It was great to see the volunteers from New Beginnings Community Church (NBCC), as well as Interact club from Ramona High School, give a helping hand to homeowners, Michelle and Scott. This couple lives in Corona’s Countrywood Estates mobile home park and is members of the congregation. Scott has been disabled for several years. Accordingly, Michelle has gone back to work to cover the family’s living expenses. The change from being a stay-at-home mom to a working mom and family provider has been a challenging journey. But Michelle’s faith has kept her strong throughout the process. Fortunately, the church members came to paint their home and help with the final touches of the patio, steps and shed.
Michelle and Scott’s patio and steps had become a safety hazard for Scott, making it difficult for him to get around because he has to use a cane or walker. The steps needed to be reinforced. Also, half of the patio deck had to be replaced, due to rain and a bad sprinkler head that caused dry rot. Nevertheless, Habitat volunteers took care of the major repairs earlier in the week by replacing the rotted deck boards, reinforcing the steps, and removing the ice plant that had grown against the patio and the side of the home.
Since both volunteer groups have previously worked with Habitat, everyone got busy right after orientation and our morning prayer. As usual, the volunteers split up into 4 groups to paint all of the walls. With two groups of hardworking and enthusiastic volunteers, the painting of the walls went fairly quickly. Several volunteers tacked down the patio carpet and remounted the trim and railings. We even had enough volunteers that we were able to complete the paint job at another home within the park in which they painted the railings. Bruce, who has championed several of these volunteer days with Habitat on behalf of NBCC worked on the highest parts of the front of the home including the trim. At the back of the home, several ladies were giving it their best effort, but seemed to get more paint on themselves than anyone else. With a quick painting 101 refresher, they were both back on track. Dan and Eddie also took care of the patio and shed. Once the walls were done, everyone pitched in to take care of the trim. Overall, everyone was having a good time helping out.
Michelle came out early in the morning and greeted the volunteers. As the volunteers finished the couple’s home, Michelle surprised the volunteers with freshly baked cookies, crumb cake, lemonade, and ice tea. With such a large group, she thought a nice afternoon snack might be a good way to show her thanks. Everyone appreciated the snacks and drinks on such a warm day. As the group picture was being taken Michelle was all smiles, but tearing up at the same time because of how great the home looked and the finished repairs to the patio and the shed. She told all the volunteers how blessed her family was to have so many of them come out to help. At the other property, some volunteers also received soda and homemade burritos from the homeowners, as a token of appreciation.
Thanks to our volunteers from NBCC and the Interact Club, in just a few hours, they were able to finish two homes!
