On April 26 and May 3 the PSCS, Piedmont Community Service Crew, volunteered with RTO, Rebuilding Together Oakland, for the second time this year.

PSCS advisor, Ken Li, said RTO is a local affiliate of a national organization called Rebuilding Together that renovates homes of low-income homeowners.

“For the past four to five years PSCS has been a sponsor of our own project,” Li said. “That means that we raise enough money for RTO to help cover the cost of a project and to keep the organization running.”

Li said that each year the attendance increases. Last year the PSCS broke their record with 70 volunteers on the first workday.

“On Saturday, we were expecting almost 90 volunteers,” Li said. “Way more than we wanted, but tried really hard to make it work and meaningful to those that came.

Li said Crew members signed up to lead certain tasks like painting a room, installing a door and windows, fixing electrical wiring, or building stairs.

“We [had] adult experts that are consultants to our crew members so that the teens have some sort of guidance,” Li said.

Li said RTO is similar to the PCC Mexico mission trips, though it is not nearly as intensive.

“We’re helping someone close by, in Oakland where there are lots of people in need,” Li said.

PCSC president senior Elaine Qian has been an RTO Volunteer coordinator four times and RTO Youth House Captain for last year’s project.
“Even though RTO includes houses all over Oakland, the organization itself exists across the US,” Qian said.

PCSC has been doing RTO for 10 years as a part of their main project. One project is in October and a self-funded and self-planned one is in April.

“It’s inspiring to see the amount of passion, time and effort people put into this organization,” Qian said.

Junior Gates Zeng, a youth house captain this year, said he would have to oversee the recruitment by the volunteer coordinator as well as coordinate with the professionals and unskilled.

“Delegation is key and a youth house captain must be able to occasionally   take their hands off a particular task to to organize volunteers to finish the project,” Zeng said.

Zeng said he chose to be apart of PCSC because he wanted to gain a different perspective on life away from the Piedmont “bubble”.

“While doing RTO, I enjoyed meeting the homeowner and getting to know their story,” Zeng said. “It added a personal aspect to the project and made the experience much more meaningful.”

Zeng said he thinks RTO is important because students learn skills that everyone should know and learn, while also helping a fellow neighbors in need who live in the local community.

“I cannot wait until the end of this years project to able to see the homeowner’s priceless expression when viewing the fruits of our labor,” Zeng said.

Qian said that her favorite part about RTO is when PSCS begins working on the actual houses.

“After months of planning, it was very satisfying to watch and take part in a project where 70 high school students completely alter the interior and exterior of houses only a few miles from our own privileged neighborhood,” Qian said.

There were task leaders of certain jobs that not only helped make the project run more smoothly, but also to helped volunteers get to know new people by working together said Qian.

“RTO makes you realize how greatly you can impact someone’s life over the course of two Saturdays,” Qian said. “Being exposed to members of the community who live minutes away and yet are struggling to get by really keeps you grounded as a person.”