800 volunteers help revitalize Aurora homes
Roughly 20 houses in the Pattersonville neighborhood on Aurora’s near east side will be safer and more accessible come Sunday after more than 800 volunteers make repairs as part of the Rebuilding Together Aurora program.
During the first day of the 20th annual April rebuilding event on Friday, 36 groups of volunteers from Aurora-area churches, corporations, service groups and trade organizations converged near Grand Boulevard and Calhoun Street to repair homes for low-income or elderly occupants. Safety, energy efficiency, accessibility and beautification work continues Saturday.
Volunteers for the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Aurora program often spread their efforts throughout the city, but organizers decided to zoom in on one area of need this year, Executive Director Amy Altenbern said.
“The number of homes and sites we’re working on is less, but the impact we’re going to have is greater because we will be in a more concentrated area,” Altenbern said.
Organizers this year added a resource fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Grand Boulevard and Calhoun Street to introduce Pattersonville residents to groups such as Family Focus, Community Career Center, Family Counseling Service of Aurora, Administer Justice and Wheatland Salem Church, which provide social services in the area.
Grand Boulevard will be closed between Farnsworth and Sumner Avenues, and Kendall Street will be closed between New York Street and Grand Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday as volunteers stage materials to make needed repairs.