Wave Staff Report

LOS ANGELES — Nine YMCA centers have opened across Los Angeles to provide access to restrooms, showers and locker rooms for homeless people who are unable to take shelter during the coronavirus pandemic.

“In a crisis like the one we are currently facing, it is vital that our most vulnerable are taken care of,” said Kevin James, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, which approved the use of the YMCA facilities April 3.

The partnership will provide the YMCA centers with six mobile hygiene units currently deployed by the city and 17 by the Board of Public Works for unsheltered residents.

Among the YMCAs providing the facilities are the Stuart M. Ketchum-Downtown YMCA, 401 S. Hope St.; Weingart YMCA Wellness & Aquatic Center, 9900 S. Vermont Ave.; and the Westchester Family YMCA, 8015 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Westchester.

Financial literacy essay contest offered

LOS ANGELES — OneUnited Bank, the nation’s largest black-owned bank, is holding its 10th annual “I Got Bank!” National Financial Literacy Contest in celebration of National Financial Literacy Month. Ten children between the ages of 8 and 12 will win a $1,000 savings account.

Students are invited to read a financial literacy book of their choosing and write a 250-word essay or create an art project to show how they will apply the book to their daily lives. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by June 30, and winners will be announced Aug. 31. Among the winners from 2019 were DeAsia Mauldin, 11, of Compton and Sabreen A. El-Amin, 12, of Pasadena.

OneUnited Bank also offers free copies of the “I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money” e-book, to support families who are home schooling their children due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

For more information, visit www.oneunited.com/book.

Plus Men offers  journaling course

LOS ANGELES — The Plus Me Project, a community partner dedicated to empowering youth through the art of storytelling, will launch “Our Stories Matter: A 10-Week Community Journaling Experience” April 13 through June 19.  The journaling project will offer motivation and encouragement for teens to write down and share their stories of the current moment virtually.

The “Our Stories Matter” journaling experience is designed to increase self-awareness and self-confidence through storytelling, and also to build the foundation for college personal statements and scholarship essays.

The program is free for California high school students and $20 for adults and high school students outside of California The project also offers journals, and for each sold, one will be sent to a deserving teen in need in Southern California. For more information, visit theplusmeproject.org.

Radio show host to discuss book

LOS ANGELES — Earl Ofari Hutchinson will discuss his new book, “COVID Politics—Trump’s Deadly Game” during the 10 a.m. hour April 11 on The Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM.

The book is a scathing indictment of the president’s political gamesmanship during the coronavirus crisis.

The show begins at 9 a.m.

Duchess narrates elephant documentary

BURBANK — A documentary on a herd of elephants migrating across the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa in search of water narrated by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is now streaming on Disney+.

“Elephant” follows African elephant Gaia and her spirited 1-year-old son Jomo as their herd travels hundreds of miles from the Okavango Delta to the Zambezi River. The Kalahari Desert covers parts of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The documentary is the first entertainment project for the former Meghan Markle since she left the USA Network legal drama “Suits” to marry Prince Harry in 2018.

The premiere of “Elephant” and a second Disney nature documentary, “Dolphin Reef,” narrated by Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, coincides with Earth Month.

Youth apprentice grants available

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the availability of $42.5 million in youth apprenticeship grants to support the enrollment of in-school or out-of-school youth apprentices into new or existing programs nationwide.

“These apprenticeship grants offer communities the opportunity to make targeted investments that will fuel future economic growth, by enabling young people to earn a living while learning critical job skills at the same time,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said.

The department’s Employment and Training Administration intends to fund 15 to 25 Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants, with awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million for private nonprofit, for-profit or public agencies that act as pipelines for youth apprenticeship.

The amount of grant funding an applicant can receive will depend on the proposed number of youth ages 16 to 24 enrolled in Registered Apprenticeship Programs.

Information on how eligible applicants can apply for funding can be found at www.grants.gov. Visit www.apprenticeship.gov to learn more about the department’s broader efforts to connect career seekers with apprenticeship opportunities and expand apprenticeship into new sectors and industries.

Leimert Park garage damaged by fire

LOS ANGELES — A fire in the garage of a Leimert Park four-plex was extinguished in less than 20 minutes April 2 and no injuries were reported.

Twenty-six firefighters arrived at the scene in the 3800 block of South Arlington Avenue, near Obama Boulevard, about 8 p.m., according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire
Department.

The fire was extinguished by 8:19 p.m., Prange said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Compiled by Quinci Legardye.

L.A. Digest is designed to help promote events, activities and initiatives that are serving the interests of residents in L.A. To submit an item, send emails to newsroom@wavepublication.com.

The article first appeared in The Los Angeles Sentinel.

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