Grants Awarded to Help Neighborhoods

Eight nonprofit organizations--with projects ranging from cleaning medians to painting a mural--will receive the first funds from the West Valley NeighborGood Grant Program, Councilwoman Laura Chick has announced.

The NeighborGood awards, established by the councilwoman last year with city funds and contributions from private donors, is modeled after a Seattle program, said Chick, who represents much of the West Valley.

The first set of grants, awarded in a competitive process, totals $13,000. A new round of grant applications for as much as $16,000 will be accepted beginning in April, officials said.

The first recipients are:

* The Reseda Renaissance Ladies, who received $2,500 to continue their efforts to spruce up the median on Sherman Way between Lindley and Wilbur avenues;

* We Are the Community Helpers, or WATCH, in the West Valley, which received $2,000 to provide radios for its “Eyes and Ears” Program, which works to reduce neighborhood crime;

* The Aliso Creek Owners & Residents Network, or ACORN, which received $750 to create a newsletter for its Reseda neighborhood and to plant trees on Yolanda Avenue between Strathern Street and Roscoe Boulevard;

* The Lokrantz Parent Group in Reseda, which will use its $1,800 to create a “Bright Ideas” mural in the 7300 block of Shirley Avenue;

* Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park, which will use its $525 grant to create a world map mural;

* The Keep Youth Doing Something organization at Sutter Middle School in Winnetka, which received $2,500 to revitalize an agricultural area and to promote gardening;

* Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Reseda, which will use its $2,500 for a botanical garden project; and

* Melvin Avenue School in Reseda, which will use its $650 to forward a school traffic safety plan.

For more information, call Chick’s office at (818) 756-8848 or (213) 485-3486.