Lending a Helping Hand

They spend their workweeks happily helping customers from behind counters, their office desks or out in the field.

So it’s no surprise that a bunch of Planning & Development Services (PDS) folks jumped at the chance to spend a little extra time on a recent hot Saturday morning to help a couple of special customers — two disabled veterans who are having custom homes built for them by the Homes for Our Troops program.

PDS Deputy Director Clay Westling, plans examiner Mario Aguinaga, permit processor Carol Gordon, land use technician Lea Gordon, engineering technician Dagmara Pine, administrative analyst Sue Spotts and Deputy Fire Marshal James Pine from the San Diego County Fire Authority were among nearly 200 volunteers from all around San Diego who gathered to landscape the homes in Rancho San Diego.

Together, they hauled and laid sod, dug holes, planted hundreds of trees and shrubs and groundcover, and even put in some irrigation.

“Honestly, it went very quick,” Westling said. “We did two houses in just a few hours.” 

The morning landscaping wasn’t the only part of the Homes for Our Troops project that went pretty quick.

Because the project is in the unincorporated County, the contractor handling the work needed to submit the project’s plans and permit requests to PDS. Westling said the department immediately recognized it as a worthy cause and worked hard to speed up the plan-check process, getting the work done in three days.

And, Westling said, when the contractor called to see if anyone from PDS wanted to take part in the volunteer day the group was only too happy to help.

One of the highlights was getting the chance to work side-by-side with the two veterans whom Westling said had “sacrificed so much for the rest of us.”

Marine Cpl. Travis Greene and Army Sgt. Odin Ayala both lost their legs to bombs, Greene in Iraq and Ayala in Afghanistan. But that didn’t stop either of them from joining in the work at the event, loading sod on their wheelchairs and carrying it out to volunteers.

Homes for Our Troops is a national nonprofit that has been building free, customized homes since it was created in 2004 to help veterans who have been severely disabled in combat actions since 2001. The homes include features for people in wheelchairs, such as ramps, raised electrical outlets and lowered counters and sinks.

Westling said the mass volunteer landscaping event, which drew media coverage, was hard work, but also very gratifying.

“We really enjoyed doing it,” he said. “It was really good team-building and the staff loved it. Sue (Spotts) even brought her daughters, Kyrstin and Kaitlyn. It was fun!”

Editor's Note:
Here's a link to the story the UT San Diego wrote about the volunteer day.  And here's a link to see more pictures from the event!