Dyess We Care Team goes beyond call of duty to restore facade of 1928 Abilene home
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The Dyess We Care Team (WCT), a volunteer program made up of active duty Air Force members, Veterans, and civilians alike serve to help those in need across the community. Most recently, those helping hands worked to upgrade the facade of a near 100-year-old home in Abilene’s Original Town South neighborhood.
Typically, the nonprofit organization will paint and make small house repairs at homes in and around the Abilene community belonging to the elderly and those with disabilities.
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Carole Morton was the latest recipient to benefit from WCT’s assistance. Morton told KTAB/KRBC she inherited the home from her grandparents, and the home has been in her family since it was built in 1928. Down the line, Morton said she became unable to take care of the 96-year-old home, and was concerned about its future.
“I got to where I couldn’t paint it, and my husband can’t get up there and paint anymore, and the trim on my house was almost down to the bare wood,” Morton listed. ” I was so afraid that the weather and the rain was going to just rot my house away, and I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t afford to pay.”
After learning about the WCT services, Morton said she originally put in a request just to spruce up the trimming of her house, but the team decided to go beyond that simple task.
“I said, ‘I need my paint- my trim painted.’ He goes, ‘okay, what if we paint your whole house?’ I said, ‘oh, no, no, no. My whole house doesn’t need painting,'” recalled Morton about her conversation with WCT.
After giving in to the request of painting her whole house, the overflow of repairs came. From landscaping to getting a new door, Morton’s home was made more accessible and beautiful.
Team lead, Stephen Schroll, said this was one of his volunteers’ longer projects, but it pays off.
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“This is a this is actually one of our bigger projects. We plan for three weekends in a row,” Schroll explained. “Yes, it is a community service thing, and we welcome back to the people and working with the community, but first and foremost it’s for the airmen… For some people, it can be really depressing and really difficult being so far with family and the supports that they might have.”
The team is set to return this Saturday, April 27, for its third and final work day. At which point, volunteers will add finishing touches to the house including decor and a splash of color to accent the house.
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