Church Uses Donation to Hire Needy Youths

When a local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars recently donated $600 to the Church of the Foothills for needy families, Pastor Samuel Platts found himself in an unusual predicament.

Platts’ problem was not a lack of need in his Sylmar neighborhood, but rather a glut of pride.

After approaching several families that he knew could use a little extra cash for food, especially around the holidays, Platts was unable to give away any of the money.

“We know they’re needy but they didn’t want any charity. They had too much self-respect to think of themselves as needing help,” said Platts.

“So we said, ‘OK, would your kids like a job to make some extra Christmas money?’ And that appealed to them,” Platts said.

In a novel approach to seasonal goodwill, Platts has hired 14 youths, mostly teenagers, who he will pay about $40 each to help spruce up Sylmar’s old Pioneer Cemetery next Saturday.

The young people, who Platts recruited from the church’s congregation and surrounding neighborhood, will pull weeds, trim shrubs and clean up trash at the cemetery.

The cemetery has been closed for years, Platts said, but is maintained by Edith Rieber, a Pacoima resident who volunteers her time.

“It’s not all grass lawns. The cemetery is filled with native vegetation,” he said. “If the kids pull the wrong kind of plant, she’ll give them heck.”

“It’s work, but for the kids it’s also fun,” said Platts. “And at $8 an hour, it’s pretty good pay.”

The unusual arrangement caps an unusual year for Church of the Foothills, where the congregation, in a bid to attract new members, voted in September to change the church’s name from Lutheran Church of the Master.

In November, the church’s steel bell was stolen.

The bell had little monetary value but had become a favorite of the congregation, even inspiring some members to write poems about it.

Two weeks after it was stolen, a mysterious couple returned the bell to Platts in a large suitcase. The couple left quickly without offering an explanation.