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(Editor’s note: The picture above says it all…ALIVE!)<\/em><\/p>\n (By Mike Gilhooly – RTLC) Earth Day\u00a02010 started at about 7am in the parking lot of the Response to Love Center on Buffalo\u2019s East Side. Hundreds of volunteers assembled from WNY\u00a0AmeriCorps,\u00a0Home Depot\u00a0and 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.<\/p>\n The teams were dispatched according to their particular talents and led by \u2018Crew Leaders.\u2019 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,\u00a0sunny\u00a0and 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.<\/p>\n The project is not going to be just a one day project, the work will continue throughout the entire year with residents submitting \u201cwish lists\u201d 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\u00a0old furnace\u00a0is 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\u00a0high efficiency unit\u00a0saving money and making the house much more comfortable for the occupants.<\/p>\n The mood was electric as\u00a0Extreme Home Makeover\u00a0recipient Delores Powell gave a moving and inspirational talk before lunch break and came to work with her daughter in the\u00a0Peace Garden.!<\/p>\n More\u00a0information to follow as the project moves forward.<\/p>\n