Helping Hands Project 2010

Saturday was one of those busy days that I foresee happening more and more in our future. Paul started the day out by heading up to our favorite "Prospect Park" at 7:00 am. He was the guy who was in charge of the hula hoe crew. The kids and I went up around 8:00 am and spent an hour and a half picking garbage up. The kids were rather annoyed at the beginning but about 2 minutes into it they were very excited. We then rushed off to each of the kids soccer games, 10 am, 11 am, and 12 pm. When the last game was over we went to Sylvan park for a picnic hosted by the city. We got there in time for dessert, cotton candy and snow cones, not a bad end to a great day.

I asked each of the kids a question about the day, here are there responses:

What did you pick up the most?
Paige: Glass or grass as she says.

What was the grossest thing you picked up?
Seth: Underwear!

How would you describe the day?
Josh: It was fun picking up the garbage, especially that huge glass jar.

This is the article that was posted in the Redlands Daily Facts on Sunday May 8,2010.

REDLANDS - More than 1,000 people worked at five Redlands parks, a citrus grove and landfill Saturday morning in a volunteer event that may be unprecedented in city history.

The Redlands Service Club Council, the Redlands stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the city organized the Day of Service, tapping the statewide Mormon Helping Hands volunteer day.

"I think in one day they're doing enough work for six months," said Kristin Saukel, president of Friends of Prospect Park.

As many as 300 people volunteered at Prospect Park alone, Latter-day Saints organizer Rose Palmer said. They weeded, spread mulch, planted flowers, worked on the Lauer family overlook and replaced the decking on the sides of the stage at Avice Meeker Sewall Theater.

"We had people in the park today with their dogs and families stop and say, `What's happening? How can we help?' " said city volunteer coordinator Tabetha Johnson.

Organizers ran out of yellow "volunteer" shirts and vests - there were 700 shirts and 300 vests, Palmer said. Service clubs had to buy more food for lunch, said George Barich, a Kiwanian and president of the Redlands Service Club Council. Lunch was moved up almost an hour because most of the work was finished by 11:30, he said.

Barich said 1,100 volunteers was a "conservative" estimate - Palmer said it could be 1,150. Besides members of Latter-day Saints congregations, people from the community and city staff came to help.

The project's overflow site, a 50-acre city-owned citrus grove on California Street, was completely cleaned out, site coordinator Kasey Haws said. About 250 volunteers filled three Dumpsters and used 750 trash bags, he said.

Organizers were hoping to get a third of the grove cleaned up, he said.

"Now they've actually swept the whole grove," he said.

Most of the materials for the service day were paid for through a $35,000 grant from Home Depot.

"They got 450 applications and put ours at the top to get this done," Johnson said.

Home Depot district manager said giving back to the community is the company's main goal.

"This is a great part of it," he said, gesturing to workers replacing the theater decks.

Redlands Theatre Festival volunteer Kristin Staton said the project was a "godsend."

"It's all stuff that we've desperately needed over the years but didn't have the funds," she said.

The decking had not been replaced since 1976 and was rotting out, she said. Johnson said Latter-day Saints members provided the labor, particularly skilled labor, for all the worksites. Nine local congregations - including Highland and Loma Linda - were recruited, Redlands stake president Daryl Carlson. Entire families came to work, Palmer said.

"I think what's most impressive is their desire to serve and children establishing a tradition of service at a really young age," Carlson said.

At the Lauer overlook at Prospect Park, volunteers formed a chain to hand down rocks for a new drainage area.

"It's just wonderful what they're doing," said Lois Lauer, who established the overlook in honor of her husband, James, who died 25 years ago.

At Sylvan Park, where volunteers later gathered for lunch served by the service clubs, 40 people were expected and more than 150 showed up, according to organizers.

"I left and 10 minutes later it was done," joked supervisor Darrin Christensen, referring to the speed at which volunteers painted the picnic pavilion.

"We might paint a few picnic benches before lunch," he said.

Volunteers had to go to Highland for more paint because the machine at the Redlands Home Depot broke, Palmer said. They painted a storage shed, curbs and the horseshoe area, and did some planting, Christensen said.

"It's been a great day," said volunteer Janelle Carlson. "The kids are having fun."

Barich said the service day was planned three months ago. Each of the Service Club Council's projects has a lead organization - Saturday was Mormon Helping Hands.

"The Service Club Council has really blossomed," said Rotary Club of Redlands president Allan Griesemer. "People really respond to the need of the community."

Johnson said organizers want to hold the service day annually

I had to put this picture in because it such a typical grumpy face that Paige wears.