Communications Team Blog : 4.8.23
Barnum resident Sepe has lived in Denver since 1960 and has lived in his house since 1976.
“35 years here and nobody’s ever helped me. Nobody, until you came. I loved it. I feel good about what you guys did and what you are doing in the future.”
The 75 year old struggles to take care of his property on his own due to health concerns, but when Extreme Community Makeover knocked on his door, he jumped at the opportunity to get some help. “I didn't expect anything like this. But then these guys came, told me what they’re all about. And they came in and cleaned it up real nice, I loved it.” Sepe was assisted by the boys lacrosse team from Chaparral high school, who volunteer with ECM every year. Derek, a parent of one of the players and co-vice president of the organization said “this is our biggest volunteer opportunity of the year. We do it every year.” Though the day isn’t mandatory, most boys from the team keep choosing to come back every year and volunteer anyways. “Most of the seniors don’t need the hours, but they wanted to do it.” Sepe made a point of praising the boys who helped him out.
“These guys I saw here this morning, I was outside, they just walked right up, friendly as heck, told me who they were, I told them have free roam of the property, do what you’re gonna do you know. They raked the backyard, I didn’t expect them to rake the backyard. They cleaned it up real good. They even did the alley. I didn’t expect anything like this.”
Extreme Community Makeover is a unique opportunity for people of different backgrounds to form connections, it's unlikely neighbor helping neighbor. It sounds like Sepe and the boys from Chaparral are not likely to forget about this day any time soon. Sepe told ECM “I feel good because you guys are doing something with the kids. Because you don’t find people that are helping kids today. You really don’t.”
If you would like to experience helping your neighbors, sign up to volunteer today!
Or if you, like Sepe, feel like there is no one to help you with your home, reach out and get scheduled for volunteers to come to your home. Just take Sepe’s word for it:
“I was sure surprised man. I’m going to spread the word. I’m going to tell people to sign up because it is well worth it.”
- Anja, Richard, and Samy - Communications Team