THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9504260143
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 169 lines
NEARLY 1,000 VOLUNTEERS, wielding brushes, scrapers, ladders, hammers and shovels, heard the call to ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake'' and reached out Saturday to their neighbors in need.
The Chesapeake Rotary Club, assisted by corporate sponsors, individual donors, city workers, military groups, civic organizations, businesses and churches, devoted time, energy and resources to helping 25 elderly, low-income homeowners fix up their homes.
``It is a great feeling of satisfaction in knowing that this project makes a difference in someone's life and in our community,'' said Nancy J. Cross, chairperson of the event.
This year, for the first time, Rotarians in Norfolk joined their Chesapeake brethren by painting and fixing up three homes in that city.
Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward and Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim visited a Berkley Avenue homeowner whose house was being repaired and presented her with flowers and a gold pin and posed for pictures.
``Be sure my house shows,'' the proud homeowner told the cameraman.
``My heart has not stopped pounding at all this goodness,'' said Dorothy Barnard of Norfolk.
By 7 a.m. Saturday, volunteer teams were beginning to arrive at their assigned work sites. Each project had an assigned Rotary sponsor, a team captain and about 25 volunteers equipped with paint and other supplies.
While the houses were being repaired and painted, Chesapeake Master Gardeners worked to beautify the lawns. They trimmed overgrown bushes, pruned trees and revitalized gardens, planting vinca, marigolds, impatiens and azaleas.
By the time Saturday arrived, workers from Greenbrier Presbyterian Church had already spent several days working on their assigned home. They raked years of accumulated leaves, trimmed trees and demolished two dilapidated storage sheds. Several truckloads of debris were removed before the volunteers were ready to start on the house. Then they pressure-washed the house, sanded iron railings, replaced a fence gate, caulked windows and painted.
The homeowner, a retired sheriff's department official, is diabetic and uses a wheelchair. He is unable to do even simple chores.
``We helped someone who helped Chesapeake for more than 10 years,'' said volunteer Erik Sheahan.
``They even brought us breakfast, too,'' exclaimed the homeowner, as he pointed to sausage biscuits and coffee supplied by Hardee's and McDonald's.
By noon, the bleak gray house became a Nantucket blue cottage surrounded by gardens of iris, roses and azaleas. A storage shed, purchased by Greenbrier Presbyterian Church, stood in the backyard.
``The greatest reward is the feeling of just helping out,'' said Sheahan.
Signet Bank and a business department team from Norfolk State University combined forces to help a South Norfolk homeowner.
Rotarian Ken Fulp, a retired superintendent of schools, and Team Captain David Todd watched as their volunteers transformed a weathered 40-year-old house into a showplace.
``All these beautiful things going on in my own yard,'' said homeowner Geneva Harris. ``I just can't believe so many people would do this. I expected one or two helpers, not workers everywhere I look.''
Master Gardner Ted Egress and his team covered a brick-and-rubble berm in front of the house with topsoil, compost and mulch and planted mums and azaleas, creating a flower garden wall.
Norfolk State students Therecia Hodge of the Virgin Islands, Taiye Henderson of New York and Donald Richardson of Richmond painted alongside their professor, Johnnie Mapp.
``Service to the community is important,'' said Hodge. ``It's important that we give back. To be able to help others who really need the assistance is a way of making a difference.''
Volunteers from William E. Wood's real estate office weren't daunted by the large, two-story house assigned to them. They repaired gutters, patched shingles and scrambled up ladders to caulk and paint.
Marie Butler and her garden crew paused for a moment to admire a robin's nest in the center of a rose bush before they terraced the front lawn and planted rows of marigolds and trailing ivy.
``Lots of flowers and little maintenance,'' said Butler. ``It's what the homeowner wanted.''
R.B. Carawan, M.A. Simmons and D.L. Kestner of the Chesapeake Fire Department checked to make sure smoke detectors were functioning properly. They replaced a battery and installed a new detector upstairs before they left for the next house on their list.
John Argilan, Clutch Coverdale, Jimmy Lane, Kemp Savage, Paul Hines, Doug Garner, Tim Wright and other Sertoma Club members attacked their circa 1905 house with hammers, saws and paint. Garnett Lane raked, pruned and hacked through weeds and bamboo. They replaced three front porch columns, cleaned the fishpond, painted the flag pole and turned the jungle of a backyard into a park. When they were finished, they hung a new oak swing on the front porch of the candleglow yellow house with fresh white gingerbread trim.
Back at project headquarters at Chesapeake City Park, volunteers stood by at a phone bank donated by CONTEL to coordinate communication between the teams. Bill Hearring, material acquisition chairman, said the phones were quiet except for an occasional request for more paint or brushes.
Ross Fouts, a trim carpenter, had offered his skills, and when there were no carpentry jobs remaining, he left his pager number and left. Within the hour, a Western Branch team called with a termite problem and more construction concerns than they could handle. Hearring paged Fouts, who promptly took care of the problem.
While the Portlock Garden Club tilled and planted, Ruritans helped Haywood C. Morris, who has lived in South Norfolk for 29 years. They painted his house and repaired the roof of his garage. By the end of the day, even the flag to the mailbox was a glossy red.
``Tom Sawyer couldn't have done a better job,'' said Bobby Clifton as he stood back to admire the freshly painted fence.
``I've got a lot of new friends to brag about when I go to church,'' said Morris.
``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake'' received the 1993 Governor's Silver Award for Volunteer Excellence, the 1994 Commendation Award from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the 1994 Chesapeake Environmental Award.
Project volunteers began planning for Saturday's work day last fall. They screened applicants, contacted sponsors and accumulated supplies from local businesses.
Sears donated 100 gallons of paint. McDonald's, Hardee's and Pizza Hut provided food for volunteers. WTKR-TV3, WCMS Radio, TCI of Virginia Beach and Adams Outdoor Advertising were ``platinum sponsors'' with donations of $7,500 or more to make the work day a success. The City of Chesapeake, Crestar Bank and Hoffman Beverage/Budweiser were ``Golden Heart'' sponsors with a contribution of $5,000 or more.
``We are getting requests about the program from other areas,'' said Jeannette Whitfield, project coordinator, who will promote the program before the Rotary Club's General Assembly in Richmond on Saturday. ``Once people get involved with the project, they get hooked on helping others.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
[on the cover: Dick Chandler paints the trim on Brown's house.]
``Paint Your Heart Out Volunteers'' work on Martha Brown's house in
Chesapeake.
Louis Chapman walks down Cedar Road, loaded with repair equipment.
Heather Jennings, left, and Michelle Englehart scrape old paint from
the trim of Martha Brown's house.
Margaret Jennings paints under a porch roof.
Sean Jones takes a moment from yard work to hug his girlfriend,
Eryka Hunter.
Graphic
VOLUNTEER TEAMS
Virginia Power - Chesapeake
Great Bridge Sertoma Club
William E. Wood, Great Bridge
Signet/Norfolk State
South Norfolk Ruritan Club
Great Bridge Lions Club
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity-Portsmouth
HC-6 Chargers
VC-6 Firebees
Commerce Bank
Crestar Bank
Chesapeake Public Works
Oak Grove United Methodist Church
NationsBank
Virginia Beach Federal
WCMS Radio
Greenbrier Presbyterian Church
GTE
Household Credit Services
Great Bridge Rotary Club
TCC Chesapeake Campus
McDonald's/TCI of Virginia Inc.
Resolute AFDM-10
Jefferson National Bank
NSGA Northwest
by CNB