County Kicks Off Cesar Chavez Service Week

Los Angeles County embarked on its 10th annual Cesar Chavez Service Week on Monday by encouraging county staff and residents to honor the late labor leader by volunteering, donating and learning more about him.

Hermosa Beach residents can get involved by donating to or volunteering at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which county workers will be doing as part of their annual Cesar Chavez Food Drive.

The food bank lists volunteer opportunities on its website. Residents can donate food to ongoing drives across the county, or donate funds via telephone, mail or online.

County employees donated more than 21,400 pounds of food items in 2009, according to the county chief executive office.

Chavez's birthday, March 31, is celebrated as a state holiday in California and several other states. Chavez was a labor organizer and civil rights activist who sought better working conditions for migrant farm workers through nonviolent means.

He was a co-founder of the union that later became the United Farm Workers and his slogan, "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, it can be done") remains a rallying cry for Hispanic civil rights movements.

Chavez died in 1993 and former President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.

Many parks, schools, cultural centers and streets have been named in Chavez's honor in cities across the country.

To learn more about Chavez and the importance of service, the county library has posted a Chavez curriculum for educators on its website, where a quote from Chavez also is displayed: “The end of all education should surely be service to others.”

What does Cesar Chavez’s legacy mean to you?