This Friday we were joined by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Correctional Deputy (CD) Academy’s 75th Class, whose chosen Class motto is “Stand Together, Rise Above.”  The motto definitely fit them: as a team, they rose to the occasion and did a great job! The homeowner, who is a single, senior-citizen, was cited by Code Enforcement for her unkept landscape. To address this, Habitat for Humanity Riverside found funding to help clean and renovate her front and back -yards. The focus of this work day was getting the backyard landscape under control. We trimmed her many fruit trees, cleared the years of debris, and removed invasive plants and intrusive tree limbs; and then throwing all of this waste into a large waste bin.

These future Correctional Deputies are a great Class; they share a great camaraderie and work really hard.  They are graduating December 18th, so this was a fun, community outreach activity for them which hopefully bonded and encouraged them further, to finish out their program with.  Once they graduate, they will be prepared for immediate employment statewide in California prisons.

There was plenty of work to do and we quickly filled up the large waste bin with all the yard waste. Luckily, the weather was perfect and everyone had an amazing time. Many of the CDs commented that they planned on trying to organize volunteer, community outreach days with a Habitat for Humanity at their future workplaces. We hope to see them again. I know the homeowner greatly appreciated their work. Thanks for your support and work, RCSDCDA 75th Class, Congratulations!