The Compton Initiative
by Lorine Parks
And that heading has a subtitle which was the subject of our program: “Bringing hope and restoration to Compton through quarterly beautification projects.” Our newest member, Jesse Vargas, brought this program to our attention. Simple weekend events like lawn raking, lopping branches, sweeping gutters, painting the exterior of a house or a church: they accumulate in doing good and changing the quality of life in a community.
Remember years ago, when our Downey Rotary Club went over to the Arc and spent all of a Saturday painting that huge building where the Arc clients do their assembly line projects? It was one of the best hands-on activities we ever had, and everyone enjoyed wielding a paintbrush or a roll of masking tape. Paint was supplied by All American and muscle power by Downey Rotarians.
Terri Harrema, Director of Fund Development for The Compton Initiative, told us how that kind of involvement still can work. “We paint. We clean. We heal. That’s what we do,” says Ken Korver, President of The Compton Initiative. They have made a sustainable impact in Compton by instilling a sense of care and pride within each neighborhood.
Compton is changing, for the good. But it hasn't always been that way. Compton is notorious for its athletes and rappers, but also for its crime and poverty. Founded in 2006, with a 40-year commitment to restore the City of Compton, The Compton Initiative is a non-profit organization that hopes to effect change by painting homes, schools and churches on quarterly workdays in partnership with individual volunteers and other organizations.
A Christmas Wish List gives an idea of how modest, yet essential, are their needs. For instance, $5 buys three paint rollers. $10 buys a 10 count pack of paint brushes. $50 means two shovels, $150 a cordless drill. To date, 1,100 work sites have been completed, including 692 houses, 32 schools, 32 public spaces, 2 medical clinics and 1 community garden.
In 2005 a church in Paramount had a vision of seeing healing come to its neighboring city of Compton. Paramount too has struggled in the past, but it has now been called a "beacon of light.” Some of this can be attributed to the JustDoGood program.