R5 Forest Service and Hogan High School Work as Partners in “Operation: Helping Hands”

A photograph of 6 people standing next to a shopping cart of food items with banner reading GPA: Global Partnership Academy.

Annette Delos–Santos (1st from left), Region 5, Civil Rights, Asian–Pacific American Program Manager pictured with teachers Lilibeth Corpuz (3rd from left) and Hollie Myers (5th from left) and students from Hogan High School, Vallejo, California.

The Forest Service, Region 5 Civil Rights partnered with Hogan High School in Vallejo, California to do a good deed in response to two recent international disasters:

  • September 28, Philippines: almost 90 people died in and around Manila in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana, which dropped about 17 inches of rain in 12 hours. The floods are Manila's worst in about 50 years.
  • September 29, Samoa and American Samoa: an underwater 8.0–magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami that killed more than 115 people.

Annette Delos–Santos, Civil Rights, Asian Pacific American Program Manager, Ricky Balolong, R5 Director for Civil Rights, and Lois Lawson, R5 Deputy Director for Civil Rights met with Vallejo Hogan High School teachers Lilibeth Corpuz and Hollie Myers to partner for this cause.

Ms. Delos–Santos stated that, “Ms. Corpuz and Ms. Myers were excited about meeting with the Forest Service and and were even more energized as we talked about other possibilities in partnering with us.” Ms. Corpuz explained that this disaster relief drive is a community awareness activity associated with their “Global Partnership Academy (GPA)” at Hogan High School. The goal of the GPA is to expose students to the hospitality, tourism, and recreation industries. Their main objective is to impart students with the necessary skills to apply for any job and equip them with essential academic skills to apply and succeed at any college.

Delos–Santos sent out an invitation to the Forest Service Regional Office employees to participate in “Operation: Helping Hands,” a disaster relief drive. Employees were asked to donate non–perishable food items during the period of October 7–15, 2009. The employees responded by generously donating non–perishable food items such as canned goods, soup, peanut butter, baby formula, grains, crackers, bottled water, and more.

October 16, 2009, R5 Civil Rights staff members delivered the donations to Ms. Corpuz and Ms. Myers at the school “I just stood in awe as we handed over the donations on behalf of the generous employees at the R5 Forest Service Regional Office. It was a win–win situation in terms of partnering to help the disaster victims abroad, as well as learning how we can partner with each other here in our local community.” Ms. Delos–Santos stated.

Corpuz and Myers, with the help from their students will distribute the donations to non–profit organizations that will get the items to the victims of the disasters.