Like the song says, “Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks….” Only in this case, swap out those peanuts and Cracker Jacks for chili cheese nachos and a carne asada plate. That’s exactly what people were doing at the Cerritos Sports Complex for the Cerritos Girls Softball Association, on Sunday, June 15th. That’s also where Handing Out Hope volunteers rolled up their sleeves and served up healthy portions of fun and hard work for a good cause. This Father’s Day was a little different for some ‘Hopers’ as they volunteered to take time out and help a local girls’ softball association on the last day of their tournament, while also working for some hardearned cash, all of which will go to fund Handing Out Hope projects this year. Imagine a group of 10 gals and guys gathering together on what is usually a lazy Sunday, for what is expected to be a simple task of serving some easymade, good ol’ American food like hot dogs and nachos to a few softball enthusiasts. Just heat it up and serve it on a plate, right? WRONG! To their surprise, it was not a lazy Sunday, and the few softball enthusiasts turned out to be a lot of hot and hungry people waiting in line for a bunch of “kids” –who had never really done this before– to serve them their fries! “One order of fries!,” called out the cashier. “One order of fries!,” she called out again. But wait, that was the second cashier and this time she meant unseasoned fries! But wait, there’s more. The fries aren’t thawed and the carne asada plate she also wanted, will turn out to be carne asada tacos because they just ran out of beans and rice! “Coming right up!,” seemed to be the slogan for the day though, as Hopers made due, wiped the sweat off their brows and worked hard all day, making it through some high temperatures in the kitchen without causing temperatures to rise among the crowds. As the day went on, our amazing Hopers got into the swing of things and by the end had satisfi ed all appetites and dispositions with some hot and delicious plates and big smiles to boot. These tough Hopers lived to fi ght another day and serve for yet another great cause! Go Hopers!