Orange Sunrise Rotary partnered with the law firm of Morrison & Foerster and the family and friends of Mark & Cindy Stephen to support the work of Corazon, Inc. in the Cumbres area of Tijuana. On September 26th, club members traveled to Mexico to complete a room addition for a family of six.
The Bautista Castro family has been working with Corazón for a couple of years to earn the 500 hours of service credit needed to qualify for the addition. Although they had previously earned the 16 x 24 foot home built by Corazon and its partners a few years ago, they did not have enough space to sleep comfortably. The household consists of 45-year-old Francisco, 40-year-old Sandra (Sandra is currently the Corazon Community Representative of Cumbres) and their sons 24-year-old Josue, 19-year-old Jesus, 18-year-old Natanael and 16-year-old Francisco. The mother is originally from Sinaloa and the father from Guadalajara, they have been living in Tijuana for 19 years.
Orange Sunrise contributed $500 toward the $4,000 needed for project materials. Nine members and Rotary volunteers worked onsite from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. under the supervision of Corazon staff. At the end of the day, Sandra and her mother were thrilled as they helped with the final painting and cleanup.
Despite current conditions in Mexico, Orange Sunrise has committed to continuing its support for the work of Corazon and plans to return to Cumbres for a third project next fall.