Evelyn Heagney of Franktown lost her husband, Robert, to pancreatic cancer in early August.
A friend she has know for more than 10 years, who wished to remain anonymous, nominated Evelyn to be a recipient of the Helping Hands Project sponsored by the Douglas/Elbert Realtor Association.
“Robert died two weeks before we did the work. He had been a carpenter and the cabinets in Evelyn’s kitchen weren’t finished,” said Diana Hutton, leader of the Nomination Committee. Other work included straightening of Heagney’s carpet, installation of kitchen drawers and a sliding glass door that was donated.
“We received about 20 applications for this first year,” Hutton said. Two homes were chosen by the nomination and sponsor committees after reviewing the applications. The process was difficult because, according to Hutton, “There were so many needs. We choose the ones we thought we could handle considering manual labor.”
Both Realtors and affiliate members sent out e-mail blasts asking everyone they knew to identify people who needed house repairs.
The Helping Hands mission statement is “To help those in need within our community with home improvement projects to better a family’s quality of life.”
“We support the elderly, young, disabled, economically challenged and those with unexpected life events and adversity,” said co-chair Cyndi Jalonski, a Re/Max agent and advocate of the project.
Aug. 21-22, Realtor members and affiliate members of the Realtors association along with many sponsors provided labor, materials and money for the two home projects chosen from all the applicants.
Castle Rock homeowner Gary Adler was the second recipient for the Helping Hands Project.
“Gary had two strokes after moving in and was never able to get his backyard done,” Hutton said.
Adler has a service dog and his yard previously had metal edging around his landscape.
“Rubber edging was put in so the dog wouldn’t get hurt,” Hutton said. The volunteers also installed a sprinkler system, stairs from the house to the backyard and a dog run.
One of the most active sponsors for the project was Parker resident and owner of Safety and Security for Seniors at Home, Stan Smith.
“They did awesome work,” Jalonski said.
Smith, along with Pablo Rivera spent two days and about $1,200 worth of materials, worked side by side with realtors on Heagney’s home in Franktown.
“When Evelyn came back to her house after all the work was finished she couldn’t stop thanking me,” Smith said. “She gave me a big hug and said ‘God bless you.’”
Smith was inspired to start his own senior citizens home-modification business by his parents who lived back East. He felt helpless in finding trustworthy medical care for them. His father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and his mother with Alzheimer’s. Smith understood his parents wishes, along with other senior citizens, to stay in their own home instead of going to assisted living or nursing homes.
“I spent six months networking and talking to anybody that would listen to me,” Smith said. “Paramedics, nurses, Douglas County Senior Council and I joined as many organizations as I could.”
The Helping Hands project took the place of the fundraiser DERA hosted in prior years, a dance called Denim and Diamonds. Last year the group raised money for defibrillators for Parker Adventist Hospital from a silent auction.
“The attendance started going down, so we decided to do something different this year,” Jalonski said. There are plans to conduct another Helping Hands project next year.
“This was totally different from Denim and Diamonds because we are working in sweat equity, “ Hutton said, “This was a lot more gratifying to touch the community.”
