A publication of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity
October 2009
photo by Lisa Carmichael
YOUNG VOLUNTEERS SERVE BUILDERS
On a recent Saturday, several children of the Glendale First United Methodist Church gathered in the church kitchen to prepare lunch for and then serve the workers at the SGV Habitat for Humanity home building site on Kenwood Street. The children spent several days discussing menus and planning their lunch. Despite the summer heat, they wanted to serve a hot lunch. They received a wonderful reception from the workers, who so appreciated their friendship, fruit salad, special lettuce salad, lasagna, garlic and cheese bread, and ice cream sandwiches. The workers found it a tasty and thoughtful switch from the usual chips and sandwiches. The children had a chance to meet the workers and to see firsthand what Habitat does. Pictures of the families who will soon purchase these homes were also available for the children to view. They were pleased to learn that two of the apartments are fitted with an elevator to
accommodate the special needs of the children who will live there. One of the highlights was meeting a soon-to-be bridegroom, David Chang, who had asked his entire bachelor party to come to the site to help build the homes. He and his fiancé, Elizabeth Chang, decided to have a “women, children and family” theme and have been finding ways to help others as part of their pre-marital journey. For women, Liz is donating her wedding dress to an organization which raises money for breast cancer research and services. For children, they led a team for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies to raise money and awareness of birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For family, David’s Bachelor Party was a Habitat for Humanity build to help build affordable homes for families. He was especially happy that his party was so well fed and that it was the children who had prepared and served the food. It all seemed too
good to be true! As a small side-note…in addition to serving lunch, the children decided they wanted to raise enough money to buy a window and a toilet…a goal of $300. They decided they could do this by auctioning off some “chore” time, having a bake sale, and “gleaning” the congregation for the “excess change” in their pockets one Sunday. To date, even before they complete all their fundraising, they have exceeded their goal and are excited about the prospect of more than doubling their donation to the program. Seeing the children so excited about helping others, hearing them figure out what they can do and how they can do it, and watching them serve with joy and love makes every day a blessing to those who work with them. Thank you Habitat for Humanity for helping our children learn the joy of giving!
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