graduation is a celebration of these partnerships and the successes of all the graduates.”

Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) In neighborhoods often overrun by poverty, crime and a feeling of hopelessness, Heart of Los Angeles invests in youth to build stronger communities. Heart of Los Angeles gives some of the city’s most vulnerable youth a chance to succeed in life. From what started 25 years ago with just a handful of kids in a dilapidated gym, HOLA now serves over 2,400 youth ages 6-24, on a four-building campus in the Rampart District. HOLA provides opportunities and lays pathways to success for youth who are eager for the chance. www.heartofla.org.

City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains over 15,710 acres of parkland with over 400 neighborhood and regional parks, 184 recreation centers and facilities, 368 children’s play areas, 321 tennis courts, 256 ball fields, 31 senior centers, 13 golf courses, nine dog parks, 18 skate parks, 12 museums and an urban forest of one million trees. The Department also provides after school, day care and athletic programs for children and teens, including basketball, volleyball, softball and flag football leagues. For more information about Department of Recreation and Parks events, activities, services, programs, and facilities, go to www.laparks.org, or call 311, or (213) 202-2700.

Media Contact: Lee Schube, (213) 389-1148 x232, lschube@heartofla.org ##############