Veterans Serving At South LA Youth Center

A front shot of Wooten Center after last paint job. The veterans will help finish 

details in front and back and plant fruit trees on the side on 91st Street.

(South Los Angeles)--About 30 veterans will be in South Los Angeles Sat., March 8, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., to paint the exterior of a youth center building and plant a fruit tree garden. This is the first time the post-9/11 veterans from the nonprofit The Mission Continues will conduct a service project in South Los Angeles.

The event will be held at the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center at 9106 S. Western Ave. Founded in 1990 by the mother of Wooten, killed in 1989 in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, the nonprofit youth center is providing afterschool, summer, gang prevention, SAT-prep classes and other college readiness activities for more than 600 youth in grades 3-12 this year.

"We are glad to see our veterans come home," said Wooten executive director Naomi McSwain. "We are looking forward to providing a warm welcome for them and working alongside of them in serving our youth and community."

The Mission Continues is a national nonprofit organization that empowers veterans to serve their country in new ways. Through a unique model that provides reciprocal benefit for the veteran and the local community, veterans volunteer to help others and, through their service, build new skills that help them launch their civilian career and continued education.

Founded in 2007 by Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, the organization has helped more than 1000 veterans to serve again. The Mission Continues 1st Platoon Los Angeles provides boots-on-the ground and coordinates local teams of veterans, active duty service members, guardsmen and reservists to mobilize and solve specific challenges in communities in Greater Los Angeles.

“The Los Angeles Service Platoon is focused on ways that to make an impact in the development and education of local youth. The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center plays a vital role in providing a safe space for children to learn through their after school programs.  Working alongside volunteers to make improvements to the Center’s facilities, allowing them to focus on their mission to educate and prepare their students for higher education."

For more information on The Mission Continues, contact Laura L’Esperance, VP of Brand and Communications via email at llesperance@missioncontinues.org or visit their Web site at www.missioncontinues.org. For information on the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, contact McSwain at 323-756-7203 or visit www.wootencenter.org.