Volunteers join forces to spruce up Aurora homes

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

AURORA — Ginger Ingram spent her Saturday morning trying to keep up with the volunteers who were making improvements to her home.

The Aurora wife and mother of three said she was extremely humbled and grateful for the attention their home received.

Ingram and her husband, Corey, were in downtown Aurora one day when they came across an application to have their home repaired through an organization called Rebuilding Together Aurora. They filled out the form and as a few months went by, Ingram wasn’t expecting much.

“I was really surprised to get the call,” she said.

On Saturday morning, her home on Hinman Street and another home on Union Street had repairs done as part of the Kiwanis Club “One Day” service project. The club teamed up with Rebuilding Together Aurora, an organization that repairs homes across Aurora, to do work on the two East Side homes.

There were 87 volunteers at both sites Saturday, according to Kiwanis President Pat Divine. Volunteers helped by removing a porch, repairing plumbing, replacing windows in the basement, landscaping and putting in a storm door, among other repairs.

“Later we’re coming back to put a new roof on the house and the garage,” Divine said.

The “One Day” objective is to unite volunteers to participate on the same day in a hands-on service project to better the community. Last year, they cleaned out the Indian Creek bed in town, Divine said.

Rebuilding Together Aurora Executive Director Emily Stern worked with them to find homeowner applicants who had children, because that was a focus of the project.

The owner of the house on Union Street is a single mother of three, Stern said. The main thing there was an exterior paint job, she said.

Between the Hinman and Union homes there was a lot to do to keep the volunteers busy, she said.

This is the first time Rebuilding Together Aurora has teamed with the Kiwanis Club of Aurora, Stern said. They also had the help and partnerships of Joseph Corporation and the Fox Metro Water Reclamation District.

“This is really, truly a community project that we’re proud of,” Stern said.

Ingram said that after they finished the application, the roof on their house began leaking.

Her husband is a veteran and does not have a job. She’s starting a home day care business.

“We’re really overwhelmed and really grateful, just knowing the house will be safe,” she said.

Rebuilding Together Aurora also has major spring projects on April 30 and May 7. About 700 volunteers will do work on 31 Aurora homes. Interested volunteers should call 630-585-7510.