South LA Intersection To Be Dedicated for LA84 Foundation

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The intersection outside the headquarters of the LA84 Foundation in South Los Angeles will be dedicated in its honor Sunday in connection with the 40th anniversary of its founding.

Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Heather Hutt, who introduced the motion to name the intersection of West Adams Boulevard and South Gramercy Place as "LA84 Foundation Square," are set to speak at the 3:45 p.m. ceremony at the foundation's headquarters.

The foundation was founded with the surplus from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. It makes grants to organizations from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border that focus on youth development through sport.

The foundation has hosted sports and recreation activities for 4 million children, provided funding to 2,500 nonprofit organizations, trained 200,000 coaches and built or refurbished 400 recreational facilities, including fields, pools and courts, according to Hutt's motion.

More than 300,000 children have participated in the foundation's summer swimming programs, with 150,000 of them learning how to swim.

The foundation promotes play and recreation equity to ensure that all children, regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic background, have the ability to play and be physically active.

The foundation's headquarters also includes a library of histories and documents on the history of the Olympic Games.

Immediately following the square dedication, Michael Schoettle will receive his gold medal for being part of the crew of the Complex II, which won the gold medal in the 5.5-meter class in the 1952 Helsinki Games.

Olympic rules at the time were complicated about who would receive medals in sailing events. For more than 50 years, Schoettle and his family worked with the International Olympic Committee and World Sailing for him to receive his gold medal.

A 40th anniversary ceremony featuring 1984 Olympic gold medalists will follow, with Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses and Cheryl Miller among the scheduled speakers, along with Casey Wasserman, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.