At 82 years old, Willie Morrow is a happy man. That’s in large part due to the 15 volunteers from Wells Fargo who recently tackled several renovation projects at his East Palo Alto home. The volunteers repaired a wooden fence, cleared the yard of weeds and debris, and improved the overall landscaping.
“I was so bogged down with all the mess around the house,” Willie said. There was a lot of junk everywhere. The fence was lying down, and the shrubbery and weeds were growing up around the house and yard. Now I can walk around the yard and enjoy it.”
Willie moved into his home in 1963, just seven years after it was built. Today he lives alone, and medical conditions that limit his mobility have hampered his ability to maintain the house and yard. He reached out to Rebuilding Together Peninsula after hearing about the organization through a postcard mailer.
Wells Fargo provided a team of volunteers through its nationwide Wells Fargo Builds initiative. Throughout September various teams across the country supported housing-related projects.
In addition to the outdoor repairs, Willie’s house also needs significant appliance repairs, electrical and lighting work, plumbing, roof repair, and an interior door adjustment. RTP’s technician will complete some of this additional work as part of our year-round Safe at Home program. The rest of it will have to wait until our next Rebuild Day in April when we expect to have a sponsor skilled in construction and a volunteer repair captain to lead it.
If you or anyone you know has general carpentry skills and would like to make a difference, please contact us at 650-366-6597 and ask for Josh.