Habitat For Humanity Riverside

Ramona High School & University of California Riverside Chapters

Is it human nature to want to help others or give of our time to aid those in need of a helping hand? A quick glance at this world we live in today we may think that there is no hope or remnant of Good Samaritans doing goodwill; however, on Saturday February 15 in a mobile home park in Riverside I witnessed good deeds and servant-hood from none other than young high school and college students. I had the honor to lead a wonderful group of Ramona High School student volunteers and Dave our Project Coordinator led a group of University of California Riverside students, both of which are Habitat for Humanity Riverside chapters. The groups, who have participated in many A Brush With Kindness projects in the past years, definitely came out with readiness and expectancy to work hard.

The Ramona High School students along with Arraceion and his wife LaVon, who are future Habitat homeowners, painted the home of Julio, Claudia, their son Julio Jr and two daughters Gabriella and Marina, who have lived in Riverside for many years. Julio is the sole provider for his family and works for a finish carpentry company. Though Julio did some repairs to his home, he did not have the funds or time to paint his home. The home’s exposed areas were faded and weathered and the replaced sections lacked paint. Park management requested the home be repainted and that is when Dave approached Claudia to help her and her family paint their home through Habitat for Humanity Riverside’s A Brush with Kindness program. Claudia got very emotional that we were able to help her family. HFH Riverside will also replace several sections of the high trim and 2 driveway awning supports later this month.

The UCR Habitat chapter was led by UCR students Johasad and Brandon, who is a former UCR work intern and still involved through the campus chapter.  They also had help from Maria,
a recent Habitat Riverside homeowner, Juan, who is a future Habitat homeowner, and Juan’s family. Both Habitat families are working off sweat equity hours. The UCR group painted the home of Hector, Consuelo, their children Alondra and Cristal, and Consuelo’s mother Caritina. Hector is the sole provider of the family and is working full time for the Fender Co. and part time at the local Jack in the Box. They purchased their home about 9 years ago and since then they have replaced several sections of the walls due to water damage; however, they have not been able to complete all the repairs of the exterior of the home. Several sections of trim will be replaced by Habitat volunteers at a later date.

When we finished laying down the ground rules and finished our traditional pre-work prayer, the Ramona High School students and the UCR students separated and each group was sent to their sites. The Ramona High School students split up in four teams and each team was stationed on one of the four sides of the home. They then began painting the exterior walls with a light greenish color and later in the morning began painting the trim with a darker color paint.

In the UCR group almost everyone had painted on a HFH Riverside ABWK project during the last school year and it was noticeable by their work ethic and precision painting skills. The few newcomers were given some quick tips and as they were finishing up, the Ramona High School chapter came down from their already completed home to give a helping hand on the finishing touches to Hector and Consuelo’s home.

Once the work was finished, the Ramona High School and UCR students along with the Habitat families and home owners took a combined group photo, since it was a dual home paint day. These HFH Riverside chapter students understand that it is always a great feeling to do selfless acts for others and it is rewarding to see the smiling faces of Julio and his family and Hector and Consuelo. It was evident to see that everyone was on the same team just working on different homes and it was a wonderful sight for me and Dave to see youth doing goodwill and giving back to communities in their city. Our future looks very bright indeed.