Lake Piru Service Project

Volunteer Day in the City of Piru! What a Wonderful Outreach Experience! Help the Children recently provided enough food, paint, supplies, and personal hygiene items for 350 families in the City of Piru. I had no idea what to expect when asked by Calvary Community Church to be one of the representatives of Help the Children to participate in the volunteer day held in the City of Piru on Saturday, June 6, 2009.

While I was driving through the beautiful Santa Clarita Valley, I was wondering what kind of day this is going to be. The sky was overcast and it was a bit cool outside. We were volunteering outdoors so I immediate thought I have to prepare for a very bad hair day. I finally said to myself, just forget it and pretend you don’t look like a cat is sitting on top of your head.

I arrived just before 7:00am, after driving an hour and 45 minutes to get there on time. I thought I was lost but then I see our very big truck with a very big picture of the president of our organization on the side. Then I see a few more of the Help the Children team like with Pastor Erick, his son Pablo, Roger M., Ozzie, the master truck driver, Mike, our webmaster, and Milton. Hmmm, I suppose I’m in the right place. The City of Piru looks like something you’d see in a movie where the houses are small and quaint, and there’s beautiful scenery all around you, and there are clear signs of poverty all around you, as well.

While the rest of the volunteers arrive, and we set-up the production line to make the Love Carton Food Boxes, we began to fulfill our goal of providing food and essential care items to needy children and their families in this very small but loving town. What a day! First, we all came together for prayer before we assembled the Love Carton Food Boxes. We had everything we needed (Except a little of this and that) but we finally, after the greatest show of team work I’ve been a part of in a long while, assembled 350 Love Carton Food Boxes!

You’re probably wondering what part the paint played in this wonderful day? Well, not only did the members of Calvary Community Church distribute food the residents of Piru, they used the paint donated by Help the Children to paint the buildings in the city. The volunteers also worked tirelessly as they racked leaves, trimmed bushes, cleared liter from the neighborhoods, did some gardening at the homes of the residences, and much more, I’m sure.

We also provided each family with a Family Pak containing personal hygiene items for the entire family, and care boxes for both the mother and father of each household.

I have to sincerely thank Dee Dee, Korrie, and all of the other wonderful people I met that day from Calvary Community Church! Their dedication and enthusiasm is more than contagious, and I am proud to have worked with them.