The seventh annual Menifee Better Together was one for the books. With the most volunteers to date, 50 houses included in the Home Revitalization Project and several surrounding communities there to support. Our beloved Menifee looks better than ever. Alongside many other sponsors, Habitat for Humanity is a huge contributor to the success of this event.

 “This is an amazing collaboration of many different groups coming together,” said Eric Bunge, Community Outreach Director for Habitat for Humanity.  

 Not only were residents and businesses there to help, we saw several councilmen and women and our awesome Mayor, Bill Zimmerman. Better Together included six community projects all in the attempt to revamp some areas in the city that needed some TLC.

Volunteers were divided equally to conquer the heavy agenda. Habitat for Humanity Senior Home Revitalization was the first project. Fifty homes were selected throughout Sun City to help senior citizens who can not keep up with the maintenance of their yards. Volunteers cut shrubs down, pulled weeds, trimmed, raked and even helped haul all the trimmings.

 One volunteer, Fernando said, “It’s rewarding for the people we get to help out. They made a call and I came.” He came from Perris to help out.

 The second project was the flower potting for seniors. Kids, adults and city officials all got their hands dirty. Participants could choose any flower of choice to make a unique pot that would then go to each of the 50 homes that were selected in the revitalization.

 Community Garden Revitalization was the next project. This garden is located at the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center in Menifee. The walls that line the garden were all painted with various pieces of artwork from the community and the plant beds were manicured.

 Habitat for Humanity Playhouse Build was the fourth project of Menifee Better Together. Playhouses were both built and painted by participants. They were painted Menifee Blue and Orange #MenifeeProud. The playhouses will be either auctioned off for funds that the non-profit can benefit from for future resources or given to deserving members of the community.

 The Menifee Community Cupboard Beautification followed. The Cupboard and the Thrift Store have been such an integral part of the community for several years. Out of all seven years, this was the first year this stop has been added. For those who are unaware, the Thrift Store profit goes straight to the Cupboards benefit to provide food, water and other nourishing resources for low income residents. During the beautification, volunteers helped organize, throw away and haul some of the unwanted items the store receives. The Cupboard was extremely thankful because often times they do not get around to doing these chores and a lot of space has been used by items they do not even need due to the high volume of donations they receive.

 The last project of the day was the Quail Valley Clean-Up. In partnership with Waste Management, the community managed to haul away bins of waste including tree trimmings, e-waste and unwanted appliances. Clara Vera, Regional Manager of Public Sector Solutions of Waste Management, told us how thankful they were to be involved with such a significant and sustainable opportunity for the community. This opportunity allowed residents to save money by avoiding costs at the dumps and the cost of travel just to get there.

This event was very rewarding to serve. If Menifee and other communities were always TOGETHER, we would all be BETTER.