One volunteer-led organization has redefined the meaning of being a good neighbor by helping residents and community facilities with repair projects.
Rebuilding Together Peninsula, a nonprofit organization, has helped thousands of families and community facilities with repairs since 1989. The biannual fall rebuilding day took place last week and will continue for the next few as more than 200 volunteers will spread out to 10 sites needing repairs, Robert Skelton, Marketing and Community Engagement manager, said.
“The work we do helps preserve affordable homeownership because by being able to take care of the repair work, they can stay in the community that they have sometimes been living in for decades,” Skelton said. “It’s just an amazing moment to see the work in action and give faith that there are people that care and there are ways we can assist those who are struggling.”
The core of RTP’s work was fully displayed last Saturday, Oct. 14, when more than a dozen volunteers arrived at 96-year-old Verley Kirksey’s home in Redwood City to help install grab-bars, paint the exterior of her house, replace a screen door and two windows in the kitchen. Kirksey’s daughter Carol Cornish said not only were the repairs needed and appreciated, the friendly volunteers made Kirksey’s day.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me,” Kirksey said. “I am usually the giver, not the receiver, and I appreciated everything they did, and it’s things that I couldn’t afford. Very nice people, very polite.”
Cornish said the work at her mother’s home isn’t finished because there was lead in the exterior paint of her house, which needs to be removed. RTP is looking to hire a licensed painter to remove it before volunteers return to finish the job.
Originally known as Christmas in April, Rebuilding Together started in 1973 in Midland, Texas, where a small group of neighbors noticed a growing need in the community. Homes had fallen into disrepair and their neighbors couldn’t afford to fix them on their own. The group volunteered their time, skills and money to rehabilitate those homes. Half a century later, the spirit to help the community continues to thrive, and the network of Rebuilding Together has since spread nationwide, according to RTP’s website.
The organization helps low-income qualified individuals with home repairs. It also helps community facilities in need of repairs, all of which are funded from corporate and private donations and carried out through volunteers, Skelton said.
RTP’s Fall Rebuilding Day focuses on a few community spaces. Last week, a group of volunteers from Sares-Regis, a real estate development firm, helped reinvigorate Twin Pines Park in Belmont. One of those volunteers, Emma Peterson, administrative assistant for Sares-Regis, said volunteering at Twin Pines was an excellent way to team-build with co-workers.
“When you are out bowling or at a bar [for team building events], it is for a few hours, but doing outreach programs like this continues to grow, and the work that we do outlives our experience, and it gives back to the community,” Peterson said. “It felt good to get outdoors for a few hours and get hands dirty.”
Peterson said she and 35 other Sares-Regis employees helped repaint picnic tables and mulch. The volunteer work was so rewarding she said she plans to do it again with her work or on her own time.
Still, there is more work to do. On Nov. 3, 10 RTP volunteers will be at Live in Peace, a shelter and support facility for youth, where they will work on painting, hardscaping and debris removal.
“It is a magical moment when a homeowner realizes a group of neighbors is repairing their home,” Skelton said.
