Painting delayed but goes forward

The rain may have put a dent in their plans, but Paint Your Heart Out, Anaheim, volunteers stuck to their duties, putting in hours after work on weekdays and setting out early Saturday morning. Twenty houses were finished during the weekend and the all-volunteer teams will finish work on this year's 50 houses by Saturday. Members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim showed up at Grayzna Czescik's home at 7:30 Saturday morning and finished by 1 p.m. - with the help of Czescik, her daughter and grandson. "We are absolutely amazed," said Joanna Nachurski, Czescik's daughter. "Because we have been in California for 10 years ... and this program, those people are very supportive to the community and very enthusiastic about the project." Nachurski and her children live with Czescik. The Kiwanis Club was joined by students from Anaheim high school Key Clubs, who spend nearly every Saturday working on different service project. They said Paint Your Heart Out stands out from their other volunteer efforts because they see the results of their work. "It's physically different," said Grace Kwon, 16, president of Kennedy High School's student body. "You can see the difference." The student body presidents from Katella and Savanna high schools also helped with the painting. "We're out here to help our fellow community," said Eddie Ortiz, 17, Savanna High School's student body president. Czescik said she was pleased to see so many youth - nine from Katella, Kennedy, Savanna and Anaheim high schools pitched in. "It teaches them the concept of work," she said. John Poole, team captain for the Kiwanis Club, is one of the founders of Paint Your Heart Out, Anaheim. "For the young people it really instills an ethic to go back to the neighborhood," he said. Poole, who recently retired from his post as the city's code .enforcement manager, said programs like Paint Your Heart Out Anaheim are part of what make Anaheim a vibrant community. "One of the great lessons that was learned, once we got past the frustration of the postponement (is) the level of "Those people , are very supportive to the community and very enthusiastic about the project." JOANNA NACHURSKI the commitment to the homeowners," said Carolyn Griebe, executive director of Paint Your Heart Out Anaheim. Community members from one church pitched in to help a neighbor from another church. Dorothy Parslow, 90, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, got a helping hand Saturday from volunteers with Anaheim United Methodist Church. The volunteers, all 55 of them, regrouped after the original paint day was rained out to give 90-year-old Parslow's home a fresh coat of paint. Some volunteers came from Parslow's own church who painted the body of the house. "The trim was completed by the Anaheim United Methodist Church team. The last 10 houses will be completed this Saturday, with a few more receiving finishing touches this week. Paint Your Heart Out officials set a May 17 deadline for all the volunteer teams. The irony of rain on the 13th year of Paint Your Heart Out was not lost on Griebe, who said the board has learned its lesson from this year's experience. In the future, if it looks like rain the Friday before paint day, painting will automatically be postponed to the following Saturday.