Spirit of volunteerism alive at Menifee Better Together

Sun City resident Martha Westcott is surrounded by volunteers who cleaned up her yard Saturday at Menifee Better Together. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Martha Westcott stood in a yard that had been neatly manicured -- more than a dozen trash bags full of yard clippings from both the front and back yard of her Sun City home sitting in front of her.

Standing all around her were 16 young people she will not soon forget.

"You wouldn't believe all they did in that amount of time," Westcott said, referring to the yard clean-up a group of volunteers had just completed. "It's amazing what a bunch of like-minded people can accomplish. We could have peace all over the world."

There were smiles all around, several hugs and a few tears shed at what was only one of 36 volunteer sites during Saturday's fifth annual Menifee Better Together Event. More than 600 volunteers from local churches, youth groups and other organizations spent their morning clearing weeds, trimming trees and bushes, and performing whatever clean-up assignment was given them.

Work was done at 34 homes of seniors in the Sun City community. Residents who are unable to care for the yards themselves registered and received help through the event, which was coordinated by the City of Menifee, Habitat for Humanity and local churches, with sponsorship and manpower support from local businesses.

Other crews worked at Kabian Park in Quail Valley, where members of the Paloma Valley High School NJROTC led an effort that included the recycling of items and disposing of trash brought to the site by area residents.

"It's an amazing collaboration of people who come together from all walks of life -- all ages, all different backgrounds -- for one common good," said Tammy Marine, executive director for Habit for Humanity Inland Valley. "I couldn't be prouder to be a part of it."

Menifee City Council member Lesa Sobek is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose members began the volunteer effort as a service project five years ago. Later, as chair of the Menifee Interfaith Council, she was instrumental in a partnership between the Interfaith Council, the City of Menifee and Habitat for Humanity to make Menifee Better together a city-wide event.

"I saw such a need in our senior community," said Sobek (second from left below). "We have such wonderful participation from volunteers, service organizations, non-profits .. but even with all the volunteers, it still takes money to put this on. We've had so many wonderful sponsors step up."

Donations came from several sources. A group of juniors at Santa Rosa Academy raised $1,400 for the event through car washes and garage sales.

After volunteers finished the work, they returned to the base at Sun City Civic Association for a barbecue lunch served by employees of Evans-Brown Mortuary and other volunteers. Members of the Lake Menifee Women's Club served cookies.

Jose Luna is a member of the Perris Ward of the LDS Church. He volunteered for the first time through justserve.org, a website designed to facilitate such volunteer service projects. When asked about his motivation to perform such service, he quoted scripture.

"I feel blessed because like the scriptures say, 'When you're in the service of your fellow beings, you're in the service of your God,' " Luna said. "I had a prompting to come, so here I am. My very first time. I'll be back. It feels great."

Luna was assigned to a team including the Ruffy family, who are members of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Menifee. They enjoyed lunch together with so many others who shared in the common cause.

Back at her Sun City home, Martha Westcott couldn't stop thanking the volunteers who cleaned up the yard of the residence she has lived in since 1991. That group included volunteers from Paloma Valley High School, Safe Alternatives for Everyone, Habitat for Humanity and the LDS church.

Westcott, who turns 90 next month, was asked how it felt to know she could look out her windows to a well-groomed yard.

"That part is wonderful, but knowing people have this wonderful feeling in them is more important than the clean-up," she said. "The love and caring of people. I'm very grateful to them for it."

Volunteers await their instructions before the Menifee Better Together event on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Lesa Sobek

Sponsors of Menifee Better Together included:

Waste Management
Southern California Gas Co.
Valley Health System
Archibalds
Capitol Leverage
Strata Equity Group
LCL Realty
Evans-Brown Mortuary
Miller-Jones Mortuary
Auto Air Pro
Sun City Civic Association
Shultz Tree Service
Accurate Leak Locators
Coldwell Banker
Newport Cleaners
Upper Crust Pizza
Lake Menifee Women's Club
Menifee Crime Watch
Quail Valley Community Group