home repairs

Volunteers Step Up to Help Neighbors With Home Repairs

A program in The Colony builds a coalition of volunteers to help residents maintain their property

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Neighbor helping neighbor is bringing something good in The Colony.

The city has a program that matches volunteers with folks who need some help bringing property to city code.

The city's website describes the Volunteer Assistance Program as "a new initiative started by the Community Image Department to address the needs of citizens of The Colony who for a variety of reasons are unable to abate violations pertaining to property maintenance on their property."

"Our objective with this program is to build a coalition of volunteers within the community to aid in this process with the overall goal of keeping our neighborhoods vibrant and maintained. We understand that circumstances arise from time to time that limit an individual's ability to adhere to the adopted property maintenance codes of the city and in keeping with our vision of customer service, have developed a program to address the needs of our citizens."

Ann McDonald was one of the citizens with needs. She had a muddy and unsafe walkway between her patio and driveway. She applied for help, and it came.

McDonald said the volunteers replaced the walkway, fixed a leaking gutter, placed some white stones around her little lighthouse and leveled a mound of mulch left from a tree that had to be removed. They brought their own supplies, tools, drinks and snacks and a port-o-potty, too.

"They came back later for the group photo and a THANK YOU card for me! I was just totally speechless!" she wrote in an email to NBC 5.

McDonald went on to say some of the volunteers came from The Colony First Baptist Church, The Colony Police department and other teens and adults of The Colony.

In addition to "helping people, seniors, handicapped, and more, to help make improvements, repair their property, they also have a tool lending program, where anyone can borrow tools, from a hammer to lawnmowers," she wrote.

Residents in The Colony who want to access the program should fill out an application here or pick one up at 6800 Main Street.

Individuals or groups that would like to volunteer with the program are asked to fill out the appropriate release form as well as the organizational assessment form. All of which can be found on this web page or at the program offices.

Anyone with questions or seeking more information on the city's program should contact Danny Dill.

Contact Us