Catholic Universe Bulletin

News #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
Click on number above to see other local stories

Rebuilding Together
Volunteers from parishes around the diocese help fix up Cleveland’s neighborhoods
Sarah Szweda
Cleveland
Resting in a recliner, her walker close at hand, 84-year-old Francis Montford shares her memories of a life full of faith and love. Photos of grandkids, great grandkids and great-great grandkids cover the tables, and she is eager to talk about her late husband, Lester, who was always proud of their hom on E. 143rd St. in Cleveland, taking care of any repairs, planting flower and vegetable gardens, living his life, loving his wife.

Francis remembers those happy times of raising a family and tending the garden with her husband at her side. It is now the winter of her life, and Francis has had to deal with the death of her husband and her own slow decline. She has suffered three strokes since his death and is even now recovering from a broken hip, her hospital bed set up on the main floor of her home in what once may have been the dining room. She lives daily with the crushing pain from her fall and admits that since the strokes, her mind may wander on occasion. But one thing was clear: Caring for the home quickly became impossible. The front porch sagged, the paint was peeling, and the plants in the once cultivated yard were choked out by weeds.
Now Francis believes her late husband would be proud once again.

SARAH SZWEDA

Revitalizing Francis’ home was a task undertaken by more than 45 volunteers from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville who arrived on the sunny, sweltering Saturday morning of June 26 to repair and revitalize the place she has lived and loved in for more than 47 years. The effort was organized by Rebuilding Together Cleveland, a non-profit group that for the past 15 years has hosted a one-day rebuilding blitz to fix up homes for low-income senior citizens and those who are disabled.
This year was the biggest turnout in the history of the Cleveland chapter with 750 volunteers from all over the area fixing up more than a dozen homes. In addition to St. Joseph’s, Holy Trinity Church, The Cathedral of Saint John and the community of St. Peter all organized teams, and countless individuals from dozens of churches also volunteered.
The work at Francis’ consisted of painting the outside of the two-and-a-half-story home, replacing the floors on the front and back porches, some minor electrical upgrades and landscaping.
Francis was delighted to learn that the group was planting tomato plants as well, just like the ones she used to have when her husband was alive.
“I think it will be beautiful,” she said. “Lo and behold, God has worked it out to make it like it was before.”
Francis’ daughter, Eleanor Brooks, said the scene reminded her of the popular television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
“I’ve never seen so many people volunteer; when they started pulling up it was a caravan,” Eleanor said of the large crew of volunteers who quickly drew the attention of curious neighbors. “We’re grateful. We feel that we were truly blessed for all of their hard work. And to be willing to do it, God bless them. It sure gave me some hope.”
For Kathy McConnaughy, one of the team captains from St. Joseph, it seemed the volunteers gained as much as they gave.
“The Bible is filled with calls to service, and our Catholic faith carries with it a need to be active disciples in our world,” she said. “It is truly inspiring what a group of people, with a common heart joined in serving our brothers and sisters in Christ, can do in one day. All were blessed by participation in this event and returned home deepened in faith, blessed with the bonds of new friendship, and renewed in their commitment to serve all of God’s children.”
Szweda is a freelance writer.