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38 | CANYON CORRIDOR CONNECTION 2016
Habitat for Humanity and
Community Spread Love at
“Serve the City”
300 Grand Canyon University students participated on October 1 in Serve the City, the semiannual event to improve the neighborhoods surrounding the GCU campus.
by Jeannette Cruz
Nearly 300 Grand Canyon University students who might otherwise
have spent their Saturday morning sleeping chose instead to pick up
paintbrushes, shovels, wheelbarrows and rollers and spend the day toiling
for their neighbors in the Serve the City neighborhood revitalization event.
GCU’s semiannual Serve the City Day is part of the largest Habitat for
Humanity partnership in the country in which University volunteers
hope to renovate as many as 700 homes in their community.
On Saturday, Habitat for Humanity President Jason Barlow encouraged
the volunteers to make their work count.
“This is Serve the City, or ‘Sweat the City,’ not ‘observe the city.’ We’re
here to work. We’re here to serve our neighbors as we are called to do.”
The students were joyful as music played, landscapes reformed and
homes transformed as a result of their labor.
“It’s tiring but worth it,” said junior Kayla Smith.
Volunteers lavished attention on seven homes and Bourgade Catholic
High School and made a difference in the lives of GCU’s neighbors.
Students picked up paintbrushes and rollers to
give seven homes a new face.
Julie Guardiola said her 50-year-old slump block home has been in her
family for generations. Watching volunteers restore the place made her feel
“overwhelmed and blessed.”
“We couldn’t afford to do this and we didn’t have the manpower to do it,”
she said. “It’s nice to see new hope in the neighborhood.”
Communi t y Highl ights