Elgin renovates five homes to celebrate National NeighborWorks Week
Elgin is one of thousands of communities across the country celebrating National NeighborWorks Week next Saturday, as 50 volunteers spruce up five older homes northeast of downtown Elgin.
Participants willing to help landscape, paint and remove chain link fencing from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday may still sign up by calling Johnny Placeres, director of Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley at (847) 695-0399.
Participants will meet at the Bethesda Church, God in Christ community center at 453 Fremont Street, where they will receive a free T-shirt, work gloves and a complimentary breakfast. A barbecue lunch is also free to participants once the projects are complete. Organizers provide all materials.
A rain day is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon on June 21 at the same location.
Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley in conjunction with its parent organization in Chicago chose the Summit Park Neighborhood & Settlement -- a two-year-old neighborhood association near the Dundee Avenue corridor -- as its project partner because of the group's recent activism and innovations.
The group organized a locally-televised Peace Walk after a spree of gang-related shootings last summer in Elgin. The effort helped it gain the attention of local elected officials and garner a 2008 Elgin Image Award.
"We have been truly blessed with a lot of local and regional support," said Jim Vaughn, president of the association. "We hope to use the National NeighborWorks event to help clean up and restore our neighborhood pride."
Organizers chose five properties in the Summit Park area needing help and are working with homeowners to fulfill their requests. Improvements will total nearly $5,000 and will be paid for by NeighborWorks America.
A property at Hill and Addison will undergo an extreme landscaping makeover, with the removal of overgrown shrubs and trees. An estimated 20 volunteers from CrossWinds, Bethlehem Lutheran and West Ridge Community churches in Elgin are also planning to spruce up the home's three-season porch, install ceiling fans and complete other projects.
"Our church members are truly looking forward to June 7," said Stephen Puett, pastor of CrossWinds. "This is a tangible way we can reach out to the community."
Another property owner on the 300 block of Ann Street is having her chain link fence removed under the city of Elgin's Chain Link Fence Removal program. Elgin City Council Member Dave Kaptain will oversee that project, which will also involve a team of volunteers landscaping the front yard.
Other participants will plant perennials at major street corners throughout the neighborhood. A resident on Fremont Street will have a screen door reinstalled and receive other help from a crew led by Vaughn.
National NeighborWorks Week, celebrating its 25th year, is a celebration of the 4,400 members of its network, which includes Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley. During June 7-14, NeighborWorks organizations mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers, businesses, neighbors, friends and civic leaders in a week of neighborhood change and awareness.