Volunteers gather with family members before the rebuilding project begins.
Tears of joy from the appreciative homeowner provided reward for the City Light volunteers who spent the day on Saturday, Oct. 13, bringing a little sunshine into the life of Carolyn, an elderly homeowner in Judkins Park, on a damp and dreary day.
The Seattle City Light Rebuilding Day was organized through Rebuilding Together Seattle, a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring volunteers and communities together to help low income homeowners live in warmth, safety, and independence.
About 30 volunteers from City Light and their families joined with McKinstry to complete critical repairs, modifications and energy-efficient upgrades at no cost to the homeowner. Teams of volunteers rebuilt a stairway and repaired a back door, providing an emergency exit, cleaned and painted the bathroom and kitchen, and de-cluttered the home.
Other teams unclogged a kitchen sink and replaced the plumbing, sink, and faucets, installed a new energy-efficient refrigerator, and made electrical improvements to enhance safety and comfort. They replaced old lighting fixtures and exchanged incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Repair work included rebuilding some back stairs.
As clouds gathered and rain fell, volunteers tackled an overgrown backyard. They removed blackberry bushes, cut down a dead tree, hacked back the waste-high grass, and removed debris. Teams also repaired a gate and replaced outdoor carpeting on the front porch and stairs.
“All I can say is ‘wow.’ I was simply blown away by your volunteers on Saturday,” said Margie Thirlby, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Seattle. “Your group was organized, motivated, and enthusiastic, rain and all! Thank you for making Carolyn’s home a warmer and safer place to be.”
Employees from Seattle City Light volunteer on their on time in community projects that focus on environmental stewardship, assistance to low-income customers, education, and local events. The goal is to help create healthier communities by working on critical community needs.