Hope Village community center received an overdue facelift on March 19 when Duarte children participated in a beautification service project. Forty-five local students from the Miracle After School programs at Northview Intermediate School and Maxwell Elementary School joined Duarte High School’s Rotaract and Key Club members to paint, clean and landscape Hope Village’s community center.

The students spent several hours transforming the dull interior walls with a rainbow of colors. On the exterior patio walls, they created a new mural depicting the foothills community. In addition, the youths planted flowers and landscaped around the patio area. Their efforts should allow patients and their families and friends visiting or staying on campus to enjoy a bright and cheery space to gather, cook meals or play games.

Duarte’s Promise sponsored the project to recognize the life of Cesar Chavez, the late labor leader and organizer, on his birthday. Duarte’s Promise represents the Alliance for Youth, whose mission is to mobilize people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of our nation’s youth by fulfilling five promises. These include maintaining ongoing relationships between caring adults and youths, having safe places with structured activities during nonschool hours, providing a healthy start and future, offering marketable skills through effective education, and presenting opportunities for youth to give back through community service.

More information about Duarte’s Promise appears on its Web site: www.duartespromise.org.