Every year, the Casas De Luz Club fundraises money to build houses for families in need, and on February 21, they took their annual trip to Tijuana, Mexico where they built a home for a family in need.

   The Casas De Luz Club is connected to the non-profit organization in San Diego also called Casas De Luz, whose mission is to “…transform individuals, families, and communities on both sides of the San Diego / Tijuana border by building homes for families across Tijuana and cottages for individuals in San Diego,” as stated on their website (casasdeluz.org). Senior President Sara Velasquez said, “The UCHS Casas De Luz Club fundraises money throughout the year so that we can go build a home in Mexico.” She added that it is important for them to make a safe space for families that do not necessarily have somewhere to go home to every night. She said that building those individuals a home gives them a space to themselves and helps facilitate their growth.

   According to the Casas De Luz website, “Since we began, we have built over 150 homes for families in 6 communities. The homes we build are funded through the generous donations of individual donors or groups who have come together to raise the funds” (casasdeluz.org). Their organization has helped many families find a home when they couldn’t necessarily afford one.

   The club left for Tijuana the morning of February 21 and came back the night of the 22. Velasquez said, “The homes we build each have three rooms, and are furnished using couches, beds, and cabinets we receive from donations.” According to Velasquez, the houses that the club builds are fully functional and ready made for the families to move into their new space, which is all made possible by donations.

   The donations and the fundraising that is done is vital to the whole operation; the club has to make sure that their materials will be sufficient. Junior Ashley Ordaz said, “The money that we fundraise is the money we get to build the place. It is important, because we actually use the money to go on these builds and help these families.”

   At the end of the building process, there is a special ceremony to hand the keys over to the family moving in. Ordaz said, “During the key ceremony, we all stand around the house and take turns passing the key around while saying something nice to the family. The family then gets to open the door and take a tour. The club will then knock on the front door to be the first guests in their new house.” She said that this ceremony is  important in welcoming the family into their brand new home as it gives them a sense of ownership over their new property.

   Velasquez said, “The family we built the home for was very kind and grateful. The little girls even made us little bracelets to show their gratitude.”

   Ordaz said, “It was definitely a bonding experience, because we were in a whole new environment together. The club definitely bonded over learning about how to build a house from the ground up.”