Volunteers Needed Clean-Up Encino Day, Sunday, March 4 at 8 a.m.

Encino, CA – Armed with trash pickers, garbage bags, and gloves, Encino residents of all ages – from the stroller set to seniors – will take to the streets of Encino from 8-11 a.m., Sunday, March 4 to pick up litter.

“Cean-Up Encino Day” was created by 16-year-old resident Lily Rowe, and is being sponsored by the Encino Chamber of Commerce and several local businesses. Volunteers of all ages are welcome and students will earn community service hours.

“We were immediately excited to partner in this event,” says Diana Donovan Duenas, CEO of the Encino Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a wonderful way for the business owners and residents of the community to pitch in and improve our environment.”

Rowe, 16, approached Duenas with the idea after listening to her father’s constant complaints about the amount of litter he picked up in their neighborhood every night while walking the family dog, Lulu.

“After hearing my dad talk about all the litter, I started noticing the many bottles, cans and cigarette butts tossed on the streets and wanted to do something about it,” says Rowe.

Volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. at the Encino Chamber of Commerce office located at 4933 Balboa Blvd., Encino. From here they will be divided into groups and assigned a clean up zone.

Thanks to local business - McDonald's, Equinox, A J Physical Therapy, Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Davnenport's Restuarants, Yuloff Creative Marketing Solutions, and Magnum - we have lots of garbage bags, trash pickers, and gloves. We just need as many helpful hands as we can get.

Litter isn’t only an eyesore. It can clog storm drains and cause flooding or travel through them to the ocean and kill marine life, as well as create health and safety issues for people.

According to the L.A. Department of Public Works, trash nets in Ballona Creek and the Los Angeles River capture 200 tons of litter every year.

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