JACKSON, Mich — Jackson-area realtors and builders come together to improve a city neighborhood, volunteering labor and materials.
- The targeted area was four blocks of Backus Street.
- Improvements included landscaping, tree-trimming, gutter cleanouts, power washing, painting...and even a new porch.
- A project of the Home Builders Association and the Jackson Area Association of Realtors, the goal is to give neighbors who need it a hand with maintenance and arrest blight.
"It's beyond any of our wildest expectations," said neighbor Terra Chall.
"All of the work being done right now, all of this equipment — 100% free," said Patrick O'Dowd, Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Jackson.
…and there's a bigger strategy. Here's what volunteers in my neighborhood are working to accomplish.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE THE RESULTS AND MEET THE NEIGHBORS BEING HELPED:
"We wanted something that was on the borderline," says Laura Dwyer Schlecte of the Jackson Area Association of Realtors. "And we want to get them before they deteriorate....lift them up and help people maintain their equity in their home."
That's the strategy behind last weekend's volunteer work sprucing up these four blocks of Jackson's Backus Street. And it all means a helping hand for some of my neighbors.
Meet Mikal and Terra Chall. They knew the front porch they love needed fixing.
"We had built up a little bit of a savings to get it done," says Mikal.
But Terra had surgery, and adapting to her limited mobility quickly used up those savings.
"All of the revenue went into rebuilding the inside of the house. 'Cause this is a hundred-year-old house, you know, it wasn't meant for wheelchairs," explains Mikal.
That's where the Home Builders Association of Jackson came in. I spoke with the Association's Executive Officer, Patrick O'Dowd:
"Mik said that Terra just wanted to be able to enjoy her front porch, and so what we're doing with our 'Builders Care' initiative is redoing their front porch."
O'Dowd says members eagerly contributed labor, equipment, and materials.
"Contractors have lined up to get involved in this project," said O'Dowd. "Everything is free to the neighborhood."
The results?
"It's just more than we even thought," says Terra Chall.
Mikal concurs: "Yeah. This is going to be a beautiful neighborhood. Wonderful people live here, and now we'll look wonderful too, which is great."
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