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By Kent Larsen
LDS Volunteers Help Rebuild in DC
WASHINGTON, DC -- Its no longer "Christmas in April," but volunteers from
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are still helping a
19-year-old charity rehabilitate the housing of low-income, elderly and
disabled homeowners. Yesterday, LDS volunteers were there again; more than
two dozen church members showing up at the home of Cynthia Harris.
In prior years church volunteers have also helped the charity, known until
this year as "Christmas in April," part of the thousands that visited the
houses of needy homeowners, performing badly needed repairs and lifting
spirits. Now known as Rebuilding Together, the group has expanded nationwide
from its Washington, DC roots and yesterday put to work 140,000 volunteers
on 4,500 homes and non-profit facilities in the US.
In addition to volunteers, sponsoring organizations -- churches, businesses
and other groups -- provide tools and materials ass well as funding. In
Harris' case, funds were used to replace a leaky roof and put in a new
kitchen ceiling. Harris, a single mother of four, says the repairs will help
her stay in the home, purchased by her parents 45 years ago, "It wasn't my
mom's wish to sell this house. It was always her wish for the family to come
here . . . for all of us to be able to come Sundays and participate and to
come on holidays. I just said to them [her siblings], let's try to get it
together," Harris said. "Somebody had to take responsibility."
Source:
Rebuilding Homes and Lives
Washington Post pgC04 29Apr01 D1
By Sylvia Moreno: Washington Post Staff Writer
Volunteers Go to Work To Help Low-Income, Disabled and Elderly
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