Paramount Volunteers Spruce Up Hollywood Schools

Le Conte Middle School looked like a scene from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Friday afternoon with dozens of volunteers painting murals, sprucing up the teachers lounge and planting azaleas and shrubs.

The outreach was part of Paramount Pictures' 16th annual Viacommunity Day, which pairs Paramount employees with public schools and community nonprofits for a day of volunteer service. More than 700 company volunteers were at sites across Los Angeles helping out with similar projects Friday.

Le Conte Principal Jack Foote said it was exciting to be recognized by such a high-profile community partner.

"There's a strong sense of community here and we're glad to build that contact with businesses and schools," Foote said. "Anything like this makes the kids more proud of their school and is good reinforcement of the values we're trying to instill on the kids."

Adjacent to the campus, at Citizens of the World Charter School, a handful of Paramount volunteers were helping first-graders and kindergartners install a pocket garden. The project involved mounting a canvas planter to a fence, adding plants and creating identification cards.

"Thank you guys, that was fun," Citizens Principal Marissa Berman said to volunteers as they cleared away colored pencils and cut out the laminated cards. "I know it might have felt like a whirlwind," she said with a smile.