Behind the Badge
It was a day that relied on teamwork, dedication and most of all, a sense of community.
On Saturday, May 9, the second-annual “Love Fullerton” citywide service day proved to be a huge success. Upwards of 3,000 people gathered to give back to their community, choosing from more than 50 service projects that ranged from sprucing up local schools to donating blood and feeding the homeless.
Love Fullerton is a partnership of area churches, the City of Fullerton, the police department, local business and service organizations, education and local residents – all coming together to make Fullerton a better place.
“The Power of Love,” by Huey Lewis and the News, was blasting in the background as volunteers arrived around 8 a.m. The atmosphere was electric as volunteers began lining up to choose a service project and receive their official “Love Fullerton” T-shirt.
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes throws Nerf footballs into the crowd gathered for the second annual Love Fullerton on May 9.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police Department officers were on site to provide community education on law enforcement practices. Kids and their parents had the rare opportunity to pet the brave dogs of the FPD’s K-9 units, while a SWAT vehicle sat nearby, its doors open to give volunteers a hands-on experience in the state-of-the-art interior.
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes, a co-organizer of Love Fullerton with Jay Williams, a pastor at First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, commented as he was passing out T-shirts to volunteers: “This is beyond the police department — it’s where we can … display the generosity of this community of amazing individuals that live, work and play here.”
As the morning progressed, dedicated individuals evolved into groups as participants geared up to begin their service project.
Kristy, a volunteer who brought her young children to the event, showed her civic pride as she assisted other volunteers as they registered.
Sarah Gudmundsen, 8, of Fullerton, volunteers to help paint over graffiti on the walls along the railroad tracks during the second annual Love Fullerton community volunteer event.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“This is a great event because it’s fun for the whole family,” she said. “I have brought my kids the past two years. It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach young children the value of giving back to the community.”
Due to the drought and new water conservation laws, one of this year’s most popular service projects involved making the grounds of Fullerton City Hall drought tolerant. Volunteers picked up shovels and rakes, removing yards of thirsty turf and replacing it with low-maintenance, drought-resistant landscaping.
One of the volunteers breaking a sweat was Fullerton resident John Slope.
Surveying results of the day’s work, he said: “I benefit from building to make the community a better place. It’s amazing seeing all of these people go out of their routine and beyond their normal barriers to come together for a common purpose.
“Plus, in a setting like this, it’s fun getting your hands dirty.”
Whether volunteers spent the morning painting over graffiti on the Juanita Cooke Trail, or playing board games with residents of a senior center, the mood was one of giving back to others and making Fullerton a better place to live.
Emily Diaz, 4, helps her sisters clear leaves and trash from a courtyard at Golden Hill Elementary School.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Katie Villanueva of EvFree (First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton) paints over graffiti on walls along railroad tracks.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes sits with young volunteers for a group photo during the second annual Love Fullerton community volunteer event.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Volunteers at Golden Hill Elementary School in Fullerton gather for a group photo with Chief Hughes.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Tiffany Hopkinson of Fullerton donates blood at EvFree (First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton), as her 11-year-old son, Jarrett, looks on.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Morales Janeli, 18, of the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy, helps her fellow academy members paint a wall on Valencia Drive.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes asks people who caught a football thrown out into the crowd to come up and receive $100 for them to go out and use the money in any way they choose. Many of the 10 people who received the $100 chose to use the money to help those in need.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes welcomes the volunteers during the opening rally.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Students from the California National Guard’s Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy in Los Alamitos arrive for the opening ceremony and to volunteer their time to help out at the second annual Love Fullerton community volunteer event.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
A member of the California National Guard’s Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy leads members as they arrive for the opening ceremony.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Volunteers warm up to music as they gather at Fullerton’s downtown plaza for the opening rally of Love Fullerton.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes asks people who caught a football thrown out into the crowd to come up and receive $100 for them to go out and find someone in need of the money.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Volunteers gather at the opening rally.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Lance Merrill of Heroes Bar & Grill, right, helps grill sausages at Hillcrest Park in Fullerton as part of a free lunch for volunteers who participated in the second annual Love Fullerton community volunteer event.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Diondre Robinson from the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy helps dig up weeds and clear trash from a vacant lot on Valencia Drive.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
