(June 13, 2005) — Senior citizens, children and families from all over Glendale came together at the 17 th annual Great Graffiti Paint Out and Community Clean-up Day, at least three of which Clark has participated in. This years’ event was held in conjunction with the first annual Keep America Beautiful Week where schools and businesses planned beautification events such as planting trees, planning clean-ups and recycling drives. An estimated seven Clark students along with other volunteers convened on 100 N. Isabel Street at 9 a.m. May 21 in the early, breezy Saturday morning to sign in and file into groups. While the majority received an assortment of breakfast pastries, caps, sun block towelettes—especially useful as temperatures rose in the afternoon—and supplies, juniors Edit Matevosyan and Sarineh Khanbabaei began their duties in distributing water bottles and breakfast condiments. After a quick prep talk and cheers from city employees who led the groups, participants dispersed into various directions. Clark students participated in all aspects of the event, actively picking up trash, painting and helping serve food to attendees later. “It was a privilege serving hot dogs and drinks,” said Matevosyan, a job reserved mainly for city workers. She and Khanbabaei attended the clean up two years ago and had offered to help serve condiments. The worker in charge was impressed and invited them to distribute food again this year. Sun-baked youths filled the streets of Glendale, picking up all sorts of litter, from needles and diapers to a plethora of cigarette butts. “There was this guy telling us our efforts were useless, while he was smoking; it was gross” said junior Jason Tom, who attended the event with fellow Clark, Crescenta Valley and Hoover’s Key Club members. They had attempted to clean a green, cloudy swamp-like pond in front of a market, which, according to a Crescenta Valley Key Club member, was a “breeding ground for mosquitoes.” Junior Dania Diaz—who was grouped with strangers that believed she knew Travis from Blink 182—on the other hand, found plenty of beer bottles and belt buckles. Those cleaning streets simultaneously cleaned graffiti along public walls, floors, poles and signs. Sprays and scrubbers were the only tools available, but they worked well enough; maybe even too well, as a group of Key Club members were spotted running from the scene after they sprayed and scrubbed graffiti off a “2-Hour Parking Only” sign, accidentally swiping the red print off also. The Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, organizes events like these, including another street clean up on Foothill on October 22. For more youth opportunities check out the City of Glendale “ http://www.ns.ci.glendale.ca.us/index.asp ” under Neighborhood Services.