Volunteers Gathered to Help Neighbors More Safely Enter and Exit Their Homes

On Saturday, October 30th and Saturday, November 6th, small teams of Rebuilding Together Kent County volunteers mobilized to repair steps and ramps.

Back row, L to R: Jim Trumbauer, David Holyoke, Bob Haist, John Donnelly. Front row: RTKC Board Member, Larry Dinoff & George Barnett.

In Rock Hall, a senior neighbor living alone requested help with an aging wooden ramp that she uses to enter and exit her home. She has replaced several boards herself over the years but needed the expertise of our dedicated volunteers to do an extensive overhaul of the structure. Six people spent several hours removing and replacing rotting deck boards, spindles and handrails so Mrs. B could feel confident about getting in and out of the house. Most volunteers were local but the award for the longest traveler goes to Bob Haist, former Board President of Rebuilding Together Kent County, who traveled from his now-home in Pennsylvania to re-engage with an organization that has been important to him for many years.

When staff followed up with Mrs. B following the project, she said, “those young gentlemen were tremendous. Now I don’t have to worry about stepping on a board and falling through.”

Larry Dinoff and Amy Sine removing rotten boards.

The previous Saturday, a crew of five, including a local Washington College employee and her teenage son, repaired front and back steps at a home near Fairlee. Mrs. P and her adult daughter, who is living with disabilities, were nervous about the holes and general instability of the steps at both entries to their home. The crew, led by longtime Rebuilding Together supporter, Bill Ghio, was able to replace rotting deck boards and handrails in the front and almost entirely reconstruct the back steps.

The materials for both builds were purchased using gift cards donated by Lowe’s. Lowe’s continues to be a tremendous supporter of Rebuilding Together affiliates across the country and they are grateful to their National office for helping to secure these funds. When Rebuilding Together Kent County can leverage this in-kind support with the gifts of time and skill from their tremendous volunteers, they are able to reserve more federal and state grant funds to hire contractors for repairs requiring licensed professionals. They make these critical repairs to help neighbors remain in homes that are safe, warm and dry.

Rebuilding Together Kent County’s mission is repairing homes, revitalizing communities, rebuilding lives. They leverage gifts of time, money, skill and labor to repair and rehabilitate homes for vulnerable seniors, those living with disabilities, and families who are income eligible in Kent County. They are dedicated to ending substandard housing. All work is done at no cost to homeowners who meet the eligibility criteria. This is an equal opportunity program. Learn more at RebuildingTogetherKCMD.org.