A advance team of volunteers descended on the Elm Street home of Ethel Mae Sledge late last week to do a bit of estimating.
The effort is are part of a collaboration between the United Way Day of Caring and the Greenwood-Leflore Fuller Center for Housing.
Robert “Rocky” Powers, president and volunteer construction coordinator with the Fuller Center, and Greenwood architect Dale Riser are co-chairs of the Day of Caring Committee.
Day of Caring is scheduled for June 9.
“We’re going to have a lot of people. We’re going to have 40 or 50 people from Memphis, from the GM group, that were here last year,” said Powers.
Greenwood Leflore Hospital will furnish teams of “runners,” who can ferry supplies or volunteers to where they are needed.
Volunteers will work on three houses, refurbishing plumbing and addressing problems that the low-income owners cannot afford to have done or do on their own.
“We’ve got another Day of Caring house we’re almost finished on. They can paint the whole outside of the house in a matter of hours,” Powers said.
Sledge, who has owned her home since 1988, said she was delighted with the planned repairs.
Joining Powers and Riser were other members of the Fuller Center board of directors, William Stanciel, Greenwood code enforcement officer and Keith Chapman, who is retired from HomeFront building supply company.
Powers said each home worked during the Day of Caring will be given a “Greater Blessing Box” by the Fuller Center to help defray the cost of the repairs.
With the boxes, homeowners make periodic contributions toward the renovation of their homes. Powers said there is no minimum payment.
“We ask them to pay us back what they can, when they can,” he said.
Powers said the boxes have proven to be a popular way for people to contribute.
“It’s another way for them to help somebody else,” he said.
Powers said he’s looking for more volunteers for the Day of Caring and also for the Fuller Center. He can be contacted at home, 453-6057, and on his cell phone at 392-9398.
• Contact Bob Darden at bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
