Are you willing to contribute a few hours of your time to make a positive difference in your community?   Volunteers are being sought to join with the Modesto Junior College Civic Engagement Project, MJC Academic Senate, Associated Students of Modesto Junior College and MJC Workforce Training Center, as they team up with Habitat for Humanity of Stanislaus County to complete the revitalization of a neighborhood in west Modesto.  

            The revitalization will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 10-11, 2008.  Additional volunteers are needed, and MJC students, faculty and staff, and community members interested in helping are urged to sign up, regardless of their carpentry skills.  A complimentary lunch and drinks will be provided for volunteers. 

            The full scope of the project is the renovation of ten low-income homes located off Paradise Road and Martin Luther King Drive.  However, five homes have already been completed.  Habitat hopes to revitalize the remaining five houses during these work days with a team of volunteers from the college and community. 

             "The work is enjoyable, you'll get some exercise, and at the end of the day you will experience the great satisfaction that comes from helping others," said Bill Anelli, MJC professor of philosophy and coordinator of the college's Civic Engagement Project.  "You can volunteer for an entire day or for a morning or afternoon only."            

            Volunteers are asked to dress in construction work attire, and wear tennis shoes or work boots. Volunteers are not required to bring tools, but are encouraged to bring a tool belt, gloves and goggles if they own them.  The volunteer check-in point is located behind the Save Mart Supermarket - off of Martin Luther King Drive and Briggs Avenue in west Modesto. 

           The revitalization is funded as a Pathways to Hope Revitalization Project under Grant Number HSIAC-06-CA-39 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of University Partnerships.  

            To volunteer online visit http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/staffdev/Forms/habitat_signup.htm and click on the "Sign me up!" link.  You may also sign up by calling the MJC volunteer coordinator Adriana Contreras, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at 575-6908, or Marla Uliana, HUD project director, at 575-6985. For more information call Habitat for Humanity at 575-4585 ext. 101.