The strangers seemed to be on every street corner. They were doing a lot of smiling. Ahhhh … Paris in the summer of 2024. The Olympics had come to town. And locals, dressed in snazzy aquamarine uniforms, tried their darndest to vanquish the legend of the haughty Parisian.
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Paris ’24 volunteers gave directions, helped visitors find landmarks and generally made themselves useful. A friend of mine noted that their knowledge didn’t always match their good cheer. Still, another visitor told me how impressed he was when four volunteers launched into a song and dance during a Paralympic wheelchair basketball game. They soon had the crowd “riled up” and happy.
L.A. 28 Volunteer Program logo.
(LA 28 Olympic Games)
That memory stuck with Reynold Hoover, the former U.S. Army general who is chief executive of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Hoover also couldn’t forget the prominent Angeleno who told him the story of how his wife so loved volunteering during the 1984 L.A. Olympics that she couldn’t part with her LA84 uniform. It remained hanging in her closet, years later.
Mayor Karen Bass, center, and LA Conservation Corps program coordinator Aracely Farias, right, plant a tree in Sherman Oaks on May 17 as part of an initiative that seeks to clean up L.A.’s streets before the Olympics.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
The result? Hoover and the other leaders of L.A.’s Games plan to recruit a volunteer army that they say will start earlier and do more than those at all the Olympics that came before. Starting today, people from around greater Los Angeles can register their interest in volunteering at LA28.org. With events scheduled across the region, volunteers will likely be needed wherever L.A. needs a good scrubbing, literally or figuratively.
With the Games still more than 2½ years away, the initial volunteer efforts will focus on improving the look and feel of the city. That’s no small task, given Southern California’s struggles with homelessness, graffiti and trash-filled lots and streets.
The exact work of of LA28’s unpaid helpers remains to be determined, with more details expected next month. The program is likely to follow work LA28 volunteers have been doing since the city won the Games in 2017. Just this October, the organization brought dozens of volunteers to the neighborhood between the Farmer’s Market and Melrose Avenue to assist Mayor Karen Bass’ Shine LA program. Shine LA cleans streets, sidewalks and alleys. And the LA28 crew visited the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in South Los Angeles, where they stuffed bags with potatoes, onions and produce, destined for the needy.
Jobs like those are likely to be on the horizon, along with others, like reading to children’s groups, aiding homeless people or cleaning up parks and beaches. The work will depend on the nonprofit and government groups that LA28 partners with, Hoover said in an interview.
Cleanup volunteers head along Ventura Boulevard to their next work location in Sherman Oaks on May 17.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
“I wanted to bring that spirit of volunteerism, that spirit I saw first-hand in Paris, back to Los Angeles,” said Hoover, a West Point graduate hired 17 months ago to steer the Games to completion. “I think that it can really be unifying, and I think it’s indicative about what the Olympics is all about — this idea of uniting people and bringing people together.”
Mayor Bass and Delta Airlines, the corporate sponsor of the volunteer campaign, have joined with Hoover around the idea that the Olympic ideal should prevail, long before the opening ceremonies on July 14, 2028. Hoover said seeing L.A.’s resiliency after January’s wildfires, and its joyful spirit after the Dodger’s World Series victory, renewed his belief in the power of volunteerism.
“Our hope is that this program can be a catalyst for Angelenos,” the LA28 chief executive said in a statement, “to give back to the city they love, unite across communities and help build a stronger city together.”
Today’s top stories 
Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a Yes on Proposition 50 rally.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Election 2025: Prop. 50Democratic wins nationwideGrammy nominations coming FridayKendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny — who is headlining next year’s Super Bowl halftime show — are among the top Grammy contenders.Taylor Swift’s latest album won’t dominate Grammy nominations; it was released in October, falling outside the competition’s eligibility window.Music’s most prestigious awards show will take place Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readsOther must readsFor your downtime 
(Daniel Jurman / For The Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What’s the best hiking trail in SoCal?
Geraldine writes: “Trans-Catalina Trail- 38 miles of stunning views. Mile markers and great wayfinding signs, clean air. You can backpack it, do sections as day hikes or glamp it with an outfitter. A great respite if you need some solitude. Starts from the trailhead in Avalon close to the ferry landing.”
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And finally … from our archives 
White House contender Mitt Romney and then-President Obama exit the stage after their 2012 debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)
On Nov 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected as president of the United States in a hard-fought battle with Mitt Romney.
Times columnist Mark Z. Barabak wrote about Obama’s second-term win, which proved more difficult than his barrier-breaking sweep four years prior to become the nation’s first Black president.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
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