November 28, 2003

Volunteers of the Week

Carol and Brittany Ivanco

When most people think of mother-daughter quality time the image that comes to mind is probably a shopping trip or a movie. But Carol and Brittany Ivanco recently spent their mother-daughter bonding time helping to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.

The two worked for several days building a Los Gatos two-story house alongside the family of six that is going to be moving into house. Fifteen-year-old Brittany worked on scaffolding to hammer in the siding on the house, while her mom, Carol, worked on wiring the electricity.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Brittany. “And, I enjoyed working with my mom.”

Carol enjoyed working with Habitat and plans to volunteer again. This time she’ll bring along her other two younger daughters, Vanessa and Erika. “It’s a great experience, and there are so many interesting volunteers, from doctors and lawyers, to retired people.”

This is not the first foray into volunteerism for the Almaden family. Carol coordinates an adopted family program for the holidays at Coldwell Banker where she is a realtor. And, Brittany has volunteered at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving and at the Unicorn Thrift Shop to fulfill her community service hours at Leland High School. In addition, the family regularly participates in Christmas tree and present giveaway program with the South Valley Youth Soccer League.

“We live in such an unreal world in Almaden,” said Carol. “I wish they could dedicate a school day each year so that the kids could all participate in community service and see how many people are in need.”