On September 6, nine volunteers tore down an abandoned shack on a parcel of desert only 20 meters from Sierra Highway leading into Mojave. “This was the first thing people see when they come into town” said Dorothy Galton, who led Friday’s cleanup effort, “and sent the wrong message about Mojave.” According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the shack was built illegally over the last several months, and then abandoned when the occupant went to a larger city several weeks ago.

After several hours, it became clear that the project was far larger than volunteers had expected – having hauled 5 pickup truck loads to the dump, and paying the fees out of their own pocket. Completing this project would not have been possible without the support of MPC Printing in Mojave, who came to the rescue with a truck and trailer, and paid the remainder of the dump fees.

This cleanup is an example of what several highly-motivated volunteers can accomplish when inspired by the prospect of making real change in their community.  “It was a miracle!” said Mojave resident Joey Brown, “We started at 7 and were done by 10, and it was not an easy job. Everybody was trusting each other and communicating, and I was glad to be a part of something like that.”

The Mojave Foundation is committed to making Mojave a safer and more prosperous place to live where all our residents can take greater pride in their community. We like the spontaneous nature of projects like this because they are 100% grass-roots, and repeatable. We can apply this model of target-acquisition, planning, and rapid execution to other hazardous structures in Mojave. “This is just the beginning” said Galton. “We can do this all over town.”