Locals spruce up Girls Inc.

WESTSIDE — When school let out Wednesday afternoon, a few dozen girls from Girls Inc. of Orange County were delighted to discover a that pirate ship had docked in the playground at the organization’s Costa Mesa headquarters.

They also found a new swing set, a freshly painted exterior, colorful mosaics and other miscellaneous upgrades as about 200 Home Depot volunteers and community members finished up an intensive day of renovations that began at 6 a.m.

“I never knew Girls Inc. would have this kind of stuff,” said an elated Julie Hernandez, 8, of Costa Mesa.

Employee volunteers from 21 local Home Depot outlets spent the morning revamping, painting and landscaping the 50-year-old facility. In total, the home improvement retailer donated more than 1,500 hours and about $7,000 worth of supplies to the nonprofit, which serves about 4,000 girls each year through a variety of educational and developmental programs.

Brad Beihl, an assistant manager at the Garden Grove location, was on hand to install the wooden ship he spent two weeks constructing with a miniature “Pirates of the Caribbean” figurine serving as his only blueprint.

“It’s a lot of fun for us to be out here, and we get the chance to give back to the community,” he said, joking that the vessel barely made it to its new home after a neighbor offered to buy it for $5,000.

As part of the school’s commitment to community service, about 30 Sage Hill School freshmen pitched in as well.

“Working on a project like this feels especially good because you get to see the results of the work you’re doing and how it affects people directly,” said 15-year-old Ali Emmes, who laid bricks and painted a flower mural in the yard.

In her seventh year at the Costa Mesa Home Depot and now serving as captain, Gilda Crone-Brown has never missed one of the store’s quarterly service projects, which also include work at Share Our Selves and the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen.

On Wednesday, she sacrificed her freshly manicured fingernails to add red polka dots to the Girls Inc. building’s outer walls.

“The sense of satisfaction is just overwhelming when you see the kids’ faces,” she said. “They get so excited when the see the transformation.”