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Compton, CA-More than 600 volunteers heeded the call to contribute volunteer service hours in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 17, by descending on the Compton Woodley Airport to assist Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum (TAM) spiff up their offices and hangar and make room for a new STEM Lab educational program. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is an initiative introduced by President Obama.)
Called Operation Hangar Cleanup, the event brought together adults, children, members of AmeriCorps/VISTA, celebrities and VIPs to clean out a hangar, wash airplanes, refurbish the museum wall dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen, sweep up and toss tons of trash, paint almost everything that didn't move and enjoy a lot of camaraderie.
Volunteers began arriving at 6:00 am to sign up for their assignments and many stayed until the event ended at 4:00 pm. Estimates are that a total of 3,000 hours of volunteer work took place during the day. Here's what was accomplished: Tons of materials were removed from the hangar to make room for the STEM Lab. The TAM STEM Lab will provide hands-on enrichment to build a plane, a wind tunnel, form a robotics team, and a video gaming graphic design club. After students turned their day off into a day ON, 50 of them signed up to join TAM's robotics teams to start in 2011. To prepare for the lab, volunteers painted the inside of the 7,000 square foot hangar, painted the Sky Lab computer center, the AmeriCorps*VISTA office, a balcony, and the Sky Café. Youth learn job skills and build work experience by running the Sky Café. Volunteers also installed Astroturf in the Sky Café area.
Volunteers helped TAM to beautify the Tuskegee Airmen Historical Display. To ensure accuracy of names and data, members of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen (Levi Thornhill, Otis Cowley and Ted Lumpkin) assisted.
Employees from FedEx and UPS were among the hardworking volunteers, as were AmeriCorps volunteers, TAM's Aviation Explorers, Pacific Coast Waste and Recycling employees, parents and youth who benefit from the nonprofit's programs.
Speaking from his heart, TAM founder Robin Petgrave thanks the volunteers and participants for their hard work, explaining the importance of creating a safe haven for children that helps them learn about such things as flying and often introduces them to new ideas and helpful mentors. Corporation for National and Community Service board member Hyepin Im also spoke, talking about the importance of community service and remembering Dr. King.
Among other participants were: KTLA reporter Gayle Anderson, who broadcast a portion of the event; Actress and MLK Day Ambassador Jurnee Smollett; Omarosa, actress and TAM board vice chair; Lashanda Holmes, the U.S. Coast Guard's first African American female pilot.
Also there to support the event were Compton Councilwoman Barbara Calhoun; Renee Cobb, district administrator for Compton Unified School District; Horie Taylor, chief of the Compton School Police Department; Alfredo Flores, councilman of neighboring Lynwood; Bishop LJ Guillory, ombudsman for Ombudsman International; and Cazzie Burns of State Senator Roderick Wright's office.
Other volunteers included George Gibbs, community affairs manager, Human Resources, West Region, UPS; Mark Collins, manager, LAX Hangar Maintenance, FedEx and a TAM board member; Tony Marshall, board member of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and TAM board chair; Los Angeles Air Force Base Officers Lt. Camdon Cady, Capts. Walter McMillan, Kelley Thompson, Ronald Major; Maj. Nichole King-Campbell, and Capt. Jadonna Brewton, members of AFCOMAP (Air Force Cadet Officer Mentor Action Program); US Army soldiers; and Mel Howard, partner, Pacific Coast Waste and Recycling.
More than 100 to 120 young people daily are drawn to the museum. There they are kept busy and safe. Many children are attracted to the museum, not because they are that interested in flying, but because it is a fun place to be. TAM's executive director and owner of Celebrity Helicopters, Robin Petgrave, started the museum in 1998 and, in 2000, decided to devote his full time attention to TAM and its youth programs. A native of Jamaica, Robin was raised in Boston, where he spent hours as a child watching planes at Logan Airport. An acting career brought him to Los Angeles, where he learned that he could pay for flying lessons. He then returned to his first love -- flying. Although, he still acts occasionally, he prefers to fly for movie studios, which he does as a stunt pilot or through Celebrity Helicopters.
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