Friends of EXPO Center

Program funding and staff leadership were provided for youth sports and recreation, afterschool academic support and enrichment activities, an acclaimed youth orchestra with 310 children ages 6-18 who receive free instruments, musical instruction and concert performance opportunities at multiple venues (a partnership program with the la philharmonic association and harmony project), summer camperships for children whose families cannot afford to send them to Expo Center's summer camp, a summer jobs program for at-risk teens, college readiness and teen leadership programs for high school youth, fitness and computer classes for seniors, and a learn-to-swim program that provides life-saving water safety skills and swimming lessons for 4,000 children each year. Thanks to the successful partnership between the Friends of Expo Center and the city of los angeles department of recreation and parks which operates Expo Center, this extraordinary recreational and community Center has become a vital resource for the underserved and economically disadvantaged residents of south los angeles. The Expo Center facility spans six acres adjacent to the la coliseum and it accommodates more than 800,000 participant visits annually, making it the largest public recreational and community Center in the region. The neighborhoods surrounding Expo Center suffer from high unemployment, overcrowded housing, chronic poverty, gangs and street violence. Expo Center is an oasis in this community, providing wide-ranging opportunities for recreation, education, and healthy lifestyles.