Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Tony Sanchez remembers those carefree days when he was 18.
That’s why he was grateful for the support of 20 Grand Canyon University students who helped paint his west Phoenix home.
“There’s not a lot of 18- to 21-year-olds who would volunteer some of their time the day after Halloween,” Sanchez said. “It’s very impressive, and I’m thankful for them to be here and help us out.”
This group was part of about 180 GCU students who participated in Lopes Go Local, a biannual home improvement event with community partner Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona.
Saturday’s event included the painting and landscaping of nine homes in the extended shadow of the GCU campus.
“The Bible tells us to be good neighbors,” said Ellie Brown, a junior marketing and advertising major from Kansas City, Kansas, before painting the home of Sanchez, whose wife Cecilia works remotely in the tech support department at GCU.
“And so I think it’s awesome we get to apply that in our college lives and get out in the community and make a difference.”
This marked the second time that Brown painted a home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, as she recalled helping transform a red house into white with yellow trim and occasionally travels past it to reminisce.
“I really like painting, and it’s fun because we get to do it with our Local Outreach teams,” Brown said. “It’s fun for that team bonding.”
The partnership between GCU and Habitat started in 2014, and the university embarked on its first series of renovation projects in the neighborhood the following year as it continues to fulfill one pillar of its Five-Point Plan by serving as a good neighbor while attempting to return the neighborhood to its middle-class roots.
“We thrive on great partnerships, and GCU is one of the best ones for us,” Habitat Central Arizona President/CEO Todd Rogers said as students embarked on scraping and masking the Sanchez’s’ home. “The fact we’ve been able to make an impact in communities and around campus is incredible. We love doing this, and the amount of students (helping) over the years is in the thousands, and there have been 39,000 volunteer hours contributed, so think about the impact that makes in the lives of families here.
“Just to have that consistency of 12 years and thousands of students and thousands of thousands of hours just makes a huge impact for families who are deserving and hard-working but don’t have the resources to do the things that a few good strong backs and a little bit of commitment can.”
GCU and Habitat have combined to renovate about 600 homes and complete 1,525 repairs. That has helped the median home value increase by 876% in the 85017 ZIP code since 2011.
That also leads to more jobs in a safer neighborhood while assisting students with scholarships.
GCU President Brian Mueller recalls when there were 500,000 people when he arrived in the Valley. He said that number has increased to 6 million people.
“This (Maryvale) was the first master plan community in Arizona,” Mueller said as a Habitat member prepared a bucket of paint and brush for him. “Very few people have expertise on how to rebuild communities, how to take something that was once prosperous and make it prosperous again. For our students to experience that and know that it’s possible, I think is one of the great things that comes out of this.”
Harper Espey, a Christian studies senior, said she was not going to pursue a landscaping career before helping perform yard work at a local house.
But “we get to link arms and get younger people going,” Espey said. “Lopes Go Local hits close to home. A passion about serving the local community.”
A thin layer of dust hovered over the front of a corner house a half mile south of the campus as students that included members of the GCU Dental Club assisted Habitat members in spreading rocks.
“They told us we got 31 tons of gravel,” said Bella Tanck, an elementary education major from Visalia, California, who painted homes two years ago. “Big work ahead of us, but we’re getting through it.
“I love it. It’s such an amazing experience.”
Noah Dunnigan, a senior cybersecurity major from Aurora, Colorado, was one of the first students to arrive in front of the Student Union shortly before sunrise.
This marked the fourth time Dunnigan has volunteered as either a painter or landscaper. He added to his duties by unpacking and stocking snacks designed to provide nourishment for the underclassmen participating for the first time.
“It gets bigger every year,” Dunnigan said of the number of returnees and newcomers. “It’s encouraging that people want to serve. I like to help my community, especially the community around GCU.”
After University Pastor Dr. Tim Griffin delivered a prayer, the students were transported by buses to their houses, where Habitat members delivered brief instructions.
“Any time something is new, there can be challenges,” Rogers said. “But now the student-led programs that GCU has, the leadership on campus, the flash mob at the site, all it says is that the leadership of the student leaders, how they bring it everyone else new, having that repetition, goes a long way and makes for a smoother event.
“You hate to say the rinse-and-repeat verbiage, but when you have the great leadership, they just know the routine and are so good at it. They’re great at recruiting. We’re sold out again this year. It’s just awesome to have committed, dedicated leaders, and the students do that themselves and they don’t need us for much of it.”
Sanchez has experienced an up-close view of GCU’s contribution to the neighborhood transformation efforts. His parents live in the neighborhood, and he and his brothers played baseball and soccer on the land where GCU’s newest residential halls were constructed.
“They’ve put a lot into the neighborhoods and have rehabbed a lot of houses,” Sanchez said while pointing in a few directions. “The neighborhood is a lot better.
“… We really know what GCU is.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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