thedrifter
02-01-07, 01:40 PM
Marines hammer for Habitat near San Diego
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 1, 2007 13:22:11 EST
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Forget Kevlar helmets, flak jackets and M-16 rifles. A group of Marines in San Diego is slinging hammers today.
Devil dogs from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot are joining local volunteers in a Habitat for Humanity project to build seven townhouses for low-income families in Escondido, Calif., a working-class city north of San Diego.
“This is only one small example of how Marines pride themselves in contributing to the community in which we live,” Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas, the depot commander, said in a statement. “As we are accustomed to spending a large amount of time separated from our families and our homes, it is especially meaningful for us to be able to help someone else have a place to call home.”
The Marines will help frame the new construction for the nonprofit charitable organization, which builds or fixes homes and sells them to needy families for low-cost mortgages. Marines will continue to help with the project each month until it’s completed later this year, depot officials said.
For many, the volunteer project is a change from their usual workday and a chance to get building experience.
“I’m hoping to get a good experience out of it,” said Sgt. Juan Magdaleno, 25, a postal clerk. The project is his first volunteer effort since coming to San Diego from Camp Lejeune, N.C.
When Cpl. Joshua Deutinger learned of the project, he signed up. “I thought it was a pretty neat program,” said Deutinger, 22, a military police canine handler from Fresno, Calif. “It gets me out of the office for a day, and I go build some stuff. I like working with my hands, and I get to help out some unfortunate people.”
“I’m not Mr. Handyman myself,” he added, although he said he helped his father with projects around the house when he was growing up.
Cpl. Alfredo Hernandez, 22, was excited about helping out. The San Diego native used money he saved from a yearlong tour on Okinawa nearly two years ago to buy two small houses, which he spruced up and now rents out.
“It’s a great thing. I think it should be done more often, actually,” said Hernandez, an administrative clerk with the recruit depot’s Headquarters Company. “It’s one of the real good working parties. It’s a good cause.”
Ellie
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 1, 2007 13:22:11 EST
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Forget Kevlar helmets, flak jackets and M-16 rifles. A group of Marines in San Diego is slinging hammers today.
Devil dogs from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot are joining local volunteers in a Habitat for Humanity project to build seven townhouses for low-income families in Escondido, Calif., a working-class city north of San Diego.
“This is only one small example of how Marines pride themselves in contributing to the community in which we live,” Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas, the depot commander, said in a statement. “As we are accustomed to spending a large amount of time separated from our families and our homes, it is especially meaningful for us to be able to help someone else have a place to call home.”
The Marines will help frame the new construction for the nonprofit charitable organization, which builds or fixes homes and sells them to needy families for low-cost mortgages. Marines will continue to help with the project each month until it’s completed later this year, depot officials said.
For many, the volunteer project is a change from their usual workday and a chance to get building experience.
“I’m hoping to get a good experience out of it,” said Sgt. Juan Magdaleno, 25, a postal clerk. The project is his first volunteer effort since coming to San Diego from Camp Lejeune, N.C.
When Cpl. Joshua Deutinger learned of the project, he signed up. “I thought it was a pretty neat program,” said Deutinger, 22, a military police canine handler from Fresno, Calif. “It gets me out of the office for a day, and I go build some stuff. I like working with my hands, and I get to help out some unfortunate people.”
“I’m not Mr. Handyman myself,” he added, although he said he helped his father with projects around the house when he was growing up.
Cpl. Alfredo Hernandez, 22, was excited about helping out. The San Diego native used money he saved from a yearlong tour on Okinawa nearly two years ago to buy two small houses, which he spruced up and now rents out.
“It’s a great thing. I think it should be done more often, actually,” said Hernandez, an administrative clerk with the recruit depot’s Headquarters Company. “It’s one of the real good working parties. It’s a good cause.”
Ellie