By Theresa Zwan
Crescent City Resident
I had the great fortune to have the Sierra Service Project build me a new deck this summer, and I so appreciate it! My old deck was trashed, and they built me a new 5’ by 8’ deck, and followed all building codes.
My old deck was trashed, and they built me a new 5’ by 8’ deck, and followed all building codes.
There were three different teams that participated in the process over a three week period. There were always trained leaders on-site to show the youth new skills and to supervise the building. The teams tore down and removed the old deck, poured and set new foundations, and built the new deck. They stained all of the boards and cleaned up after their work.
I was so impressed with the positive attitudes of the youth! They were extremely considerate of my privacy and my home, only using the facilities as needed. I offered them the use of my covered front porch for their lunch time, as the backyard where they were working gets pretty warm and we had a very warm summer. So they sat there, had their PB&J sandwiches on wheat bread, cleaned up after themselves, and had a little devotional time.
I was so impressed with the positive attitudes of the youth!
I was also able to introduce the program to my friend, and they were able to build her a new gate and fix some of her fencing. This is a fantastic program, and I am so pleased to have been a recipient of their services. My back deck is now adorned with two chairs and a little table, and ready for guests! The raccoons also love it, and that is just a part of living near the woods. Oh, well! Share and share alike!
Editor’s Note: Theresa is a United States Army Veteran and was one of the first female patrol police officers in the US in 1978. This was first published in our 2015 Annual Newsletter in December, 2015. We believe in the power of SSP to continue to change lives, and we hope you do, too. Please consider a tax-deductible donation today.