Earth Day Success!

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(Editor’s note: The picture above says it all…ALIVE!)

(By Mike Gilhooly – RTLC) Earth Day 2010 started at about 7am in the parking lot of the Response to Love Center on Buffalo’s East Side. Hundreds of volunteers assembled from WNY AmeriCorps, Home Depot and local home owners and tenants ready to turn a neighborhood around. It was a chilly start but the gallons of Dunkin Doughnut Coffee warmed everyone! Mark Lazzara Director of WNY AmeriCorps introduced Sr. Mary Johnice Director of the Response to Love Center who started the day with a prayer.

The teams were dispatched according to their particular talents and led by ‘Crew Leaders.’ Some were sent to repair masonry, install windows and doors, landscape and lot clean-up. Many residents came out to help but did not officially register so an exact tally would be hard. The weather could not have been better, sunny and around 55 degrees made it perfect for painting and concrete work. An appeal for roofers was met by the Buffalo Roofing Company and work started on the houses needing roofing work.

The project is not going to be just a one day project, the work will continue throughout the entire year with residents submitting “wish lists” of work needed. Some of the projects begun simply could not be done in one day for example; preliminary measuring and planning for a furnace replacement was done today but the actual installation will be done in a few weeks when the correct components are ordered and arrive. The old furnace is under the house in a crawl space and was difficult to service, because of that it was not maintained properly and did not work when it was needed most. The newly designed heating system will be in the attic making it much easier to maintain and will be a high efficiency unit saving money and making the house much more comfortable for the occupants.

The mood was electric as Extreme Home Makeover recipient Delores Powell gave a moving and inspirational talk before lunch break and came to work with her daughter in the Peace Garden.!

More information to follow as the project moves forward.

More photos click here ➟