Volunteering at Sunshine Acres Children's Home in Mesa, Arizona and Other Activities Nearby

We spent another winter season volunteering at Sunshine Acres Children's Home in Mesa, AZ.  Our "job" is working in the aeroponic greenhouse where we grow food for the Home and other local charities.  I also volunteered in the Health Center doing admin type stuff for them.  For the 15 hours per week we each volunteer, we get a free full hookup site.    

 

 

Here's a look inside the greenhouse when we arrived.

Seeding Tables

Green Onions

Lettuces, Swiss Chard, Chives, and Basil are the larger plants visible.

Cilantro, Parsley, or Celery (I can't tell from he photo).

 

Giant tomato plants

Tomatoes

 

 

 

Assembled towers before they are placed on bases and filled with plants.  
There is a pyramid of pots in the background.  Each tower is 5 or 11 pots tall. 

After the plants are harvested and the towers disassembled, the pots need to be cleaned.  
My favorite job!  Not!  There are so many little nooks and crannies in the pots.

Harvested Green Onions and lettuces

An example of the lettuce tower being harvested and dismantled.

A tower of lettuce before harvesting.

Lettuce

A peak inside a pot showing the roots and the water being pumped up through the center.

In a couple of months the annual Barbecue will occur at Sunshine Acres.  Due to Covid the event was cancelled for 2021 so this is our first one.  This is a big event for the local community to come onsite and tour the facilities and learn more about the mission of the Children's Home.  A farmer's market will be included this year for the first time.  In preparation, we planted a lot of items to sell.  

Basil and Cilantro growing in pots painted by some special needs kids who also volunteer at the greenhouse.

Strawberries

Basil and Cilantro getting bigger.

The plant tables getting watered

We even grew pots of marigolds to sell.

More plants to be sold.

Around our volunteer hours there is a lot of time to explore the area and do fun things.  Here are some of this winter's highlights.

Our friend, Randy, had a birthday during his bout with Covid so we had a socially distanced birthday party for him.

In Al's spare time he made tamales in our RV.  This was the first time he made tamales since we went on the road.  There isn't much room in the RV but he made it work.

We were asked to assist at an event where members from Phoenix non-profit organizations could meet with donors.  Sunshine Acres was included in the event.  The event was held at a huge warehouse in Phoenix where a fashion show using clothes donated to the center were showcased along with food grown in the Sunshine Acres greenhouse. 

Scenes made with donated items.

Models getting ready for the fashion show.

DJ

Nancy and Linda

Tables for mingling

Giant boxes and boxes of donated goods were used as a backdrop and spray painted for the event.

Community Issue
Children's Issues
There are 15,000 kids in the foster care system in the state of Arizona.

Community Issue
Homelessness
On any given night at least 7,419 people experience homelessness in Maricopa County (Phoenix area).

Community Issue
Addiction
There was an estimated 2768 fatal overdoses in Arizona over 12 months ending in April 2021 compare to 2154 over the same prior the year prior.

Community Issue
Domestic Violence
Homicides involving domestic violence saw a 140% increase at the beginning of the pandemic compared to the year before.  There were 102 domestic violence related deaths in Arizona in 2020 and 76 deaths in the first 11 months of 2021.

Community Issue
Human Trafficking
The average age of entry into the sex trade in Arizona is 14 years old.  Law enforcement has seen girls as young as 9 sold for sex.

This warehouse is a clearing house for items donated.  Their mission is to match up the charities who need or can use the items.

Two local chefs used food grown in the Greenhouse to make appetizers and juices.  It was Al and my job to walk around with trays of food for the guests to sample. 

 

 

A portion of the runway before guests were seated.

 

The fashion show began.

Well, it was a strange event for us but hopefully it benefited the charities including Sunshine Acres.  It was an experience!

On a free day Al and I went to Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, for a tour of the stadium. 

Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team.

It's amazing how much more you can see when there aren't thousands of fans in the way!

 

 

There were beautiful mosaics and murals at this stadium.  

Franchise Awarded March 9, 1995

Silver Slugger Award
David Peralta
2018

Concourse

The tour took us to many different vantage points of the stadium.  Here from left field.

  

Left field is also the location of the organist, Bobby Freeman.  At least seven MLB teams still have organs played live during games, providing a unique and nostalgic auditory experience for fans.

Arizona Diamondbacks organist Bobby Freeman has played with the franchise for its entire history.

Photo courtesy of Stadium Journey.

A glimpse of the pool in right field.

Joe and Joe have special recognition in the left field area.

I remember Joe Garagiola the announcer as a kid watching baseball on TV. 

Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. was an American professional baseball catcher, later an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. Garagiola played nine seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and New York Giants.  He is in the Hall of Fame as an announcer. 

Joseph Black (February 8, 1924 – May 17, 2002) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs, and Washington Senators who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game, in 1952.

Black was a board director of the Baseball Assistance Team and worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks in community relations after they joined the National League in 1998. Black was a regular in the Diamondbacks' dugout during batting practice and in the press box. He also performed much charity work in the Phoenix area.

Press box

The Diamondbacks have their own baseball museum at the stadium behind the outfield area. 

Interesting to see how the colors and logos change over time.

Golden Glove and Cy Young Awards

Zack Greinke's 2017 Golden Glove Award

2001 World Series Trophy
Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in the series 4-3 in only their fourth season as a MLB team.
 

World Series memorabilia (No the Gonzalez is not ours.)

Silver Slugger awards and autographed baseballs

Justin Upton, All Star Game
Joe Garagiola, Hall of Fame
Joe Garagiola Jr. 2001 World Series

Randy Johnson throws the club's first perfect game in a 2-0 win at Atlanta.  Throwing 117 pitches, "The Big Unit" ends the game with a 98 mph fastball to strike out Eddie Perez - his 13th punchout of the night.

Team's 20th anniversary

Team Leaders
Paul Goldschmidt is in every position player stat except triples!

Since 2000, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation has built or refurbished baseball fields as part of the "Diamonds Back" Youth Field Building Program.  With the support of local partner, APS, and monetary donations from individual players, this program has allowed children from across the state to play baseball and softball at quality facilities.

We got a good look at the swimming pool in right field but unfortunately they wouldn't let us go for a swim.  This area is rented out for games.

The tour took us in to the broadcasters booth named after Joe Garagiola. 

Broadcasters view of the field.

Books on the shelf in the broadcast booth

Stickers and autographs on the wall of those who have visited the booth.

There is an Ohtani 17 sticker in the bottom right.

Tommy Lasorda H.O.F 8-3-97
Joe Torre HOF '14

Joe Garagiola

Bud Selig

Opening Day in 1998 with the roof to the stadium open

Interview room

Starting line ups from each home Opening Day Game

Diamondback All-Star Starters

2001 World Series Champions

The tour took us inside the Diamondback's locker room.

Kole Calhoun's Locker in the center.  (Kole was previously an Angels player.)  As a senior member on the team he got a little bigger locker area.  Since then he was traded to the Texas Rangers.

Next up was the dugout.  In the tunnel area there is a tire bolted to the wall for players to get our their frustrations.  Before the tire players were hitting the drinking fountain and anything else they could find to hit with their bat causing all kinds of damage.  The tire has been a nice compromise to replacing other items.

Phones to the Press Box, Replay Booth, and Bullpen

View from the dugout

How do you want your hot dog?

We really enjoyed this ballpark tour.  After the tour we walked around downtown Phoenix a little.

 

Very close to the baseball stadium is the Phoenix Suns basketball stadium, which is now called Footprint Center.

We enjoyed the tour and it was easy to visit since we took the light rail train from Mesa.

Some afternoon I like to walk around the property of Sunshine Acres and see the animals.  There are two desert tortoises,

 

Three peacocks,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some miniature horses,.

Donkeys

One is wearing a mask to keep the flies out of its eyes.

Alpacas,

 

around 10 horses,

This one has one blue and one brown eye.

and a bunch of goats.

Volunteers maintain the animals and at night they put the horses out to pasture.

 

 

Over the winter we also volunteer for the Scottsdale Elks Steak Night twice a month as food runners. It's a delicious meal and as Scottsdale is our home lodge, we wanted to help out.  (The Elks are nationwide (and even world wide) and have property that host RV'ers so we use this benefit often in our travels.)

We had a pizza and bowling party to celebrate Randy and Faith's birthdays.

Randy and Eve

Patty watching Al throw his ball

Lenny returning and Eve bowling

Randy and Al

Al watching Randy's form

It was a fun time and you can tell from the scores that most of us are not great bowlers!

Patty & Lenny

The birthday kids, Faith and Randy

Towards the end of the volunteer season, Sunshine Acres throws a nice lunch to thank the volunteers.  Some stay in the RV park like us and others are either locals or snow birds staying in the area.

Kevin thanking all of us.

On one free weekend we drove two hours north to visit our friend, Bill, who lives in Prescott Valley.  We hiked with his neighborhood hiking club one day.

 

Al made us some yummy chicken soup and Red Lobster biscuits.

 

 

We were lucky to be at Bill's when a snow storm came through.  This was the view when we woke up the next morning.

 

We HAD to go out and make a snowman.  Come to learn this was Bill's first ever snowman building.  He didn't have much opportunity growing up in Southern California.

Snow makes the trees look so beautiful in winter.

After all the snowman building, it was time to come inside for some hot chocolate and cookies.

It was nice spending time with Bill and the added bonus of snow!

At the end of February it was time for the Sunshine Acres barbecue/Open House.  This was also the first Farmer's Market so all hands were on deck for the event.

Area set up showing the aeroponic process with sample pots and bases.

Dried herbs for sale all grown and dried in the greenhouse.

Live herbs grown in the greenhouse for sale.

Look how big these guys got in time to sell at the market.

Prize wheel

Cucumbers for sale

Cathy and Lauren selling lettuces

Nancy and Kathy

Tomatoes and herbs for sale

 

 

 

Faith

 

  

 

Al and I were stationed at the greenhouse for the event to talk with guests and explain how the plants are gown in the towers. We had extra towers out on the patio so people could get an up close look at them. 

Al and Patty talking with guests.

Rylee and Eve, the greenhouse manager

Another weekend we made a trip to Tucson to visit friends.  John and Sandy took us in their jeep up Reddington Rd for a fun ride.

 

 

 

John & Sandy

 

 

We had a sighting of someone's pet camel on our route.

 

We also visited other friends in the area but forgot to take more photos.  

One night back in Mesa, a bunch of us RV'ers went to Red, White, & Brew for dinner. 

Jan, Mike, Gracie, Linda, Randy, Nancy, Al, and Dave

 

One day in March our friend, Dave, took us out to see the wild horses not too far from Sunshine Acres.

 

 

 

Salt River Wild Horse Management Group's history and mission: 

Background: In 2015, when the impound notice for their removal was posted by the Forest Service, we knew that it would take an unprecedented public outrage to prevent this disastrous fate. We gave it our all; we alerted the media, we held many rallies, and we filed an injunction in federal court. What happened next, was amazing, it was the unprecedented public outrage we needed, and then some- the people of Arizona and its politicians gave these iconic wild horses a voice. Eventually, the Forest Service agreed to rescind the impound notice. Together, we changed the course of history for the Salt River wild horses, who now have a legal right to live on the Salt River in Arizona and are protected under State law. We are now under contract with the AZDA to manage the horses humanely. 

 

To read more about this organization, go here: https://saltriverwildhorsemanagementgroup.org/

 

There was a short hike to get to the feeding area.  People are expected to give the horses their space and observe from afar.    

Each family of horses comes to this area from different directions.


During certain times of the year the horses are fed hay when their natural food is scarce.

Al, Nancy, and Dave

3 Musketeers

Impatient Horses

My favorite part was seeing the horses play fight with each other.  Al got some great photos!

 

 

We had a great time!  Thanks Dave, for taking us.  We loved it!

 
A project on Randy's list to complete over the winter while we were at Sunshine Acres was to repack the bearings on his triple axle 5th wheel.  Al volunteered to assist.  Al put on his coveralls that we bought in Wyoming for this messy job.

 

 

Once they were finished with Randy's RV the guys repacked the bearings on our trailer.

 

Another Randy project was to replace the window in their door with a stained glass window.  Photos courtesy of Linda.

 

When we arrived at Sunshine Acres in December we put in for a new fresh water tank on our RV since it was bowing.  It took months to get the new parts from Grand Design but we don't blame them for the delay but instead the Mobile Tech who was coordinating the replacement.  

The old fresh water tank showing the bowed underside

The new and old fresh water tanks side by side.

Now that fix was completed we could begin to prepare to leave at the end of April. 

But before leaving we had a few more things planned.  One was a visit to the Maricopa County Fair and happen to be there the day the children from Sunshine Acres show the animals they have reared.

The fair wasn't a big hit for us.  Oh well.

 

We attended an event at the Elks lodge and Al helped out with cooking.  I stayed out of the kitchen area!

A surprise to us was that Al was voted Scottsdale Elk of the year!

After the regular baseball season started, we bought some tickets to go see the Diamondbacks play and invited Bill and Kathy to join us.  The Diamondbacks had a promotion to buy one game and get another game for free.  Cool, two games!

Al, Bill, Kathy, and Nancy

We got to experience the stadium on a beautiful day with the roof open.

One of the RV's that was parked at Sunshine Acres for about a month was a relief pitcher for the Houston Astros, Ian Kennedy.  Him and his wife have 7 kids and they were all in the RV while they were waiting for a house to become available.  

He came in to pitch as a reliever at the game we attended.

 

 

The four of us split a Churro Dog which is a churro rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs in the middle of a white, iced long john donut as the bun and topped with three scoops of vanilla yogurt, strawberry topping, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and more Oreo crumbs.  This thing was Soooo sweet!

 

 

 

Houston Astros' Second baseman, Jose Altuve

We had great seats.

Diamondbacks Win!

Diamondbacks beat the Astros 3-2!

One afternoon we met up with another friend from Spring Training, Brian, for happy hour at a Yard House.

Some photos of the greenhouse before we leave for the season.  We try to leave Eve set up as best we can.

More seeds planted for the next farmer's market.

Lots of towers built.

We attended our "free" Diamondbacks game vs. the New York Mets.  This time the roof was closed.

So cute when these little kids sang the National Anthem before the game.

Mets beat the Diamondbacks 6-2.

Our view after we moved to better seats.  It was a day time game so plenty of open seats.

 

We got our photo with retired pitcher, Randy Johnson (thanks to technology).  
Also, we're sporting our free Diamondback shirts that were the game giveaway.

Before we left Sunshine Acres, Al made his famous ribs and shrimp skewers for the Greenhouse staff and volunteers.  He learned the shrimp skewer recipe from volunteering with the Elks.

And that was our time at Sunshine Acres over the winter.  It was nice to be stationary for four months but it's time to hit the road and see more of our beautiful country.

Next up is a visit to Tucson and then Yuma before heading north.