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October 26, 2009

Christmas in Action

Young volunteers give back to the community

By Janet Jacobs

Daily Sun



At the home of Vernell Hatten, the yard buzzed like a bee hive Saturday, with rock music blaring from a pickup truck, a three-story scaffold against the front of the house, ladders along each side, and laughter, lots of laughter, coming from the 50 or so teenagers working on the project.

It was the main workday for Christmas in Action in Navarro County, finishing up the designated 18 chosen projects, and doing a little extra on the side.

For the Hatten houses, it was a big project for some dedicated volunteers.

The students came from the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) at Corsicana High School, according to Belinda Mendoza, sponsor.

“Don’t we have wonderful kids?” she asked, looking with pride at the bubbling scene.

The project of scraping and painting the tall older house would have been too much for any single group, but the three groups coordinated for Saturday’s event. Getting the students out into the community lets them earn service hours, and lets people outside the school know what promising young people are doing.

“It’s important for the community to know what the good kids are doing,” Mendoza said.

Saturday was a big day for young people throughout the community to show their skills and dedication to helping. Students from Navarro College worked in Barry and Corsicana, while Navy recruits worked on a house on Bowie Drive and 13th Avenue.

The U.S. Navy encourages community service at least once a quarter, even for young adults who haven’t started basic training yet, said Michael Mierzwik with the Navy.

“As the Navy, we do this around the world,” he said.

The Christmas in Action program primarily helps the elderly with home-improvement projects, and bringing the young people together on these projects helps everyone, Mierzwik said. “It shows people there’s hope.”

Hope Beck, a homeowner in Barry, whose house was getting some carpentry and a paint job Saturday, having young people from the U.S. Army there on Oct. 17, and students from the United Christian Fellowship working this past Saturday, was an amazing gift.

“You start to think that nobody cares about anybody else and then you meet these people,” Beck said. “And you start to think ‘Hey, there are good people who care about each other.’”

This year, the Navarro County Christmas in Action made repairs to 18 homes around the county. The work was mostly done by volunteers, but donated funds allowed the group to hire some professionals for complex jobs such as plumbing and electrical, and to purchase materials.

—————

Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com

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