Published: May 10, 2008 10:51 pm         

Neighbors lend a hand in Goshen

Every year, to kick off its volunteering season, LaCasa hosts a citywide community workday called “Help-A-House.” Saturday was the big day, and around 350 people showed up at 17 sites to strip shingles, paint siding, rebuild decks, and even do a little landscaping.

Larry Gautsche, president and chief executive officer of LaCasa, said that although Help-A-House gets a lot of attention, it’s just the commencement of the organization’s year-long efforts. Last year, he said, the company logged 16,000 volunteer work hours.

At a house on South Seventh Street, 29 volunteers, many of them members of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Goshen, reroofed Richard and Elsie Minier’s garage and rebuilt their backyard deck.

The Minier’s son, who is a member of St. Mark’s, contacted LaCasa, who sent him an application. He filled out the necessary paperwork, which included a list of possible improvements, and the Minier’s house was accepted.

“We know some of the people,” said Elsie, pointing to various volunteers sawing wood in her backyard, as well as cutting and nailing shingles on top of her garage. “That makes it nice. And Larry and Julia (Gautsche) live next door, so it’s a friendly situation. And the weather’s just great.”

Because so many volunteers showed up, some decided to work on landscaping — “weeding, trimming, things we needed to get done,” said Elsie.

Julia Gautsche, city councilwoman and coordinator of the Minier’s site, said her job is to “make sure (volunteers) get fed and have the supplies they need, and that the homeowners are introduced and feel involved.”

This is Gautsche’s sixth or seventh year as a site coordinator, and she loves it.

Help-A-House “is a wonderful opportunity for the community,” she said. “And it’s fun to be part of it, and to meet homeowners and work together.”

Help-A-House is a unique event because it combines money from the city’s Community Development Block Grant with LaCasa’s volunteers and construction expertise, Gautsche said. This way, “the money goes a lot farther.”

The volunteer group at the Minier’s was populated by both long-time Help-A-House workers and first timers.

Experienced in construction, David Slovinski served as a crew leader at the Minier’s, and has participated in Help-A-House for several years. When he heard about it at St. Mark’s, he said, “I jumped right in. It’s awesome. It’s something I do during the day anyway. It’s a blast. That’s why it’s easy to get volunteers. It’s a bunch of fellowship between people you don’t even know.”

Ten-year-old Bailey Fiandt came with her father, Chris, and has for the last couple of years.

“We just pulled nails out, put on the cement on the house (foundation) and in the cracks. It’s kind of like an adventure. You climb all the trees, walk around, see what you can find.”

Right across the street, a different group of volunteers sawed wood and rebuilt a front porch. Among them was a woman who was helping, but will also receive help from LaCasa. She said LaCasa is helping her to acquire a new house. She learned about the organization through State Farm Bank, where she works.