Home Repairs
with
Christmas in Action
(In the past this was called
“Christmas in April” and then "Rebuilding
Together" and, now, Christmas in Action of
Southeast Michigan, Inc. )
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Saturday, April 24, 2010,
the last Saturday in April each year.
It is a one-day program of home repair in
Ann Arbor
for a homeowner who is a low-income, elderly
person.
Professionals will be on hand to guide and instruct us volunteers.
| Thank you all for volunteering. It was a great day,
Saturday, April 24, 2010.
THANKS for April 2010!!!!
Nearly forty members of St. Francis of Assisi improved the lives of
two homeowners and their families by participating in the Christmas in
Action “Day of Action” on Saturday, April 24th and rehabilitating two homes
in Ypsilanti Township.
Christmas in Action is a national nonprofit organization with the mission
of preserving safe and affordable housing for low-income, elderly and physically-challenged
homeowners by bringing together volunteers, building professionals and
donated materials to repair and rehabilitate the homes. This work
is provided at no cost to the homeowners. Nationwide, hundreds of
homes were renovated in dozens of locations this year.
A retiree’s home was made safer by a crew that replaced the handrails
at the front and back doors and repaired the locksets and storm doors.
The home will be warmer this winter with a new thermostat and mail box
slot. And the yard was brightened by the efforts of the landscaping
crew, who dodged rain drops to remake flower beds, remove an old stump
and reseed the grass.
Meanwhile, at the home of a woman confined to a wheelchair, the volunteers
completed several major projects. The bathroom floor and vanity
and plumbing were replaced. Electrical work included replacing a
ceiling fan and light fixtures, and plumbing repair work and a garbage
disposal installation were completed in the kitchen. Also,
the living room and hallway walls were patched and painted, and a new storm
door was installed. And to allow the homeowner to go outside,
an entire wheel chair ramp was built outside the front door.
This job required a few parish members to spend parts of two extra days
to complete!
Congratulations and thanks go out to everyone who so generously gave
their time and talents to this great cause. Catherine
Bielski, Robert Deegan, Thomas Deegan, Michael Falahee, Carl Fulper,
Brian Fulper, Marissa Fulper, Patricia and George Gatecliff, Diane Gledhill,
Bernardo Gonzalez, Mark Haney, Robert Klingler, Charles Lee, James Lee,
Mary Lemire, Fr. John Linden, James Moore, Jeff Mynhier, Nathan and Brian
O’Neil, Steve, Magen and Ryan Polgar, Luis Quintana, Myra & Tess Raveendra,
Reynaldo and Max Romero Ronquillo, Robert Scott, Mike Semanske, Kevin,
Kyle and Jacob Tallio, Nicolle Wahla, Thomas DuRussel-Weston, Jim Wiseman,
Ed Yee, Matt Zawistowski, and Caroline Zubieta.
----------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------
Saturday, April 24, 2010.
(Due to good volunteer numbers this year we are helping with two homes
on the same street on the east side of Ypsilanti - which is a long ways
- but they desperately need our help.)
Not all jobs take all day, but some will - so we want to get started
early. If you can't work the whole day, that's fine.
We’ll start the day at 8 AM. Plan to congregate at the
home at: ... .
We’ll provide some breakfast snacks, lunch and cold drinks.
We ask you to bring any work tools, gardening tools and work gloves.
(See a more specific list of jobs/tools need below here.)
Here are the details:
------------ ------------
Our first home owner is wheelchair bound and is cared for by her
daughter.
* Replace kitchen light switch
* Install disposal in kitchen and reconnect drains
* Replace fan and light in Emma’s room
* Install new vanity in bathroom
* Remove peeling peel and stick (ironic, isn’t it)
tiles
* Replace with new flooring (TBD, probably a vinyl
sheet)
* Fix smoke alarm
* Install CO alarm
* Patch and paint hallway and living room walls
* Install front door lock plate and reinforce door
frame
* If time permits – small wheelchair ramp for front
exit
------------ ------------
Our second home owner is a very sweet retiree who is thrilled to
have us visit. The tasks at her home are:
* Replace doorbell
* Replace front door weather stripping
* Replace locksets on front and back doors
* Repair/replace mailbox slot
* Clean up all beds – remove weeds/add mulch/plant
low maintenance plantings
* Moles – get rid of them – does anyone have any
ideas?
* Seed bare spots in lawn
* Construct railing for back door exit
------------ ------------
So, out of all this, the tools needed are:
* Plumbing tools
* Electrical tools
* Carpentry tools and power tools
* Lawn and garden tools
* Paint scrapers/drywall trowels
Be sure to mark your tools so you can find them at the end of the day!
|
Only TEENAGERS who come to help WITHOUT their parents
must complete & bring the “minor
release consent form” – the purpose of the form is to provide the ability
to perform emergency medical treatment if a parent is not there. The
form is in a PDF here: Minor-Release.pdf
If you want to help but don't want to get your hands dirty, volunteer
to pick-up and deliver the food at lunchtime.
To help with funds for the home repair expenses please make your
donation check out to: “St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church” and
note for “Christmas in ACTION”. Mail it to: St. Francis of
Assisi Catholic Church, Parish Social Ministry Office, 2150 Frieze Ave.,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
To participate, submit
this form, or, Contact:
Scott Wright (734-821-2121)
Our St. Francis TEAM Leader:
Jim Wissman
(734-971-9215) (cell#734-657-3391)
On the last Saturday of April
each year...
Help revitalize a house in our community. The homeowner selection
process gives priority to low-income, elderly persons who cannot maintain
their home on their own and have no family members available to help them.
When you volunteer with the "Christmas in ACTION" effort you are committing
to serve for just one day, at just one house with about 25 other awesome
volunteers here in Washtenaw County. Invite your friends, family
members, co-workers, neighbors (you get the idea).
To participate, submit
this form, or, Contact:
Scott
Wright (734-821-2121)
If you wish to help, at this point there are
two avenues - volunteering and monetary donations.
About 400 volunteers will be a part of the work
on the last Saturday of April. Others will help in the many preparations
that must be done before 'the day'.
If you might have dollars to donate, they will
be used to buy materials. Some materials will be donated, but some are
very specific and need to be purchased. Some materials are sold at very
low prices, but do need to be paid for.
Leadership?
You are invited to simply help on the day of the event, or, you are
also welcome to serve in some leadership capacity:
-
as a House Captain (This will require 10-20 hours of work before
the Christmas in April day) or,
-
as House Leader (This will require 5-10 hours of work before the
Christmas in April Day) as a Committee member, or,
-
as a helper to review houses for selection please call early
in
March:
Carolyn
Hastings (998-9337)
|
|
This home repair program
is a great service and helps many people. It is always a surprise to see
so many homes in such bad repair, but, never a surprise to know how many
people there are who are eager to help when they hear of peoples' distress.
Current home owner referral forms are on the website.
(Click on 'forms and publications'.
Make as many as you need, distribute as many as you can and send them to
the correct address on the right.)
The Ann Arbor chapter and the Ypsilanti
chapter merged together in 2007.
You can help identify homes which need attention
in the Ann Arbor area.
Each yera the application deadline is the end
of February, and, we visit all the homes to make certain the applicants
understand the process.
Soon after that visit we will visit again to closely
examine the work to be done.
Almost all of the work will be to address health
and safety issues. For example, kitchen linoleum is replaced when it curls
and becomes a tripping hazard. Stair railings are installed or tightened.
Quite a bit of weatherization is done, to cut down on drafty homes and
high heat bills. You might be surprised at the number of toilets about
to fall to the floor below because of leaks which cause the floor wood
to rot and soften. Plumbing and electrical work is done and many roofs
are patched or redone. It is very remarkable.
To participate, submit
this form, or, Contact:
Scott
Wright (734-821-2121)
|
|
