Hands On Inland Empire

April 2007

Celebrate Earth Day

300 volunteers needed to
paint, plant and create murals at
South Tamarind Elementary in Fontana

Saturday, April 21
8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

You may have heard about our amazing playground build in Redlands on Cesar Chavez Day (see picture at right and story below). Well, now it's time to spread the love to Fontana! 300 volunteers are needed to paint and plant an incredible and enriching learning environment for the kids at South Tamarind Elementary School.

This aged learning space was built in the early 1950’s. South Tamarind Elementary is one of Fontana’s older schools and was last painted 10 years ago. The current brown paint is distressed and uninspiring. To enhance the schools exterior appearance and to inspire students, volunteers will be adding color throughout the school by painting eight new murals, extending a primary color theme throughout the school and adding a star-themed border along the buildings.

Originally built for 400 students, the school currently has over 900 students enrolled, making space limited. In an effort to create a new and innovative learning space, volunteers will help build an outdoor classroom that will feature native plants, flowers and vegetables. This space will not only give students the opportunity to learn about the environment outside of the classroom, but will also allow teachers to expand on science curriculum.

Other projects at the school will include:

Building planter boxes for classrooms to adopt so that they can learn about harvesting and planting
Building benches
Painting exteriors of portable classrooms
Adding a walkway to the front of the school
Brightening the interiors of classrooms
Planting trees, shrubs and flowers
Overall pruning and weeding.

There is something for everyone at this amazing Earth Day event. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. So come out and spend Earth Day transforming this school into a colorful learning environment to inspire and encourage students!

Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. There will be activities for children from 5-13 so parents can bring their kids along with them. (Please, no children under the age of 5).

You can sign up as an individual or create a family or civic team. Please pre-register by clicking here.

If you do not have internet access, or need help registering on the website, call Larry Deckel at (909) 980-2857 x208.

Cesar Chavez Day Project Attracts 508 volunteers!

If you weren't there, you really missed it! A veritable army of volunteers gathered for our Cesar E. Chavez Day service project at Franklin Elementary School in Redlands and transformed the campus in one short day.

Thanks to everyone who supported the event and created a wonderful new play space for the kids at Franklin!

Want to know what it's like to transform a school in one day? Join us for Earth Day (see above).

SAVE THE DATE -- JUNE 9TH

Be a part of the Inland Empire’s largest day of community, civic and corporate volunteerism – Hands On Inland Empire Day! On June 9th, hundreds of volunteers will gather at multiple project sites in Redlands, Yucaipa, Ontario, Victorville and Pomona to enrich our schools and raise money for Inland Empire United Way's Hands On Inland Empire.

It's a Servathon!
You've heard of Walkathons right? People getting together to raise money to support a good cause by taking a walk of support? IEUW's Hands On Inland Empire is raising funds to support our schools and our volunteer programming year round. To do this, we are asking each volunteer who participates during Hands On Inland Empire Day to ask your family, friends or co-workers to support your service by pledging dollars!

Each volunteer is asked to raise or donate a minimum of $25 to support the work you're doing on June 9th. This money will help purchase the paint, tools, plants, books, food, T-shirts and more to make our day a success. Sign up for a project, raise your pledges and bring them with you to the project site on the morning of June 9th.

Even better -- if you're part of a corporate group, you can show a high-level of support by becoming a sponsor for the day. Click here to download our brochure about Sponsorship Opportunities. For further sponsor information contact Jan Stephens or phone (909) 980-2857 x223.

Project sign-ups begin April 15th! Watch www.HandsOnInlandEmpire.org for the announcement that sign-ups are now live.

HOT Project of the Month!

Springtacular to benefit IEUW's Hands On Inland Empire Initiative
Saturday, April 28
Welcome the Spring season by lending a hand to Inland Empire United Way at this fun-filled event.

Springtacular is a fun-filled family event taking place at the Tri-City Shopping Center in Redlands. The event features delicious food, live music and carnival rides for the whole family.

Volunteers are needed to assist the United Way booth with selling tickets to rides. Proceeds from the sales will benefit Inland Empire United Way and its Hands On Inland Empire initiative. Your help will enable us to create more volunteer projects that benefit your community.

Sign up for one of three shifts. First shift will include set-up, final shift will include tear-down.

HOT Volunteer Referrals for April!

Redlands Clean-Up Day!
Saturday, April 14, 7 a.m. - noon
Join the City of Redlands for a community-wide cleanup day followed by a BBQ in the park! Click here to join in on this teen-friendly project!

Kids Fitness Challenge
Saturday, April 28, 5:30 a.m. - noon
Volunteers are needed to staff this celebrity-packed Kids event at the California Speedway in Fontana. Help create a great day for thousands of kids!
Click here to get involved!

Do you know about 2-1-1?

2-1-1 is a toll-free phone number that connects you (and everyone else in San Bernardino County) to information and referrals for services in your local community. Hundreds of health and human services are available in your community, and you have access to them by simply dialing 2-1-1 (or 888-435-7565). A live, bilingual call specialist is available 24 hours a day, and the best part is, 2-1-1 is free and confidential! 2-1-1 is an initiative of Inland Empire United Way, find out more about 2-1-1 San Bernardino County at www.211sb.com.