RENTON, Wash. — Saturday, volunteers descended on a home in Renton to make small improvements to mark the start of National Rebuilding Month.
Rebuilding Together Seattle and volunteers from consulting engineering firm KPFF worked to spruce up the home of Pammyla Hubbard, who cares for her 93-year-old mother full time.
“It’s nice to get out, do some work with your hands, be with the people you work with making a difference in the community,” said Tyler Helbig, an engineer at KPFF.
Volunteers helped clean large items out of her home, complete yard work, and convert her basement into a small classroom. Hubbard makes a limited income selling handmade dolls under the name Brown Shugah Junction, and hopes to pass on her craft through classes in her newly renovated basement.
“That would be a way to share my creativity with others,” she said. “I’m really interested in the legacy of doll-making being passed on.”
Volunteers also addressed a leak around the chimney, and built a transition to the front door for her mother’s wheelchair.
Organizers plan to complete 16 similar projects over the next month. They said these community-focused projects make larger impacts than homeowners can make by themselves.
Hubbard was glad for all the help and thankful the group accomplished projects she’d struggled to complete with limited mobility in her hands.
“It’s not often you get to see the faces of your personal angels,” she said. “I consider all these folks angels in helping me make the renovations that will make my home more safe and comfortable.”