By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Second 'Paint the Town' a splashing success
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Peggy Huckabee, front, Terry Mikel and David Zeig, parishioners at Cathedral of Christ the King, paint a house as part of the Paint the Town volunteer project on Sept. 7 in Superior. (Photo by Kelley Kepler) |
SUPERIOR --On Saturday, Sept. 7, Dick and Nola Pomeroy watched as their 104 year-old house was transformed before their eyes. "When we bought this house in 1954, and I said this is the last house I would ever buy, so it needs to last as long as I live," Dick said.
The unusually hot weather did not discourage the 20 volunteers from Cathedral of Christ the King who arrived at the Pomeroys' house at 7 a.m. with painting gear in hand. Many of these volunteers had participated in Paint the Town last year and were eager to help again.
Paint the Town is a one-day event where businesses, community organizations, churches and universities volunteer to paint houses in the city of Superior.
Jason Serck, city planner and one of the coordinators of the event, said Paint the Town is in its second year and that the city of Superior is planning on making it an annual event.
Over 200 volunteers painted a total of 10 houses from various parts of town were painted this year. Serck said people sent in applications, and the homeowners who were selected were elderly or disabled people with low to moderate incomes.
The cost of Paint the Town is about $250-$300 per house. A number of businesses and other non-profit organizations made donations for the event, and much of the funding comes through a grant from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). Serck added that grocery stores and distributors also made donations so volunteers could attend a barbecue and get free tee-shirts.
Volunteer Janette Gil de Lamadrid, director of religious education at the Cathedral parish, is positive the community will benefit from Paint the Town. "This is important to the whole community because it's encouraging to see that everybody cares about each other. It's the mission of Christ to be where people are in need," she said.
As he admired his newly painted house, Pomeroy said, "Nola and I have done a lot of volunteer work in our lives, and now we're getting a big payback today." He said he is grateful for everyone's help and is happy to see his house looking much younger than it did.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002