This my first post coming back from Cali. What an amazing  trip we had. It was great to see Sean Doc., Sabrina, and everyone else here at Hopeworks. We had so many highlights for this trip. From CBS Studio Tour, the Hollywood Sign, Venice Beach, and the Santa Monica Pier. But my  Favorite part of the trip was the service.

We worked with some very cool and important non-profits. First was “Habitat for Humanity”, we spent most of that day just paint and putting up doors and have a great time talking to the staff  there. The staff were so cool and laid back, just like everyone else in Cali it seemed. Its was a very great and proud feeling to see the progress we had made on the house at the end of the day. We enjoyed the nice weather and relaxed after the build.

Then we worked with another non-profit called “Get On the Bus”. They take children who have parents who are in jail to go see them on Father’s day or Mother’s day. It was very touching when you read the inmates letters on there surveys. They would thank the  “Get On the Bus” program for a chance to their children some for the First time. This was very important because California has old visitation forms with the windows and phones only so getting to hold their Love one where very important to the inmates.

This SERVICE trip changed my Life I now see there are other who go through the same things us Camden kids go through. One thing I would hold on to will be all the good times and the the saying ‘Service builds Character”.

On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to work with the organization called Get on the Bus. This organization helps children throughout the state of California to see their incarcerated mother and/or father at no cost. They provide breakfast, snack, lunch at the prison with their parents, and dinner for the children completely free. They also get to spend 4 hours with their mother or father, receive a teddy bear and picture. GOTB allows a child to see their parents on mother and fathers day. This organization truly touched my heart and I was so happy that I had this opportunity to work with them.

Needless to say that I (along with the 6 others who participated in service with me) had a very wonderful time. Though i had a beyond great experience with volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, I happened to also have a very memorable time with Get on the Bus. We volunteered with the organization for a half of day and every moment was appreciated by them. Get on the Bus is a nonprofit organization whose cause is to twice a year help those, whose parents are incarcerated, visit their parents, many of whom being their first time ever seeing their parents. The whole experience was just very touching and bittersweet. Being able to witness the contribution it takes for someone to work for a cause such as Get on the Bus made me realize that there is a lot of work that needs be done in this world, and i plan on helping.

My fellow Hopeworks trainees and I were able give a considerable amount of help to the organization “Get On The Bus.”  As soon as we stepped through the door  of this organization, we were greeted with warm welcomes and hospitality.  I found it to be quite easy to feel a connection with their organization and want to help in any way I could.  During our time at “Get On The Bus,” we were able to complete a substantial amount of data input, create a master calender, and take stock on their inventory.  Their organization has touched me deeply and I can only hope that Hopeworks can reach out to people in the same way.

Here in California, I am lost for words. Thursday the 6th my group and I had went to a housing site where we, along with other volunteers who weekly team up with Habitat for Humanity, had actually HELP build a house! I’m not sure exactly how many people can say that, even more the house that we were helping build was for a needy family who im sure will appreciate our service when they move in. At the site my job was to help apply the boarders along the bottom of all the walls as well in the top, this job (despite the heat) was very fun, also I learned a handful about minor construction. Towards the end of our time, I believed the thought of seeing the house when its completely finished was in all of our heads, however we all were satisfied with the work we had done and also grateful that we had the opportunity to help out. We leave on the 8th, and before then, I plan to do some more volunteering…it’s a great feeling.

We had a great time working with Habitat for Humane. We painted and did some cleaning up. The people were so nice and helpful. They took there time and showed us everything about the house. Also we went to the CBS stuidos. We took so many photos and saw so many cool things. This has been a great trip so far.=-)

So far, I have had a wonderful time here at LA.  On our first night, were able to sleep afor a grand total of 2 hrs before going to begin our service to Habitate for Humanity.  I don’t mind though because even though I was tired it felt good knowing that we were able to help someone who is less fortunate.  I spent my time (at Habitate for Humanity) helping others clean out the garage, put up sheetrock, and painting.  After paying our service we were then able to visit Manhattan Beach. 

It’s been really fun, especially today, since we were able to act like tourist.  Seeing the Hollywood Walk of   Fame, getting a tour of a cbs studio lot and visiting the Kodak theater, I feel like this is a part of my life I will be able to remember forver.  Being able to help people on this trip sweetens the deal.  I can’t wait until tomorrow where we our helping another non-profit organization by the name of Get On The Bus.

My experience working with Habitat for Humanity was great. It was a little difficult because we all were running on about 2 or less hours of sleep. We met a lot of other volunteers and we also met two people who were around the same age as us. The house we worked on was in Long Beach near Compton. The neighbor was pretty nice and the house itself was nice. We did things such as painting, adding borders to rooms, covering patches, cleaning out the garage and simple cleaning. It was extremely tiring and the only thing that kept me motivated was thinking about how happy the new family will be living in the renovated house. I would love to do this service again because the people are nice and the project in general was good because we’re helping other people out in a big way.

After our service we went to Manhattan Beach then grabbed something to eat. Today we had a tour at CBS studios and got to see behind the scenes of the show Entertainment tonight. This was a great experience, one that i will never forget!

Working with Habitat for Humanity was an awsome thing.   We helped build a home for a needy family.  I got to use power tools.  I got to work with John Shultz in making shelves for the closets.  I also helped Shawn organize the garage.  I also drilled wholes in floors in order to run electrical wiring.   The  other trainees were painting and putting borders on the walls.   The dirtiest part of the job was when Rueben and I  had to go under the house and put the wire through the walls.   We had a good time learning some new things.  For me, it was exciting becuase I had a chance to use some of my skills in contruction. 

The leaders on site were really cool! They taught us all some new things.  I hope we get a chance to see what the house looks like when it’s finished. Although we were dirty and tired from traveling, we felt good becuase we were helping someone who needed it. 

I hope I get this chance again.

I just arrived to LAX its 12:00am over here but my body and mind knows that its really 3am. By the time i get used to the West Coast time zone its going to be time to head back out to Camden again. The flight was good but extremely tiring. I cant wait to hit the sheets and get a good nights rest for tomorrow. I have to be ready to help build a house. Wish me luck!