Montrose is a safe, beautiful, friendly and generally a clean community that is excellent for families. However, the City of Glendale parking lot north of Broadview bordering Market Street is often an eyesore, mostly due to extraneous items deposited by the dumpsters. The Church of Scientology Mission of the Foothills, in line with its The Way to Happiness campaign (based on the nonreligious book by church founder L. Ron Hubbard), decided to do something about this by accessing the chapter entitled “Safeguard and Improve Your Environment.”

Armed with cleaning supplies, 16 volunteers from ages 4 to 88 spent almost two hours picking up trash around the dumpster and the surrounding parking lot and alley.

“We all chipped in to do our civic duty,” said senior Clay McBride.

“What a great way to spend a Saturday morning with the family, helping the community. Both kids were excited to help,” said Alex Robb, a local resident. “Our son even said, ‘I’m excited to pick up trash for some reason,’ and after we were done our daughter, just 4 years old, said, ‘The Earth is happier now!'”

“We see the parking lot daily and decided it needed some attention,” said Stacy Kitchens, executive director of the Church of Scientology Mission of the Foothills. “We plan to do this again on July 20 and we invite others to give a hand ­– if we have enough help, we’ll branch out to nearby areas.”

Best known for its annual Halloween Haunted House, the Mission of the Foothills also hosts other free events for the community such as a free first aid seminar coming up on Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. to help individuals learn how they can assist in medical emergencies.

The Mission of the Foothills has been part of the Montrose/Glendale community for over 40 years. The Mission offers communication and study courses for children, plus 20 life improvement courses including parenting courses and other Dianetics and Scientology related services and counseling for adults. In addition to free informational seminars and other activities open to the public, the Mission also supports various community outreach programs such as relationship and drug education seminars. For more information, call (818) 957-1500 or visit the website www.scientology-montrose.org.