Spotlight on Member Agencies: Volunteer! Decatur, City of Decatur, Georgia

Lee Ann Harvey

The majority of my job involves recruiting and managing volunteers for these events, as well as community service projects. This year was the 10th anniversary of our Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, a volunteer driven event that provides home repairs and yard work for our low income senior citizens. The project is a partnership between the city and a local nonprofit, Decatur Preservation Alliance, to help our seniors live safely, comfortably and affordably in their homes. The keys to our success are forming partnerships, developing leadership opportunities for volunteers, and creating community fellowship. A former chair of the project equated it with an old-fashioned "barn raising."

The first year of the project was a half-day event on the King holiday. We were thrilled to have 100 volunteers come out to make repairs and rake yards at eight senior citizens' homes. The project has steadily grown over the last ten years. The 2012 project benefited from nearly 1,300 volunteers who worked one or more four-hour shifts during the three-day weekend. Decatur is known as the city of "homes, schools and places of worship" and this project brings out volunteers from neighborhoods, families, youth groups and many places of worship. We have groups that come from throughout the metro-Atlanta area to volunteer, especially youth groups. While we do have some extremely talented home repair volunteers who have made major repairs and renovations on their own homes, we also have a number of professional electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople who volunteer their time and skill.

Since the city is a partner in the project, all repairs are permitted and inspected (with the fees waived). Our Sanitation Department picks up all the yard waste, construction debris and unusable items that have been stored in attics, backyards and porches for years. City employees "adopt" a home and fully staff it with volunteers. Two city staff members are House Captains who plan the home's workscope, communicate with the senior homeowner, and supervise the home's volunteers. City employees from every department volunteer at least one four-hour shift and many bring friends and family with them.

This constantly evolving project reached new heights this year. In addition to working on our traditional senior citizens homes in need of a lot of repairs and dedicating the full three-day weekend to them, we included homes that had much less demanding repairs. There were 12 of the large-scale projects and 10 small projects for a total of 22 homes receiving repairs. All but one of these homes also had yard work and/or miscellaneous items removed (broken or obsolete items that are no longer usable). In addition, 23 other homes had yard work and/or miscellaneous item removal. This resulted in 45 homes of senior citizens benefitting from this project. Also, the "Independent Communities" apartments of 14 people with disabilities living in five buildings had yard work done.

A total of 17 tons of yard waste and 30 tons of miscellaneous items were removed and disposed. As a result of the wonderful weather this year (a big improvement from the ice storm that led into last year's project), the landscaping committee developed more intensive work plans for each home. They sought to do a higher quality of work that would have a longer term impact than just raking, such as the removal and control of invasive plants like English ivy and privet. New this year were roving gutter cleaning teams that cleaned gutters at 22 homes. Many volunteers bring their own home repair and yard work tools. We also supplement those tools by renting over 900 tools at a nominal fee from the nonprofit Atlanta Community Tool Bank.

Home repairs ran the gamut from laying a sidewalk so the homeowner could safely walk to the street to replacing floors and subfloors to replacing doors. Skilled weatherization projects were done with the help of the nonprofit organization Southface Energy Institute, including preparing three homes for insulation. Electricians and plumbers were kept busy with these older homes and one home had a furnace replaced.

This project has become more than just a senior home repair project. It is also about the volunteers and their experience. It is truly an example of a community in action. Many groups and individuals come back year after year, since they can readily see the impact of their efforts and they enjoy the camaraderie of working with other volunteers. As the project has grown, we have increased the number of volunteers in leadership positions. We also have an incredible food committee that provides breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Monday to hundreds of volunteers (we only work the afternoon on Sunday) and snacks are available all three days. Food is provided by local restaurants, grocery stores, places of worship, other groups and individuals. Area Girl Scout troops and a local senior assisted living facility each make hundreds of lunches. The local community center is our base of operations for the weekend and the nonprofit that runs it provides a celebratory dinner on Monday evening at the end of the project.

Partnership, leadership, fellowship -- the building blocks of our project and our City.

For more information, visit www.decaturga.com or email leeann.harvey@decaturga.com.


Spotlight on Member Agencies: Volunteer! Decatur, City of Decatur, Georgia Lee Ann Harvey The majority of my job involves recruiting and managing volunteers for these events, as well as community service projects. This year was the 10th anniversary of our Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, a volunteer driven event that provides home repairs and yard work for our low income senior citizens. The project is a partnership between the city and a local nonprofit, Decatur Preservation Alliance, to help our seniors live safely, comfortably and affordably in their homes. The keys to our success are forming partnerships, developing leadership opportunities for volunteers, and creating community fellowship. A former chair of the project equated it with an old-fashioned "barn raising." The first year of the project was a half-day event on the King holiday. We were thrilled to have 100 volunteers come out to make repairs and rake yards at eight senior citizens' homes. The project has steadily grown over the last ten years. The 2012 project benefited from nearly 1,300 volunteers who worked one or more four-hour shifts during the three-day weekend. Decatur is known as the city of "homes, schools and places of worship" and this project brings out volunteers from neighborhoods, families, youth groups and many places of worship. We have groups that come from throughout the metro-Atlanta area to volunteer, especially youth groups. While we do have some extremely talented home repair volunteers who have made major repairs and renovations on their own homes, we also have a number of professional electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople who volunteer their time and skill. Since the city is a partner in the project, all repairs are permitted and inspected (with the fees waived). Our Sanitation Department picks up all the yard waste, construction debris and unusable items that have been stored in attics, backyards and porches for years. City employees "adopt" a home and fully staff it with volunteers. Two city staff members are House Captains who plan the home's workscope, communicate with the senior homeowner, and supervise the home's volunteers. City employees from every department volunteer at least one four-hour shift and many bring friends and family with them. This constantly evolving project reached new heights this year. In addition to working on our traditional senior citizens homes in need of a lot of repairs and dedicating the full three-day weekend to them, we included homes that had much less demanding repairs. There were 12 of the large-scale projects and 10 small projects for a total of 22 homes receiving repairs. All but one of these homes also had yard work and/or miscellaneous items removed (broken or obsolete items that are no longer usable). In addition, 23 other homes had yard work and/or miscellaneous item removal. This resulted in 45 homes of senior citizens benefitting from this project. Also, the "Independent Communities" apartments of 14 people with disabilities living in five buildings had yard work done. A total of 17 tons of yard waste and 30 tons of miscellaneous items were removed and disposed. As a result of the wonderful weather this year (a big improvement from the ice storm that led into last year's project), the landscaping committee developed more intensive work plans for each home. They sought to do a higher quality of work that would have a longer term impact than just raking, such as the removal and control of invasive plants like English ivy and privet. New this year were roving gutter cleaning teams that cleaned gutters at 22 homes. Many volunteers bring their own home repair and yard work tools. We also supplement those tools by renting over 900 tools at a nominal fee from the nonprofit Atlanta Community Tool Bank. Home repairs ran the gamut from laying a sidewalk so the homeowner could safely walk to the street to replacing floors and subfloors to replacing doors. Skilled weatherization projects were done with the help of the nonprofit organization Southface Energy Institute, including preparing three homes for insulation. Electricians and plumbers were kept busy with these older homes and one home had a furnace replaced. This project has become more than just a senior home repair project. It is also about the volunteers and their experience. It is truly an example of a community in action. Many groups and individuals come back year after year, since they can readily see the impact of their efforts and they enjoy the camaraderie of working with other volunteers. As the project has grown, we have increased the number of volunteers in leadership positions. We also have an incredible food committee that provides breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Monday to hundreds of volunteers (we only work the afternoon on Sunday) and snacks are available all three days. Food is provided by local restaurants, grocery stores, places of worship, other groups and individuals. Area Girl Scout troops and a local senior assisted living facility each make hundreds of lunches. The local community center is our base of operations for the weekend and the nonprofit that runs it provides a celebratory dinner on Monday evening at the end of the project. Partnership, leadership, fellowship -- the building blocks of our project and our City. For more information, visit www.decaturga.com or email leeann.harvey@decaturga.com.
NAVPLG - Spril 2012