Dick takes a breath to sit on the newly-built bench
The 2015 Service Bus is now one week away from ending its 2nd annual route of giving back to communities around California and all six of us on the bus had countless hours of driving time to reflect on our interactions and service experiences over the past month and a half. One of the impactful moments during the past thirty days that I have reflected on is our time in Redding, California.
We headed north from the San Francisco Bay Area to meet longtime Outward Bound California donors, Dick and Sandy Johnson at their home in Redding. After showing us around his favorite community spots in Redding, Dick told our group that he had some work for us to do in a nearby nature preserve called the Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve. The Preserve is a network of trails in Redding that acts as a local outdoor space for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. A large fire had impacted the Preserve last year and we would be helping create benches made from fire-scarred trees.
While our group was prepared for the project (we were getting into the swing of spending our days volunteering), we were not expecting the incredible amount of hospitality that the Johnsons and their close friends showed our group. We spent the the first full day of service among the beautiful grassy hills of Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve, digging foundations for wooden benches, pounding rebar into the ground, and setting the structure for the seats. At the end of the day, we returned to the Johnsons’ house and they had prepared a wonderful family-style dinner of cheesy lasagna, fresh salad, and even brownies for dessert. We sat down with the Johnsons around a big table, eating and sharing stories of our lives and we all learned more about each other. It is rare for instructors to have the opportunity to interact with donors whose generosity supports Outward Bound California so directly, let alone be able to eat with and sleep under the same roof as them.
The group gathers for lunch together at the Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve
We learned that these two people, who believe in and donate to Outward Bound California, hold similar values to the organization that we represent as instructors and as Service Bussers. The Johnsons’ history of serving the Redding community, compassion in inviting us into their home, and the excellence with which they organized projects for our group was inspiring. We were impressed and very thankful for the warmth that the Johnsons showed us in Redding. It was a standout moment on this year’s Service Bus route.
If you would like to see more of what the Service Bus has been working on this year, and where they will be next, check out their Facebook page here. Thank you once again, Dick and Sandy!
