Mary Chandler, 62, who recently became a widow, welcomed 14 Wells Fargo volunteers who painted her house and cleaned up her yard on Saturday, June 16.
“We appreciate your assistance in making our home a safe and healthy environment again,” Chandler said.
James Chandler and Mary were married 35 years and had lived in their Richmond Heights home for 35 years. Sadly, Mr. Chandler did not live to see the completed home repairs and freshly painted home as he passed away recently at age 75.
Mrs. Chandler works for Baptist Hospital, a job that she has held for 41 years. Her husband was a retired Miami-Dade County Public School teacher and later a cook until forced to stop working because of illness. Mrs. Chandler was surrounded by family members — Teresa Brown, Ned Roberts, Alexis Brown and Pearly Richardson and her 87-year-old mother, Barbara Richardson. All but Ms. Chandler and Ms. Richardson joined in the workday.
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation awarded Rebuilding Together Miami a $10,000 grant to fix up the Chandler home. Home repairs included replacing fascia board and screening; hanging new ceiling fans; redoing the bathrooms with a new tub and toilets and installing handicap bars; repairing a wall leak; ceiling repairs; tenting for termites; cleaning the A/C coil and replacing carpet with a tile floor.
Kelli Schweitzer of Wells Fargo brought her husband and son along so the workday might be a family activity. She believes in giving back to the community and helping those in need.
“I did not think that we would finish painting the house, but look at it now. It looks great!”
The Chandler family members provided lunch for the volunteers as their way of saying “thank you!”
For more information about Rebuilding Together Miami, visit www.rebuildingtogethermiami.org. For more information about the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, visit www.wellsfargo.com.
