Hope you guys have had a good week. I have had a lot going on, mostly with work but that isnt going to interest you, I promise. So instead, last weekend I was able to take part in a community event. There is a charity group called Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada. Straight from their website “Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada provides critical home repairs to low-income seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities.”
Sherwin Williams is one of the many businesses that they partner with. A good friend and coworker of mine, Ashlee, is on the committee. The committee reviews several prospective locations for repairs, qualifications and the applicant’s situation. Once a client is selected, members of the team visit the house, access the required work and coordinate the contractors needed. Some projects will need a few days worth of work, if there is repairs or even landscaping/ clean up needed. Once the date is set, teams are put together and volunteers can sign up.
I chose to volunteer this year for multiple reasons. I really enjoy giving back, helping veterans and working with my SW family. Sherwin of course supplies the paint, and as a team 20 of us got together to repaint the exterior walls, trim, fence and pool deck. Bright and early, 8 am on a saturday we showed up, had a bit of breakfast and broke out into different tasks to get going. There is a lot of prep work before you can get to spraying paint. We had to scrape off the old peeling paint on some of the wood trim, which explains the mask lol. Masking doors and windows took us time so we worked in sections. With 20 people we made good progress.
Spring is 50/50 when it comes to Vegas. Its either really nice or its crazy hot. We got really lucky and even had a nice breeze up till we started painting the pool deck. Of course the pool didn’t have much shade so we caught some sun. The plus side of that was that the deck paint dried super quickly. We recoated the metal side gates and the front door. Its amazing how a fresh coat of paint and a bit of TLC really brought the house back to life.
Other than a few group photos which could only be taken by the committee, we weren’t allowed to snap any, as a courtesy to the homeowner. As we were working, the nice lady veteran that owned the house was coming around to see the progress. She was super nice and had questions for us, offering us water and things like that. I got to talk to her for a few minutes. What she said I don’t think I will forget. She told me “You guys are doing a fantastic job. I really appreciate you, This makes my heart sing. I’m so happy.” When you hear things like that, the dirt and sweat are worth it.
Like when every group project is completed, those of us that could stay a bit longer headed over to a local bar, where the committee had put together food and drinks. Most of the 20 people helping were reps and managers. I dont get to spend a lot of fun time with them, mostly just work time. It was nice to spend the day working and joking with them, catching up with them. Nothing is better than having a good time with a great group of people.
Spending my day off working, even on a fun project, still cuts the weekend in half. It was rewarding for sure but I did go into Monday worn out. The week has kind of been that way. But I really do hope to do more of these projects in the future and would encourage you to look into some in your area. You never know who needs a helping hand.
The Distracted Damsel 