Volunteers help woman make repairs on home

Lafayette, Louisiana, Advertiser
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090405/NEWS01/904050334/1002/NEWS01

After more than seven months, Mary Lee Brown's home on Darrell Street finally got some much-needed repairs on Saturday.

The house was damaged during last year's hurricanes, leaving it in need of floor and wall improvements, painting, new cabinets and much more. Brown has been doing some work on it herself since then, but got a major hand Saturday from members of Rebuilding Together Acadiana.

"I've been waiting for this forever," Brown said as she helped several volunteers with painting.
The home was one of about 25 in the area that was renovated on Saturday with the help of RTA volunteers. About 25 to 30 volunteers worked at each home.

Brown said she was visiting her sister in Houston about two weeks ago when she got a surprise phone call letting her know that RTA had chosen her home as one of its work sites.
"I didn't know what to do," she recalled. "I would never have imagined that this would happen to me."

Among the other items on the to-do list were rebuilding the kitchen and repainting the living room, bathroom and bedrooms. The volunteers also planned to pressure-wash the home, said volunteer Janine Wood of the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette.

"We'll work here until this job is done," Wood said.

David Raymond, president of the Kiwanis Club and another volunteer, said one of the best parts of the day is getting to help those in need.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "We're here to try to better our community, and this is one way to do that."