A Close-up look at people who matter : Volunteer’s Successes in Thousands

At 68, Arthur Hirshberg bristles at the mention of the word “retirement.”

“No,” he says, “as a matter of fact, I’m not thinking of retiring any time soon.

“I expect to continue doing volunteer work for some years to come,” he adds. “This has been ingrained in me since I was a youngster.” After nearly a decade volunteering on Los Angeles County’s Private Industry Council, which places economically disadvantaged people in jobs, Hirshberg’s efforts were acknowledged in April when he was named the county’s “Volunteer of the Year” for 1993.

“He’s been outstanding, just outstanding,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman, who in 1984 appointed Hirshberg to the PIC.

The PIC brings together voices from government and industry to oversee the county’s involvement with the Federal Job Training Partnership Act, which provides federal dollars for job training programs nationwide. Hirshberg became chairman of the board of the organization in 1991. During his tenure, an estimated 50,000 county residents have received job training, placement and training in basic reading and writing skills.

Anthony Bowdry is one of the PIC’s--and Hirshberg’s--biggest success stories.

Bowdry came to Los Angeles from Pittsburgh in 1990 with visions of a better life in the Golden State. But after months of failing to find work during a stubborn recession, Bowdry exhausted his savings and ended up on the street.

“I was homeless, man,” he said. “I had nothing.” Bowdry said he began using drugs and alcohol in an attempt to deal with his homelessness, and soon developed an addiction.

After checking in to a Santa Monica homeless shelter, Bowdry heard a presentation on a PIC program that specialized in providing training in food services, computers, health and construction.

Hirshberg said he may never have met Bowdry if not for the “amazing” progress he made in the program.

Three years after a PIC job developer found Bowdry a dishwashing job at the Culver Studios Commissary, he has not only kept the job, but has ascended through the ranks to assistant manager.

“Coming from homeless to where I am now, let me tell you, it’s a million miles away,” said Bowdry, 39, who is engaged to be married.

Bowdry, who had been through various social service programs before becoming involved with the PIC, attributes his success, in part, to the caring exhibited by PIC counselors.

“They not only helped get me the job, but they supported me while I was working,” he said.

Hirshberg said besides a desire to help people such as Bowdry put their lives back together, there was another alluring factor about the PIC that prompted him to accept the post in 1984.

“I’d been in the private sector all my life, and I was curious about this big, so-called ‘monster,’ the government,” Hirshberg said.

By most counts he’s met with success.

Working on President Bush’s Task Force on Riot Recovery, Hirshberg helped secure about $15 million in federal funds after last year’s unrest. He also served countless volunteer hours on the Rebuild L. A. campaign.

But Hirshberg’s efforts are not only volunteer. Besides heading up the PIC, he is vice president of an East Coast-based transportation firm, a job that in itself consumes a normal workweek.

Hirshberg’s wife of 38 years, Judith Hirshberg, who herself keeps a full schedule as a deputy in Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude’s Valley office and as vice president of the National Women’s Political Caucus, says she thinks her husband’s love for his work is what enables him to do so much of it.

“If he didn’t enjoy it, I don’t think he’d be able to do it. I am really very proud of him,” she added.