Jerome had just moved into an apartment after being homeless for a long time. He was so happy to receive a quilt donated to us from Country Stitches!
Ralph was a disabled vetern who was unable to easily leave his home for medical appointments until we put some volunteers together with a grant from Capital Area Community Services and not only built him a ramp but enclosed his porch!
Janet's home was in need of some painting to avoid getting a citation from the city. A great group of volunteers from Gestamp showed up ready to work! They not only painted but raked up leaves and cleaned up her yard! Thank you to Gestamp for having this volunteer program for employees!
Danny Tuttle and Connor Niswonger were honored by the City of Mason and we had the privilege of escorting them on their special day!
We were able to help one young mother with her Consumers bill. Her response touched our hearts!
"I really don't know how to thank you enough. My zero balance enabled me to set up the budget plan with Consumers. This is such a relief for you. You have made my day!
Another person we helped texted us: "Thank you so much!! I'm crying! I truly can't thank you enough!
Restoring hope to the lonely
On Tuesday afternoon as Linda was getting ready to head home, she got a call from Tri-County Office on Aging. They wanted to know if she would give Doris a ride to a doctor’s appointment. She had no close neighbors or friends and her family all lived out-of-state.
Of course, Linda said “yes”. The tri-level house is out in the country and has a beautiful view in just about every direction. She and Doris introduced themselves to each other, and they headed down the stairs to the car. Doris commented that other than a doctor’s appointment about a month ago, this was the first time she’d been out of the house in 8 months! She has a foot problem that makes getting around difficult and most likely will worsen with time.
On the way back from the doctor’s appointment, Linda asked Doris if there was anything else she needed while they were out. Dors shared a small smile and said softly, “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I would love a Diet Coke!” So of course, they popped into the drive through at McDonald’s. Doris handled the cup like it was the most precious thing she had seen and sighed after she took her first sip. The small joys in life!
Linda shared her concerns with Doris about her living situation, the stairs and her foot. Doris said she knows she won’t be able to live in her home much longer, but she loves that place—it’s her home! As they walked up the stairs to go into the house, Linda noticed there was no handrail on the steps. Well, that just needed to be taken care of, and Linda knew someone from her church that lived around the corner. She called Ron and asked if he might be wiling to do a small handyman project and explained what was needed. Ron responded, “It’s so weird that you called. I just recently bought a handrail at an auction with no idea what I was going to do with it! I guess I know why I bought it now!” Doris called Linda after the rail was installed and told her, “I feel like I have hope now!”
Follow-up: we are going to work with Tri-County Office on Aging to find people in the area that would be willing to check in on Doris on a more regular basis to make sure she’s doing okay.