The community of Fullerton joined forces for it’s annual Love Fullerton on Saturday, May 4.

Around 2,500 people from all ages woke up bright and early to volunteer by dedicating their time and contributing acts of kindness around the city as a unit.

“I come here every year, my church and I love this project; a community is a union and we get to make it beautiful,” said Tracy Mo, a Cypress resident volunteering for her fifth time.

The morning began with the participants checking in around 8 a.m. Upon arrival, volunteers received a Star Wars themed t-shirt and were able to choose from a selection of free breakfast options.

Executive Director of OC United Jay Williams, kicked off the event with a motivational speech and thanked everyone for dedicating their time to serve Fullerton City.

“We got people from every sector of our city, over 80 different programs and we want this to be a catalytic event– 365 days a year,” said Williams.

After a prayer, all participants met up under a sign with the name of their designated project. Each group followed instructions and met up at their said location.

“It’s a way for the community to gather and help each other, by giving back instead of expecting. If we work together we can accomplish more things than if we did it alone,” said Jackie La Tour, a volunteer at Rolling Hills Elementary School.

Rolling Hills Elementary was one of the ongoing projects for Love Fullerton. They had several participants rake the leaves from the school’s patio and throwing away lumber, as well as breaking down an aged wooden bench.

Council member of the City of Fullerton, Ahmad Zahra was also present at Love Fullerton. Zahra made his trip to several locations, one being Maple Elementary School. He intended to help as much as he could while he made his trips at as many projects as possible.

At Maple Elementary School the goal of the project was to clean desks, chairs, the staff lounge and even had goodie bags for each classroom. The bags included at least: one marker, a tissue box and hand sanitizer. Another team was created to help rake the leaves outside in the field and organize the school’s garden.

As noon rolled by, all the participants gathered once again, this time at the Fullerton College campus for an after-party. Free food and drinks were served. Taqueria De Anda and even Heroes Bar and Grill made an appearance. The entire campus was filled with hungry volunteers finally getting some rest after a long morning of hard work.

“This was my first time watching the whole event unfold and it was absolutely life-changing. I never saw younger kids so eager to clean,” said John Garcia, a Fullerton resident.

Liability forms are now-available on their website for next year’s Love Fullerton 2020. The next event is an OC United Charity Golf Tournament on Wednesday, June 26.

The link to their website: https://www.lovefullerton.org/