temp86

Two Culver City-based companies, Thorn Roze Music and Voice Made Visible, are presenting a variety show of songs —from camp to country to blues to jazz —  performed by 18 singers on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., to raise money for the Westside Children's Center. For almost 20 years, the Center, at 12120 Wagner St., has provided a range of services for children from birth to the age of 8. Over time, the  Children’s Center has expanded its original agenda  foster care and family reunification — to include adoption, childcare, child  development and family support services.

Meet the Founder

Leslie Johnson is thefounder of the Westside Children's Center, which has two locations, both on the west side of Culver City. The Center currently is involved in a capital campaign to raise money to build a larger building on one site to accommodate its Slausen location offices so that all services can operate from a single facility in the not distant future. The objective is for the new building to be near Wagner Street and Inglewood Boulevard. Ms. Johnson, a child advocate, started the Westside Children’s Center in 1987 after being disappointed at the conditions she discovered at the well-known McLaren Hall foster home. While she was a volunteer at McLaren, Ms. Johnson found a state of over-crowding so troubling to her that she was motivated to become a foster parent. This was the first step toward opening the  Children’s Center.