As the Oakdale Skate Park filled with hundreds of volunteers on Saturday morning, April 25, the air was charged with positive energy and good vibes for the day ahead. With over 50 projects set to be completed as part of Love Oakdale, more than 700 volunteers signed up to work on various efforts from beautifying schools to building care packages to providing landscaping and cleanup services for residents throughout the community.
Meanwhile, just a few miles to the west, work groups signed up for Love Riverbank also enjoyed a kickoff rally before fanning out across the community to complete their assigned tasks.
In Oakdale, there were also some large-scale projects that were launched this past weekend including the extreme home makeover for the Aguayo family. Contractors and volunteers will work throughout the next few weeks on the Aguayo home renovation as part of the Love Oakdale project.
For some volunteers in Oakdale, such as Darnelle Talamantes and her team, who worked on a yard clean up project for a local resident, the chance to help others drew her and her team to the project.
“She had some health issues and has a large yard and has been unable to care for it so we jumped at the chance to help her. We have quite a team here with volunteers from Cub Scout Pack 365 and a number of other people so we’ve already been able to get a lot done,” said Talamantes, as she noted how they had cleared the fence line and were working on both the front and back yards.
From yard clean ups to school beautifications, many schools in Oakdale received some TLC on Saturday. Fair Oaks Elementary School saw a team tidy up the school entrance while another group painted safety lines and poles throughout the school. At Magnolia Elementary School, Principal Leah Minaudo worked alongside volunteers to make the courtyard and playgrounds clean and pristine for their students.
Riverbank City Leader for Love Riverbank, Sammi Martinez, echoed the sentiment of seeing people turn out to help their friends and neighbors.
“This year was a huge success. We broke last year’s volunteer record of 300 volunteers, with a new record of 408,” Martinez explained. “We also had close to 30 projects and were able to make 200 care kits for unhoused veterans and Sierra House. We had over 100 books donated to help Oakdale Riverbank Book Exchange fill our Little Free Libraries and over 100 pounds of food donated to Riverbank Christian Food Sharing.”
Elsewhere, there were tree plantings, alley clean up, a health fair set up at the Riverbank Community Center, bright red curb painting at the Riverbank fire station, and young artists descended on the Riverbank High campus to beautify the sidewalk in front of the school, in a project called ‘Chalk the Walk’, offering colorful pictures and encouraging messages. Riverbank Police Services Community Resources Deputy Tovar, working with the Riverbank Youth Council, helped put that project together.
Also in Riverbank, volunteer Chloe Vargas was with her husband Cameron and children Payton, 11, and Jaxxon, 4, working on the curb painting at the fire station.
“We just wanted to be able to give back to the community and we saw this project; my son’s obsessed with first responders so we thought it would be really cool,” mom Chloe explained.
“It feels good,” daughter Payton added of volunteering for the work day.
For the Mid-Cal Blue Star Moms CA39, building care packages for those serving in the Armed Forces is something that is close to home and they took on that project for Love Oakdale. These proud moms have children that have served or are currently serving in the military and they know how tough it can be on servicemen and servicewomen being stationed far away from home, missing family and friends. So, the Mid-Cal Blue Star Moms along with their team put together multiple care packages filled with donations from the community which included items such as sunflower seeds and protein bars, various hygiene items and other small items including books and cards to remind them that their service is appreciated.
In both cities, the volunteer effort filled up the morning, with the workers having the chance to meet afterward for a meal and some camaraderie. Love Oakdale had its wrap up at Dying Breed Brewing while Love Riverbank crews gathered at the Riverbank Community Center.
Officials with both ‘Love’ efforts reported lots of work being done on behalf of those in need as residents came together to share a day of friendship, dedication and service to their community.
