Students, Faculty and Staff Support National Week of Service

[SANTA MONICA, CA APRIL 16, 2009] – Students, faculty and staff at The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood will team up on a special assignment that will promote goodwill and valuable support to their community during National Week of Service April 19-25, 2009.

These students, faculty and staff are no strangers to community service. Both The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood have been actively involved in serving their communities by providing and lending design, media arts, fashion and culinary resources to local organizations such as The Big Blue Bus, Farmers’ Markets in Santa Monica and Mar Vista, West Hollywood Trees Preservation Society, and the Los Angeles Children’s Orthopedic Hospital. Projects have ranged from logo and Web site development for nonprofits to public service announcements and cooking demonstrations for the public. 

This year, students, faculty and staff from The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood have partnered with The City of Santa Monica and The Center for Urban Forest Research to help kick off the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Tree Planting Project in Santa Monica. The GHG Tree Planting Project involves planting 1,000 new trees throughout the city. These trees will be monitored by City staff with growth data being provided to the US Forest Services’ Center for Urban Forest Research. This project will ultimately bring the City of Santa Monica closer toward generating reliable information on its efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“We encourage students, faculty and staff to participate in this initiative and take part in a community service project that is in line with our own goal to become a “green” business and more sustainable as we work together to protect our environment. This project allows our students and staff to participate in an activity that will directly impact our environment,” said Laura Soloff, President of The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles.

On April 21, 2009, more than 100 students, staff and faculty from The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood will be responsible for planting 15 to 20 cedar trees near Lincoln Middle School (between the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Washington Avenue) and Clover park in Santa Monica.

“Participating in the National Week of Service complements our campus environment of serving our students and serving the community where we live and work,” The Art Institute of California — Hollywood President, Gregory Marick said. “Giving back to the community is always the right thing to do, and we are proud of the work and support our faculty, staff and students have put into this important effort.”

In recognition of both Earth Day and National Arbor Day, there will be a public ceremony on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, on the median on Ocean Park, between 28th and 31st streets at 11:30 AM. City officials and staff from the Public Landscape Division of the City of Santa Monica will plant a pine tree in honor the GHG Tree Planting Project.

“This celebration is a way for us to officially launch the GHG Tree Planting Project in Santa Monica while also recognizing our partnership with The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood. I commend the spirit of volunteerism and the commitment to improving our air quality that these students and their staff have exhibited throughout this project. We are one step closer to a cleaner and healthier environment,” commented Walt Warriner, Community Forest & Public Landscape Superintendent, The City of Santa Monica.

For more information about the recognition ceremony, please contact Michelle Estrellado, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles, at 310.314.6037 or via email at mestrellado@aii.edu

CONTACT:  Michelle Estrellado
                 The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles
                 T:  310.314.6037
                 mestrellado@aii.edu

                 Sarah Carlson
                 The Art Institute of California  Hollywood
                 T:  213.884.1240
                 sacarlson@aii.edu

To learn more about The Art Institutes visit www.artinstitutes.edu. The Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood are part of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals.