ALEXANDRIA, Va. — On Saturday, roughly 800 volunteers picked up hammers and nails in Alexandria. Their goal — to revitalize homes for the poor and elderly for free.
“Right now, they’re fixing the porch. They’re doing the bathroom,” says Darryl Turner, whose 86-year-old mother, Dorothy, is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease. She lives along Manning Street in Del Ray.
Saturday was National Rebuilding Day throughout the nation. In Alexandria, the Rebuilding Together volunteers worked to beautify the homes of 40 low-income families. About 100 of the volunteers worked on 10 homes along one block.
Frances Brown, a school bus driver close to retiring, also lives on Manning Street. She’s relieved to get some much-needed work done to her home that she otherwise can’t afford.
“It touches my heart to know there’s an organization out here that can help people that need help,” Brown says.
The goal is to improve the houses, so residents can stay in them longer, says Michelle Cruickshank, program coordinator for Rebuilding Together Alexandria.
The Alexandria organization has worked on 1,800 projects in the City of Alexandria since it began 29 years ago.
