""It makes us feel good," Mather said, lugging a bag. "It's visibly different. It's instant gratification.""
"Volunteers Cleaning Communities is one of L.A.'s largest cleanup groups, with members - mostly retirees in their 60s and 70s - fanning out across the west San Fernando Valley six days a week."
"Frustration with the city's filth motivates them to volunteer, but what keeps them together are the friendships."
"But he and others would be back the next day to go "trashing," as they call it."
A group of mostly retirees meets at 8 a.m. near the G Line station in Canoga Park, wearing neon yellow vests to clean a milelong stretch of Sherman Way. Volunteers use grabber tools and trash bags to remove Q-tips, chicken bones, paper plates, coffee cups, napkins, vape canisters, and a black slipper from an abandoned shopping cart. Volunteers Cleaning Communities operates six days a week across the west San Fernando Valley, with offshoots elsewhere and about 250 members and a newsletter reach of 3,000. Cleanups end with a social hour at a nearby coffee shop. The work provides visible results, purpose, and social connection, helping members cope with loss and loneliness.
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