The 11th Annual Inner-Coastal Watershed Cleanup Day is fast approaching. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks now. It’s finally here and I’m so excited. This Saturday morning Branndon and I will be side-by-side cleaning up Santiago Creek.

Branndon and Brianne Coelho resting between ATV riders at the 2007 CAL Pal Days in Huntington Beach, California. The California Police Activities League, Off-Road Pals, and CORVA get together every year for the Annual CAL Pal Days in Huntington Beach, California. PAL youth are given the opportunity to experience new things and to travel to various locations throughout the state. This year included ATV course rides, rock climbing, swimming, and much more.

I’ve always wanted to volunteer, but never got off the couch to do anything. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who dragged my feet when it comes to volunteer work. I finally went out and did something. I volunteered us for the Huntington Beach CAL-Pal Days, and ever since I’ve been hooked. For three days, Branndon and I worked alongside the California Police Activities League, Off-Road Pals, and CORVA. Not only did we have a great time setting up ATV courses with hay bales, but the kids had a blast. Most of these kids had never been to the beach, let alone seen the ocean before. It blew my mind. When you have the ability to make a difference in a child’s life, it really is a positive and rewarding experience. They were all so polite and very enthusiastic.

  ATV rider enjoying one of the ATV tracks. Many of the youth attending this years event had never been to the beach, ever saw an ocean and this was their first time on an ATV. Branndon and Brianne Coelho were excited to be apart of this wonderful event.
Branndon and I helped out with the preparation the day before and the clean up the day after, so we did a lot of physical labor loading and unloading hay bales. We were the only volunteers on those days, the newbies. All the seasoned volunteers showed up to help out with the actual event. I’m sure you can imagine there wasn’t as much physical labor on that day. And it was wonderful because personally I love to get involved and get my hands dirty. I’ll definitely be there next year and can’t wait to get in the mud this weekend at Santiago Creek.