A crew of two dozen volunteers converged on a Brookswood mobile home on Sunday morning, to begin demo and start work on a two-week-long repair and renovation project for a 91原创 brother and sister in need.
Jim and Victoria Newstead have a mobile home that has been in their family for about 50 years. Sadly, it was in some major need of TLC, said Michael Dauncey, associate pastor with Church in the Valley and AOK coordinator.
Acts of Kindness, previously a ministry of the church and now its own non-profit charity, has been performing Extreme Home Repairs in 91原创 for the past 14 years 鈥� many of them in Aldergrove (where the church was formerly located).
This year, Dauncey explained, the efforts are being divided up between a number of smaller projects, including the refurbishing of the Newstead home in the Brookswood Estates trailer park.
Some have been questioning Dauncey about why they鈥檇 put such money and effort into a mobile home. Well, he replied: 鈥淚t has great sentimental value鈥� since it鈥檚 been in the family for about five decades. 鈥淚t鈥檚 home.鈥�
Hit with a number of issues in recent years, including the death of their mother, the pair 鈥渁bsolutely don鈥檛 have the money to repair it and it was in need of repair with a moldy washroom and stuff like that,鈥� he explained.
Following the major demolition on Sunday, the team is spend six days a week between now and Victoria Day replacing the flooring throughout, repairing the deck, replacing four windows, and refurbishing the bathroom 鈥� which was lossing ceiling tiles and suffering from 鈥渕ajor mold issues,鈥� Dauncey said.
鈥淲e have to work on the things to make it functional, safe, and health for the family,鈥� he added.
While traditional AOK makeovers typically involve 150 to 200 volunteers, this year鈥檚 crew is much smaller.
鈥淟ast Sunday saw 20 to 25 volunteers attacking the place鈥� it is much smaller. It鈥檚 not a full-sized detached house,鈥� he elaborated.
That said, Dauncey explained that more volunteers are still needed 鈥� whether that鈥檚 experienced trades people or individuals who can help with clean up or basic yard work that 鈥渁nyone can help with. I鈥檓 not going to turn people away,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need more volunteers who can come during the weekdays.鈥�
The crew works Sundays through Fridays, from roughly 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
鈥淲e could really use more help during the weekday,鈥� he said, inviting people to email at extremehomevolunteer@gmail.com, or by calling Dauncey at 778-549-3896.
鈥淚t started in 鈥�04 really small鈥� but this is a good year for us to catch our breath. It鈥檚 become so huge. I think it鈥檚 good that we鈥檝e gone this route, to affect more people with smaller projects. We can make a difference in more people鈥檚 lives by doing smaller ones and spreading it out a bit.
In addition to the mobile, this year the AOK team is going to help build the new youth homeless shelter in 91原创 this summer with Encompass, and also helping replace skirting on the Encompass-run Family Place trailer located at Shortreed Elementary.
Typically, the AOK鈥檚 annual makeovers are valued at between $150,000 to $200,000 (including volunteer labour and donated supplies and services), but this project will likely be valued at $30,000 to $40,000, he explained.
Because of the smaller scale of the projects, this year, Dauncey said AOK hasn鈥檛 need nearly as same amount of help or sponsorship 鈥� but hopes donors aren鈥檛 disheartened that they haven鈥檛 been called on for assistance.
鈥淢aybe next year,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r, honestly, there is still a chance you may hear from us this year,鈥� as the project moves along.
In the meantime, the Newsteads have moved out of their mobile home while work is underway, and will be brought back in on Monday, May 22 for the reveal.
鈥� Stay tuned to the 91原创 Advance for more on this project and other AOK efforts
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