Three members of the Interact Club at the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad recently helped refurbish homes in the neighboring community of Vista as part of an annual project called Vistans Revitalizing Our Community, or ROC.
Cadets David Howard, Kevin Truong and Jacob Mankis joined nearly 800 volunteers from some 20 different organizations to provide the labor for painting houses, removing trash and landscaping homes in the Townsite area.
Sponsored by the Vista Townsite Community Partnership, Vistans ROC is in its ninth year. Catherine Manis, director of the partnership, conceived the project as a way to assist and inspire homeowners in a low-income area of the city.
This year's event included 22 homes, and more than 80 tons of trash was removed, Manis said. The project took place on Cananea Street, between Citrus Avenue and Indian Rock Road, and along Calera Street.
As their part of the project, the cadets helped break down a retaining wall made with old railroad ties and rebuilt it with bricks. They also planted new sod on one property and painted the exterior of a home on another.
“It took a tremendous amount of work, especially to tear down that wall,” Howard said. “But we got the job done. We could see the whole neighborhood transform.”
Mankis said it was a great learning experience because he had never done anything like that before. However, the day did not consist of all work and no play.
A disc jockey provided music during the event and there were several dance breaks throughout the day. Howard led an entire street full of people in the Cha-Cha Slide, while all three cadets joined hundreds of other workers in the Chicken Dance.
The Interact Club, advised by English teacher Lyn Berry, is the student arm of Rotary International. The club is sponsored by the Carlsbad Evening Rotary Club; Cynthia Boone is the rotary liaison.
The Army and Navy Academy is a private not-for-profit educational institution that provides an academically robust, character-based education for young men in seventh through 12th grade. The academy's mission is to educate and develop young men of good character.
Cadets David Howard, Kevin Truong and Jacob Mankis joined nearly 800 volunteers from some 20 different organizations to provide the labor for painting houses, removing trash and landscaping homes in the Townsite area.
Sponsored by the Vista Townsite Community Partnership, Vistans ROC is in its ninth year. Catherine Manis, director of the partnership, conceived the project as a way to assist and inspire homeowners in a low-income area of the city.
This year's event included 22 homes, and more than 80 tons of trash was removed, Manis said. The project took place on Cananea Street, between Citrus Avenue and Indian Rock Road, and along Calera Street.
As their part of the project, the cadets helped break down a retaining wall made with old railroad ties and rebuilt it with bricks. They also planted new sod on one property and painted the exterior of a home on another.
“It took a tremendous amount of work, especially to tear down that wall,” Howard said. “But we got the job done. We could see the whole neighborhood transform.”
Mankis said it was a great learning experience because he had never done anything like that before. However, the day did not consist of all work and no play.
A disc jockey provided music during the event and there were several dance breaks throughout the day. Howard led an entire street full of people in the Cha-Cha Slide, while all three cadets joined hundreds of other workers in the Chicken Dance.
The Interact Club, advised by English teacher Lyn Berry, is the student arm of Rotary International. The club is sponsored by the Carlsbad Evening Rotary Club; Cynthia Boone is the rotary liaison.
The Army and Navy Academy is a private not-for-profit educational institution that provides an academically robust, character-based education for young men in seventh through 12th grade. The academy's mission is to educate and develop young men of good character.