Whittier : Volunteer Center Closes

A Whittier volunteer center that coordinated court-ordered community service work for five Southeast cities has closed because of financial problems.

For 20 years, the Rio Hondo Volunteer Center acted as a clearinghouse for volunteers for community service organizations in Downey, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, Pico Rivera and El Monte, said Margaret Grover, a volunteer center board member.

Funding for the center came from area cities, private donations and the courts, which sometimes incorporate volunteer work into sentencing. But increasingly, Grover said, service organizations are recruiting their own volunteers and cities are giving less money to the center. Court funding is not enough to keep the center open, she said.

Court referrals for the cities will now be handled by the La Mirada Volunteer Center.