THANKS for April 2010!!!!

Nearly forty members of St. Francis of Assisi improved the lives of two homeowners and their families by participating in the Christmas in Action “Day of Action” on Saturday, April 24th and rehabilitating two homes in Ypsilanti Township.

Christmas in Action is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of preserving safe and affordable housing for low-income, elderly and physically-challenged homeowners by bringing together volunteers, building professionals and donated materials to repair and rehabilitate the homes.  This work is provided at no cost to the homeowners.  Nationwide, hundreds of homes were renovated in dozens of locations this year. 

A retiree’s home was made safer by a crew that replaced the handrails at the front and back doors and repaired the locksets and storm doors.  The home will be warmer this winter with a new thermostat and mail box slot.   And the yard was brightened by the efforts of the landscaping crew, who dodged rain drops to remake flower beds, remove an old stump and reseed the grass.

Meanwhile, at the home of a woman confined to a wheelchair, the volunteers completed several major projects.   The bathroom floor and vanity and plumbing were replaced.  Electrical work included replacing a ceiling fan and light fixtures, and plumbing repair work and a garbage disposal installation were completed in the kitchen.   Also, the living room and hallway walls were patched and painted, and a new storm door was installed.   And to allow the homeowner to go outside, an entire wheel chair ramp was built outside the front door.   This job required a few parish members to spend parts of two extra days to complete!

Congratulations and thanks go out to everyone who so generously gave their time and talents to this great cause.     Catherine Bielski, Robert Deegan, Thomas Deegan, Michael Falahee, Carl Fulper,  Brian Fulper, Marissa Fulper, Patricia and George Gatecliff, Diane Gledhill, Bernardo Gonzalez, Mark Haney, Robert Klingler, Charles Lee, James Lee, Mary Lemire, Fr. John Linden, James Moore, Jeff Mynhier, Nathan and Brian O’Neil, Steve, Magen and Ryan Polgar, Luis Quintana, Myra & Tess Raveendra, Reynaldo and Max Romero Ronquillo, Robert Scott, Mike Semanske, Kevin, Kyle and Jacob Tallio, Nicolle Wahla, Thomas DuRussel-Weston, Jim Wiseman, Ed Yee, Matt Zawistowski, and Caroline Zubieta.

Not all jobs take all day, but some will - so we want to get started early.  If you can't work the whole day, that's fine.

We’ll start the day at 8 AM.   Plan to congregate at the home at: ... . 

We’ll provide some breakfast snacks, lunch and cold drinks.   We ask you to bring any work tools, gardening tools and work gloves.  (See a more specific list of jobs/tools need below here.)

Here are the details:
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Our first home owner is wheelchair bound and is cared for by her daughter.
    * Replace kitchen light switch
    * Install disposal in kitchen and reconnect drains
    * Replace fan and light in Emma’s room
    * Install new vanity in bathroom
    * Remove peeling peel and stick (ironic, isn’t it) tiles
    * Replace with new flooring (TBD, probably a vinyl sheet)
    * Fix smoke alarm
    * Install CO alarm
    * Patch and paint hallway and living room walls
    * Install front door lock plate and reinforce door frame
    * If time permits – small wheelchair ramp for front exit
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Our second home owner is a very sweet retiree who is thrilled to have us visit.   The tasks at her home are:
    * Replace doorbell
    * Replace front door weather stripping
    * Replace locksets on front and back doors
    * Repair/replace mailbox slot
    * Clean up all beds – remove weeds/add mulch/plant low maintenance plantings
    * Moles – get rid of them – does anyone have any ideas?
    * Seed bare spots in lawn
    * Construct railing for back door exit
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So, out of all this, the tools needed are:
    * Plumbing tools
    * Electrical tools
    * Carpentry tools and power tools
    * Lawn and garden tools
    * Paint scrapers/drywall trowels

Be sure to mark your tools so you can find them at the end of the day!