Fontana students join United Way volunteers

January 19, 2009

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer

FONTANA - Chris Gonzalez went to school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but he didn't study.

Instead, he served.

The 17-year-old senior at Summit High School led a peer leadership group to Sierra Lakes Elementary School, where they helped about 40 other volunteers tidy up the grounds as part of HandsOn Inland Empire's Day of Service in honor of the civil-rights activist.

"It sounded pretty exciting," Chris said. "We get to do something for the community."

An initiative of Inland Empire United Way, HandsOn organized about 500 volunteers for a handful of service projects in the region, such as a neighborhood revitalization in Pomona and a cleanup at a thrift store in Victorville.

At Sierra Lakes, Chris' group picked up trash on the playground while some spruced up the school's rock garden. Others cleaned the perimeter.

Principal Andrea Credille swept the rock garden as a cluster of kids - some of whom were former students - assembled bird feeders.

"It's a good turnout, especially for the holiday," Credille said. "I thought it was good for the kids" to learn volunteerism.

In 1994, President Clinton signed the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act, to transform the holiday into a day of community service.

Other projects in the area included:

Painting a mural in the cafeteria of the Pomona Valley Workshop, which helps disabled adults with employment and socialization skills.

Landscaping at Mercy House in Ontario, an outreach to the homeless.

Painting houses for two seniors in San Dimas through Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Putting computers together at a safe haven in Lincoln Avenue Reform Church in Pomona.

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