Hands On Inland Empire

November 2006

Tis the Season to Volunteer!

Hands On Inland Empire lists volunteer opportunities all year long -- but the holidays bring out the best in everyone. In addition to our regular projects, we have a number of Holiday Volunteer Opportunities, and a number of Holiday Donation Drives to help the less fortunate in our community. Make a pledge to lend a hand during the upcoming holidays! Then, make a New Years resolution to volunteer all year long!

Last Minute Holiday Alert: We are particularly looking for volunteers who can help with the Thanksgiving Banquet at LeRoy Haynes Center on Tuesday, November 21.

Hands On Inland Empire Volunteers
To Help Build a New Regional Park

Starting on January 12th, HOIE volunteers will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assist in the building of a major regional educational park! Working in conjunction with the Inland Empire Utility Agency, volunteers will help with the creation and planting of the Chino Creek Wetlands and Education Park. Don't miss the chance to be part of this great community-building event. Click here to find out more and sign up.

Six-year Olds Turn Brainstorm into Books

Six-year old Sammie Sandoval was having a slumber party last week, and when she and her two friends Megan Radford and Ava Doyle woke up, they had an inspiring idea. They wanted to "help the sad people." They pulled out their crayons and began drawing what they called "pictures for the poor" with an idea of raising money to help others.

Sammie's mother, Nita Sandoval, touched and surprised by their enterprise went on the internet and found the Hands On Inland Empire Book Drive. She showed it to the girls and asked them if they wanted to turn their art into something that would help other kids.

Nita took the girls to a local park in Rancho Cucamonga where the trio of social entrepreneurs explained their goal to local residents who purchased their art works. The girls then took the proceeds and purchased 23 books (including a few lightly read books from their own collection) to donate to kids who did not have their own books to read.

Thanks to Sammie, Megan and Ava for their donation and for having the drive and imagination to inspire us all!

Local Teen Takes Action for Hurricane Relief

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is still being felt in the Gulf Coast. The headlines may have stopped, but the rebuilding continues. Katy Looft, an 18-year old senior at Poly High in Riverside, found out about the continuing volunteer opportunities in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast through Hands On Inland Empire. Quite courageously, she decided to take action and volunteered in September to spend a week, on her own, helping others. We asked her about her experience:

“My experience with Hands On Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Mississippi was incredible. Even more amazing than the people I met was the feeling of doing good and helping those who had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. I helped paint the interior of a house that Hands On had built for an elderly couple who had been living in a FEMA trailer. While we worked, they walked through with starry-eyed expressions and repeatedly thanked us for giving them back their home. My last day there, they gave us volunteers popsicles to cool down from the hot Mississippi sun.

The first volunteer project I signed up for was tutoring. In the morning we went to an elementary school where teachers assigned us each a child who had been struggling with standardized tests. I helped them with their reading. After lunch, we continued our work at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club. We assisted with homework and played soccer with the children.

The camaraderie between volunteers was astounding. I felt a little intimidated when I arrived, but by evening I was included in their friendship. We worked hard during the day but found lots of ways to entertain ourselves in the evening: a ‘No Talent Talent Show’ and movies outside under a huge tarp.

I was a little nervous about being the youngest volunteer at Hands On Gulf Coast, but it was fine. Aside from the teasing I received when I pulled out my Pre-calculus homework, the other volunteers were very impressed with my courage and spunk for volunteering alone in a state all the way across the country. Having people as inspiring as my fellow volunteers compliment me made me the proudest I’ve ever felt in my life.”

Whether as a group, or as an individual, Hands On has volunteer opportunities, housing and food for those who want to help in the Gulf Coast. Click here for more details. Thanks to Katy Looft for making us proud by stepping up as a volunteer!

Courses and Trainings

BoardLinks: Consider joining a nonprofit board of directors – all need committed members and officers just like you to provide oversight to their organizations.

Our BoardLinks program is a unique service that recruits, trains and places highly qualified and committed individuals who wish to serve on a nonprofit board of directors or in key committee positions.

A regularly scheduled training, “Roles and Responsibilities of a Board Member” gives participants an overview of expectations and general policies serving on a board of directors and is required before being “matched” with a nonprofit organization. Cost of training is $100 per person. Click here for more information and to sign up for our December 1st training.

Project Leader Trainings: Are you looking for a new challenge? Are you able to inspire people to do their very best? Are you interested in assuming a more active role in your community? If so, become a Hands On Inland Empire (HOIE) Project Leader (PL)! Next training is December 5 in Redlands. After the holidays, we'll continue in Rancho Cucamonga on January 18. Click here for more info.