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Review
This year’s Go and Be season of service was a successful due in large part to the holistic approach to service shared by all the entities involved. Each organization brought something to the program that contributed its overall success. Organization, volunteers, materials and supplies, and funding each played a significant role. Specific roles were addressed in the previous report, but we want to list our partners again in this final report, as a testament to the power of many coming together to serve those in our community who need it most.
Partners and participants include:
- City of McKinney
- Christ Fellowship Church
- 3eMckinney
- Habitat for Humanity
- Baptist Men's Disaster (DBM) group
- First United Methodist’s Hands and Hammers
- Crossroads Christian Church
- Rheas Mill Church
- First Baptist Church of McKinney
We exceeded our stated objective of working on 15-20 properties. We were able to work on 25properties. A selection of photos from various projects will accompany this report. Expenditures are included in a separate document.
The Go and Be Saturdays, April 23 and April 30, had more than 630volunteers sign up to work on over 20 properties or serve as on-site support of the event. In addition to the home repairs, we also had our younger volunteers meet at Webb Elementary and fill large “blessing bags” with educational supplies and snacks for the students at the school. The school’s soccer goals were also repaired and painted.
Lunch was provided for all volunteers and homeowners’ families. The left-over food was taken to the nearby day-worker site and shared with the men there. Nothing was wasted.
Over 5,000 volunteer hours were logged on the two primary Go and Be Saturdays.In the months after the event, volunteers spent over 300 hours working on four other properties.
These were homes that needed more extensive repairs. We learned from past events that trying to fit these types of projects into the confines of two Saturday work days was not feasible.
These projects were handled by Christ Fellowship’s C4 Men’s Group. This is a core group of volunteer men with repair skills that also served as team leaders for many of the other projects as well.We also utilized a local fence company to build two short fences.
Habitat provided all paint and most painting supplies for the entire Go and Be Season. This was a huge cost savings for us, and is indicative of the common goals and willingness to partner and share resources.
Additionally, Hands and Hammers took responsibility for the repairs and costs at 206 Lincoln, and Rheas Mill Church accepted the repairs and costs of the project at 812 Green.
Before and After Showcase
There were several projects that stood out for a variety of reasons. We have showcased three stories below, and included “before and after” photos to show the impact our collective efforts had on not just the homes, but the lives of the people who live in them.
807 Anthony
The Vasquez family had enrolled in Habitat’s Brush withKindness (BWK) program. The family’s enthusiasm and willingness to be active partners in the project made this a win/win for all involved.
Habitat provided the exterior paint, along with the needed repairs for preparing the house for painting. They also provided 23 exterior windows to be replaced. Our volunteers provided manpower for the window installation and exterior painting.
We also provided blown-in ceiling insulation, and replaced the rear patio cover, which the family uses for a variety of purposes. We also rebuilt a section of the fence at the house.
The Vasquez’ goal is to satisfy their current BWK loan with Habitat, then re-apply and have the roof replaced.It should be noted that this house is on Anthony St., one of the main through streets in the Mouzon neighborhood, and presents a very positive example of affordable housing in the area.
Photos begin on next page…
Figure 1- Before
Figure 2- After
Figure 3- Before
Figure 4- After
Figure 5- Before
Figure 6- After
212 Neilson
The Cruz family lives on a corner lot. Their home is highly visible from several directions and once repaired, makes a very good impression as one enters the interior of the neighborhood. The family was very excited to assist with the project, and enlisted many family members, including their three young children to help.
The siding was mismatched where repairs had been made around a front window, and the front porch was not safe to use. The porch’s roof was minimally supported as well. We replaced the existing siding on the front and north side of the house, rebuilt the front porch, and shored up the porch roof. We added proper trim and paint to the exterior, along with new front steps.
Figure 7- Before
Figure 8- Before
Figure 9- After
Figure 10- Before and After
Figure 11- The Cruz family with one of the volunteers
1001 Greenville
The Gillard residence had three generations of family living there. Several of them are battling chronic illnesses. They asked us to replace two ceiling fans, and install a dishwasher they had purchased. They also asked if we could repair at least one of their bathrooms. The flooring in the larger bathroom at the back of the house was unstable and posed a real hazard around the toilet and the bath tub. We were told that they were hesitant to use either for fear of the floor caving in.
We anticipated that, based on visual inspection, we would encounter issues with the framing and joists once the flooring was removed. When we removed the sub-flooring, we found that the plumbing was so bad that the raw sewage was pouring directly onto the ground under the bathroom.
We ended up tearing out the old bathroom down to the studs, and rebuilding it, installing a new toilet, tub/shower and vanity as part of the remodel.
Due to physical limitations, family members were not able to provide labor assistance. However, they provided a freezer truck loaded with bagged ice for each of the two Go and Be Saturday events as their contribution to the program.
The Gillard’s now have a safe, clean, sanitary bathroom for their large family to share.
Figure 13- Before
Figure 14- Construction
Figure 15- After