CORAZON 2013 INTERNATIONAL SERVICE PROJECT
Working with Corazon, Inc. for a 2nd year in a row, Mammoth Lakes Rotary Club (Noon) is planning to build a house in a day in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico on May 18, 2013, for a deserving family.
We need volunteers. Please contact Dan Watson, Project Coordinator at danielbwatson@aol.com if you're interested. Read on for more details.
From: Dan Watson, Project Coordinator,
We will once again be working through the Orange County non-profit organization, Corazon, Inc. They do humanitarian projects in Northern Baja and are most famous for coordinating the building of a house in a day. The recipients have donated hundreds of hours of community service to get on the list for a house. Charitable organizations like Rotary raise the funds for materials ($7,800) and provide 30 to 50 volunteers who work under the supervision of Corazon builders. We have already committed the funds which include a generous donation from Rusty Gregory, CEO of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
The house will be built on Saturday, May 18. We will travel to El Cajon, CA on Friday the 17th and meet early in the morning and caravan over the border to the build site in Cerro Azul, a small village about 10 miles south of the Tecate border crossing. We will meet the family that will receive the house and, after a safety briefing, begun construction. The family will provide lunch and the house will be finished by 5 pm. After a short but meaningful ceremony where the keys are turned over to the new homeowners, we will return to El Cajon. After showering, we'll meet for dinner and spend a second night in El Cajon. Sunday is travel home day.
I am compiling a list of volunteers. No prior experience is necessary! We will have sufficient skilled and semi-skilled workers. Those without construction experience can serve as painters.
If you would like to be a participant in this year's project, please send me an e-mail with your name, anyone else, such as a spouse, child, or grandchild (at least 12 years old), who wants to volunteer, and your email address. We will need people willing to drive from Mexico to the build site, so also let me know if you are willing to do so and the total number of passengers you can take with you.I know that schedules change so by signing up, you are not making a binding commitment. I'd rather have you on my list and then back out then have you miss the opportunity for a life changing experience.
This is a great opportunity to introduce friends and family to Rotary, and to the benefits of a hands-on international project. It's especially valuable to teen age children and young adults who will have an opportunity to see how much of the rest of the world lives, and gain an understanding that the people of Mexico have far more in common with us than they might believe.
I will be forwarding more information as we get closer, including lodging information, what to bring, and a safety update.
Please feel free to forward this to others who may be interested in learning more about this project. Encourage them to e-mail me with any questions at danielbwatson@aol.com.
I hope you can join us in May!