Posted by: Jeneane Becker, Sales and Marketing Coordinator
When I told my husband last week that we had renovations to do this weekend, he figured he’d have some yard-work, carpentry, and painting around our house. He was half right... There was yard-work, and there was carpentry—but not at our house.
This past weekend, we put our own renovations aside to work on someone else’s home. Saturday was “Rebuilding Day”—a day when the non-profit organization Rebuilding Together sponsors local home renovation projects for people and communities in need. Although my husband was unsure of the work he would do that day, he agreed to the 7am start to his Saturday—as if he had a choice…
As a group of 15 volunteers, we replaced an old cast-iron tub (taking it down the narrow stairway was the most arduous task there), replaced 12 windows, hauled old furniture out of the basement, and weeded about 4 years worth of overgrowth.
As my husband and I drove home at the end of a long and tiring day—more difficult than anything I have ever put on his “Honey-Do” list—we agreed that we enjoyed these renovations more than anything we would have done on our house. It felt good to make a difference in someone else’s home…
We had finished with other people’s renovations for the day, but that day was the kick-off to the three-stop “Charitable Renovations Tour 2008”…
You see, this week HGTV was coming to Baltimore and DC to partner with Rebuilding Together for some larger-scale, week-long renovation projects. Pella donated products and our company provided labor for projects in both cities. I was able to be involved and saw first-hand the impact of those renovations.
Second Stop on the Renovation Tour 2008: DC… This homeowner takes such pride in her home. She has maintained her original wood floors, painted much of the house in warm colors and textures, and decorated with classic furniture and art. She did this on her own—and would keep going, were it not for recent surgery.
The crew removed and replaced 2 old, leaking windows that day… With so many years of water leakage, the plaster wall below was bloated and had buckled—both the wall and the windows were replaced. The homeowner hadn’t spent much time in that room in recent years—but based on her reaction, I expect that will be different now…
Last Stop of the Tour: Baltimore… When I arrived that morning, our crew was already at the Peer Mediation Center. They had already unloaded the 7 large windows they would install in place of the art-deco style glass blocks. Some volunteers were cleaning up rubble in the open lot behind the building to make a recreation area, while others were restoring the mural along the side of the building. By lunchtime, we had made enough progress that a few of the mediators came outside to admire all the work.
It was truly heartwarming to see their excitement about the changes. These mediators and their Center are the heart and soul of the community, and it was nice to see the building get the respect and attention it deserves.
We gave one of the mediators a Pella cap… Another mediator arrived a few hours later and wanted a Pella cap of his own, so I gave him mine. It seemed strange to me at the time that they were so excited and proud to sport our logo, but they were obviously touched by the experience.
After this experience, I hope to be a groupie again for the 2009 Renovations tour…