What A Difference A Paint Job Makes

By: Brian Newell On Friday Jan 9 and Monday Jan 11 a very enthusiastic group of volunteers made the trip up the Pan-American Hwy to Casa Hogar in Penonome. Our goal was to give Casa Hogar a fresher and cleaner look.

To make it a better environment for the young girls who live there. Casa Hogar is a shelter for abused young teenagers. Some of them are no more than 13, 14, and 15 years old who find themselves in the role of a mother.

My first introduction to Casa Hogar was with Helen Pierson. Helen Pierson, along with many other ex-pats, has been supporting the home through the buying of food with donated money to supplement their meals, repairing things that need fixing, and collecting items that we tend to throw out and passing them along. Today I am asking you to think twice before you throw things away. The home is always looking for items, from kitchen cupboards to appliances. As the saying goes one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

From my first visit I could not believe in what terrible condition the walls were in. They had not been painted in years. For the purpose of this article I will just say they were not acceptable. We weren’t there long before we discovered what a monumental task we had ahead of us. There were 7 good size bedrooms, one of them with 15 to 20 ft ceilings as well as a large common room with the same high ceiling. Nothing was too insurmountable for this group. Finally after 2 days and 24 gals of paint later we headed home.

I just want to thank all who came out to lend a helping hand. I know that you went home a little tired but with a great deal of satisfaction. You left the girls with a place to be proud of. I want to make a special call out to Jhony Rivas who is a professional painter in our community who after hearing what my intentions were volunteered himself and two of his employees Deigo and Joseph to help for the two days. Finally I would also like to thank Pintacasa here in Coronado, for their support.

For more info on donating to Casa Hogar contact Brian at gotchieman@gmail.com