Reported by: Adora Xiao
On September 23, 2022, members Hsin Chen (Julie) Lu & Jessica Lu attended the orientation meeting at Temecula City Hall for 12th Annual Temecula Health & Community Resource Fair, this is check-in for instruction, maps and volunteer t-shirt give out for the event the next day, members were informed what kind of works they’ll do and were toured the whole fair site.
On September 24, 2022, members Julie Lu, Jessica Lu, Cathy Liu, and Adora Xiao awoke at dawn, excitedly meeting at the Temecula City Hall: taking a breath of cool fresh air before reporting for duty at the check in area.
Two and half hours before the event started, work was slow, with members growing antsy before being called upon. Their work consisted of loading vendors’ equipment from cars into carts, then moving them to their designated station while acting as navigator of the area. The members found the work slowly piled up as time passed, as more and more vendors arrived. They began splitting up into twos and assisted vendors on their own as well, nearly running out of carts to use. After all vendors were situated and the fair began, they joined other volunteers for breakfast.
After breakfast, they began to prepare for lunch. They began with taking in the remainder of breakfast: coffee, hot water, cream dispensers, a few cookies, and two meat sticks. After dusting the tablecloths, they rearranged the tables and flowers. They then moved into the kitchen area, using the bottom of the cream dispenser as a chisel to smash ice. The ice was then poured into buckets to chill bottled water, and a portion was set aside for juice. The ice was split into the apple and orange juice dispensers, before the juice was carefully poured. Members poured a cup for themselves, before they ventured out to the main attraction to enjoy before lunchtime.
The Health and Community Resource Fair is a fair featuring performances, music, and a diverse collection of booths from different organizations. Vendors were incredibly kind, offering trinkets and compliments as thanks for the help in the earlier morning. Members ran into local firefighters who’d also come to enjoy the fair, that they’d donated to before. They excitedly enjoyed the sights, learning about brain eating amoebas, volunteering opportunities, CPR, and more, before enjoying cups of Kona Ice. They then returned to the lunch area, to unload ham and turkey sandwiches onto the tables for vendors to enjoy. Afterwards, they moved to the community service booth, handing out flyers and greeting visitors. Members ended the day with pizza and a little more exploring, happily taking photos with appreciative vendors and forlornly saying goodbye to the successful event.
Volunteers:
9/23 Check-in for Instruction: Hsin Chen (Julie) Lu : 1 hr, Jessica Lu : 1hr
9/24 event: Jessica Lu: 6 1/2 hrs / Hsin Chen(Julie) Lu: 6 1/2 hrs / Kaixi(Cathy) Liu: 4 hrs / Adora Xiao: 7 hrs
