Aurora volunteers spruce up 2 homes
Ten kids who attend day care at the Aurora home of Ginger and Corey Ingram, and the three children who live there full-time, will be playing and staying in a much improved space after dozens of volunteers renovated the exterior and interior of the residence Saturday.
Working from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers from the Aurora Kiwanis Club, Fox Metro Water Reclamation District and Joseph Corporation removed dead brush, installed new basement windows, painted interior rooms, added a new storm door and replaced an old front porch.
The volunteer organizations collaborated with Rebuilding Together Aurora, an affiliate of a national nonprofit that provides free housing repairs for senior citizens and low-income homeowners. They renovated two southeast Aurora homes on Saturday, which the Kiwanis Club recognized as a day of volunteering called Kiwanis One Day of Service.
“We all believe in community revitalization and we put our resources together,” said Emily Stern, executive director of Rebuilding Together Aurora. “It's a great representation on behalf of the volunteer organizations.”
Roughly 90 volunteers, some with expertise in plumbing or electrical work, and others with a simple desire to help, gave their time to improve the two properties.
For the Ingrams, the outpouring of community support was as impressive as the improvements to their home.
“It's amazing. I'm not even understanding the full scope of the generosity of some of these people,” said Corey Ingram, 37, a veteran of the Navy and Army National Guard.
Ingram and his wife, Ginger, 38, were at the home Saturday with their oldest of three children, lending a hand wherever possible. They run a day care program out of their home now with hopes of eventually moving it to another location.
Aurora Kiwanis Club President Pat Divine said his organization — which focuses on community service efforts that assist children — wanted to help with home rebuilding for the first time this year because of the burden placed on families by the still slow economy and job market.
“The important thing is we're helping a family,” said Divine, 55. “That's why we're here. That's why we want to take care of them.”
April will be a busy time for Rebuilding Together Aurora, Stern said, as the two homes renovated Saturday will be the first of 33 fixed up this month.
While volunteers made much progress on the Ingram's property, other groups will return later this month to fix leaks in the roof of their blue-gray, two-story home, and again in May to install a new roof for the home's detached garage, Stern said.
Homeowners can apply at rebuildingtogetheraurora.com to have repairs done by the nonprofit. Applicants must have homeowner's insurance and a household income of less than $60,000 a year to qualify.