By Steve Knight/reporter3@trcle.com
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They scraped.
They painted.
They repaired bathrooms and front porches.
They replaced doors and windows.
They cleaned up yards.
Hundreds of volunteers from every corner of the community — business people and civic organizations, church groups and schools — turned out to repair and do maintenance on the homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners in the Cleburne area Saturday as part of Christmas in Action’s annual community work day.
Supplies such as construction materials, electrical and plumbing supplies, tools and painting supplies were donated by local companies.
“We see people put pride back to where they live,” said Teresa Richardson, Christmas in Action board secretary, recalling 11 years worth of work by the organization. “We have the same volunteers year after year. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Board Member Maxine Ammons said she gets a good feeling helping fellow residents each year.
“They want to fix the place, but they don’t have the money,” she said. “When they see the results, it makes your day.”
At a house on Barber Street, volunteers reconstructed the front porch and did some plumbing, electrical work and exterior painting.
Wal-Mart employees put in hours rebuilding the porch during the week in preparation for volunteers’ Saturday arrival.
Peter Svendson, board member and first president of the organization, expressed his gratitude to the student volunteers.
“The magic is seeing the kids do the hard work in painting the house,” he said. “It makes my head swell to see the kids working.”
Board Member Gary Prows, Wal-Mart Distribution Center manager, said this was a chance to give back to the community.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of volunteers, and it’s been a good project for us.”
Homeowner Danny Jones, who was sweeping and doing yard work, expressed his appreciation to the volunteers working on his house, especially the youngsters, who, he said, were teaching his “grandkids how to help each other.”
Workers reconstructed a kitchen, replaced doors and painted at a house on Mansfield Street.
Sharon Switzer is a contract service supervisor for Home Depot, which donated paint, top soil, mulch, three doors, a toilet and a storage shed.
“It makes me proud of my company when we do this,” she said. “It’s one of the perks of the job.”
Jo Anne Fincher could not help but smile as she watched volunteers paint her house.
“I am excited. I am blessed,” she said. “I am glad to have them all here. They are going to fix my yard, too.”
Volunteers were seemingly everywhere around Cleburne, including on Sabine, where they repaired a kitchen floor and interior sheetrock on. They painted a house on Poindexter.
After a day of hard work, volunteers were treated to hamburgers at Carver Park, courtesy of Cleburne firefighters.
“I enjoy doing work for other people,” said Rebecca Long, 15, a Cleburne High School student who with some classmates were spreading dirt and painting at one location. “It makes me feel good.”
