Submitted by Rebuilding Together Thurston County
See all those people? They are your neighbors! They are just some of the folks who spent a recent Saturday working on the maintenance needs of some very special homeowners in Thurston County. As part of Rebuilding Day 2014 there were over 150 volunteers who worked on the homes of nine individuals and families – all of whom were incredibly grateful. It was a fabulous day and the rain held off just long enough to complete all the necessary repairs – whew!
With morning pastries provided by Momma Bear’s Bakery in Yelm, and a welcome from each of the House Captains, the six different work groups set about getting their chores checked off the proverbial list: power wash driveways, decks and patios; pull weeds, cut back overgrown bushes and rambling ivy, plant new flowers, spread mulch, and water; replace windows that let in lots of cold air and water; clean out and repair gutters; install grab bars; repair drippy faucets; install new doors; paint; and lots more.
Eight of the projects were located in Lacey (including a mobile home park where four homeowners received services), so we were delighted to have a visit from Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt from the Lacey City Council.
She toured several of the projects, met with the homeowners and came away impressed with the work of so many volunteers and donors. Mayor Pete Kmet of Tumwater rolled up his sleeves to work with the volunteers at Cheryl’s home. Though she has an Olympia address, her home is closer to services in Tumwater, so it was particularly noteworthy that he was so generous with his time with RTTC that day. Thanks to Ms. Pratt and Mr. Kmet, both of whom are clearly interested in the efforts of their citizenry to make their towns and homes healthier and safer.
Olympia Federal Savings (and their significant financial support), United Roofing (and their 12 roofers!), the very capable services of Hometown Property Management, and Lacey Gateway Rotary members (and their strong backs) were the movers and shakers behind the biggest project this year: Shirley’s home. After her husband died three years ago, this 76 year old lady lost interest in most everything and didn’t have the ability to take care of much of it in any event.
With the assistance of about 45 volunteers, her home was transformed and in the end was a stunning example of how much good can be done in a day! With a completely new roof, numerous smaller projects completed around the home and extensive landscape maintenance, her home is in a truly beautiful setting; and most importantly she feels like it’s something that she can maintain now that it is all under control.
Special thanks go to Western Cedar Supply/PABCO for the roof supplies, to Ken Kirkland for his House Captain leadership, and to Dirty Dave’s for a terrific lunch. Susan, a 70 year old woman now living alone, received services from the Lacey Presbyterian Church (a team of about 32 men and women who have been with us on Rebuilding Day for several years now; thank you, volunteers, and to the Church for their continued financial support of RTTC!). Big thanks also go to Rob Hodgeman, the House Captain, and to Subway for the donated box lunches that kept the volunteers going through the afternoon.
The project at Crestwood Park in Lacey had an energetic crew from the YouthBuild Construction Trades program (New Market Skills Center in Tumwater) who teamed with an equally hard working larger group from KAYO/KGY Radio. This was definitely a case of age and experience, mixed with eagerness and wonder – surely the best of all combinations! All three homeowners (Curt, Vietnam vet; Drema, a 71 year old lady living alone; and Ivan, who is disabled) were all absolutely thrilled with the work done on their homes and the differences were significant! The team of volunteers also replaced the security bollards at the entrance of the park that were taken out in a car accident earlier this year. Coordinating all these efforts was the Sater family (Lane, Tonya and all five of their children, each of whom contributed to the successes of the day). In addition, T & S Cleaning (Ted and Shirley were both there); Chris from Gillaspie’s Tree Service; and Casa Mia and their pizzas all contributed to a job well done. And since then, we’ve received calls from others in the park who would like assistance.
Failing windows can cause lots of angst for any homeowner, but imagine if you did not have the funds to do anything about it. That was the position 67 year old Cheryl was in, so with the enthusiasm of HomeStreet Bank employee Chris Hutchison and the major financial backing of the same institution, along with the construction skills of Nick Bevans (Bevans Construction) and John Hays (Puget Construction), she was the very happy recipient of five (yep, 5!) new windows! In addition, Mayor Kmet was a member of this crew and Pizza Hut donated lunch for everyone.
And finally there were the Robyn and Cameo projects. Both are relatively young women (Robyn with certain disabilities and Cameo a single mom with three kids) with leaking, safety, and security repairs – important to address to keep the homes in good and safe condition as both intend to live in their homes for years to come. Lowe’s on Martin Way in Olympia was not only instrumental in providing work crews for both projects but also provided the expertise of James Powers (Assistant Manager of Lowe’s on Martin Way) as the House Captain for both projects. Subway and Jimmy John’s provided lunches for participants.
In addition to all these outstanding companies and volunteers, there were several more who absolutely need recognition for their contributions, which were connected to more than one project: Cathy Johnson of Dandelion Gardens worked on two projects and was instrumental in the coordination and design of both projects; Mary Carskadon and Jackie Ashley enhanced everyone’s lunches by providing cookies and chips to each site; Cutter’s Point Coffee provided warming coffee for several of the sites; and Rob’s Excavation and NW Cascade provided port-a-potties for each work site.
And where would we be without Lowe’s on Martin Way in Olympia? Not in the position we’re in, that’s for sure. They’ve been working with us for months to make sure that all materials we needed were pulled and delivered at exactly the right time; that all their employees were trained in how to deal with us and the coordination of materials; and their financial support has been huge.
Here’s a huge THANK YOU to our Executive Director, Raechel Kilcup, for all of her hard work and dedication to coordinating all of these projects as well as to all volunteers and participants who made Rebuilding Day 2014 the success that it was!
Altogether, we served 32 homes in our county during the month of April, utilized over 400 volunteers, and for every $1 donated we were able to turn it into $13 of service to these homeowners. Typically, $1 is turned into $4. We are extremely proud of the work done and thankful for the support of our community.
