Ms. M from the Bayview – a project snapshot

The Project: Ms. M along with her three cousins decided to venture out to sunny California from Mississippi. Ms. M spent her life in San Francisco working as a nurse at UCSF while her husband was a Merchant Seaman. Ms. M is now 90 years old and her top priority is the safety of her family. Ms. M describes her home as a safe haven for all her nieces and nephews. As her niece stated, “It is a blessing to have an aunt that is willing to take care of others.”

Why we LOVE her: Ms. M could not believe it when she found out that she was one of the ten lucky homeowners we were going to help on Rebuilding Day 2012! She was amazed that people care enough to volunteer and are willing to help her. Ms. M felt as if her prayers had been answered and was excited to see her home be renewed to its better days. A week after Rebuilding Day, when Construction Captain Kevin Skiles knocked on her door to check in on her, she was still ecstatic and shocked about all the work the team did to brighten her home and make it safer for her family. As described by Kevin, “She was in the best spirits I have ever seen her in – cracking jokes and full of smiles.” Her joy and gratefulness is one of the reasons why we LOVE Ms. M.

How She Found Us: Having a long lasting partnership with Meals on Wheels pays off – especially when we get to help out homeowners like Ms. M. They often refer seniors to us who might benefit from our programs and Ms. M was the right match for our major home repair program Rebuilding Day.

The Need: Ms. M and her family are the only owners her house has ever known and has been living in her home for 60+ years. Living under limited income and having substantial health expenses left little room for home maintenance and upkeep. She has done her best in the past in the upkeep of her home but all the work begun to overwhelm her.

The Rebuilding Day Team: Ms. M’s project was lead by our Board President and Construction Captain Kevin Skiles along with Construction Captain Faith Kirkpatrick and Volunteer Captain Michael Karpowicz from Urban Green Investments. The dynamic trio lead and coordinated the effort with a lot of behind the scenes hustle. Additionally, the project was lucky to have Volunteer Rockstar Peter Hagist who broke his back painting like Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel!

The Work:

• Paint throughout interior
• Repair bathroom ceiling
• Grab bars were installed in the bathroom and shower doors removed
• Gas range and garbage disposal replaced
• Electrical work
• Unwanted items removed from garage
• Rear garage door and lock was replaced
• Dryer vent installed
• Exterior stairway handrail was installed

Partners:

• Urban Green Investments
• Recology for scheduling a general trash pick up and a green waste pick-up
• Meals on Wheels

Thank you to ALL of you who made this project possible! Check out more pictures from this project on our Flickr page and don’t forget to “like us” on Facebook!

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