Sierra Service Project

The mission of Sierra Service Project is to strengthen low-income communities by giving teenagers and young adults the opportunity to undertake meaningful, high-impact volunteer work. We focus on hands-on construction projects which not only improve the communities we partner with, but which also transform the lives of our teenage volunteers. Youth gain valuable skills and are transformed into self-confident leaders. They are also exposed to the history and culture of a communities which challenges stereotypes and gives them firsthand exposure to social issues that they have often only heard about in the news.

In the past 20 years, SSP has grown significantly in terms of the regions and communities we serve, and the types of programs that we offer. Much of our year-round work is focused in urban communities, including Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, and San Diego. Our summer programs are largely located in rural areas across the West. In 2019, more than 1,800 participants completed 79 home repair projects in 6 low-income communities throughout the Western United States.

Unfortunately, just as our North Sacramento program was beginning to build momentum in February 2020, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis forced us to suspend in-person programs with volunteers indefinitely to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus. That suspension is ongoing as of February 2021.

We have been fortunate to reallocate some funds to work with subcontractors to complete home repairs, allowing us to fulfill our mission while still taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our beneficiaries. For 2021, we have made the difficult decision not to host volunteers overnight for weekend or week-long projects. Instead, we will focus on local Days of Service in Sacramento. This will allow us to play to our strengths since our staff, building materials, vehicles, and other resources are contained locally. In addition to maintaining long-term relationships within our community here in Sacramento, we will be adding summer opportunities to serve which are normally focused outside of the region. We plan to continue hosting volunteer days locally truly all year-round in future years as well.

We are optimistic that, between the decreasing case rate and the vaccine rollout, we will be in a position to resume local Days of Service, though that timeline is contingent upon Sacramento County entering the "moderate" or "minimal" tiers outlined in California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. We have laid out a comprehensive plan for enhanced sanitation and safety measures, including mandated face coverings, increased sanitizing of tools and high-touch surfaces, and only completed exterior home repairs with volunteers.