NeighborWorks

My work center banded together to volunteer for our local NeighborWorks, I personally wasn’t keen on waking up early on a Saturday, but in the end it was a satisfying experience.

AboutNeighborWorks in Great Falls:

NeighborWorks® Great Falls (NWGF) is a non-profit organization with the mission of rebuilding historic Great Falls neighborhoods and creating home ownership opportunities for hard-working families. This mission is achieved through an active partnership of residents, financial institutions, the business community, and governmental and non-profit agencies.

NWGF is a member of the National NeighborWorks® Network and one of over 200 community-based organizations dedicated to creating healthy communities. Led by neighborhood residents, NeighborWorks® organizations work tirelessly to revitalize communities, reclaim abandoned and distressed properties, and promote home ownership.

NWGF builds new houses in historic Great Falls neighborhoods, rehabilitates older homes, and provides loans for owner rehabilitation projects, emergency loans and foreclosure prevention. Homebuyer education is offered monthly for a small charge for materials. One on one housing counseling and homeownership planning are available at no charge. New and rehabilitated homes are sold to low and moderate income families. Loans are available for down payment and closing costs assistance.  

NWGF is funded through contributions from community businesses and banks, grants from the City of Great Falls, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and private foundations, and through fees for service.  

Nationally, NWGF is recognized for excellence in home ownership services, having assisted more than 1,300 families become homeowners in Great Falls since NWGF was founded in 1980. 

What’s so cool about NeighborWorks is that they build/refurb 10 houses at once and the families can’t move in until all the houses are ready.  It takes all the neighbors to make a neighborhood.

Here’s a snap shot of what we did.

Here’s the boss.

Team work in action!

Hey CAT driver, can you deliver to my house?

HooRah!  It’s takes a manly man to do double duty!

How many people does it take to lay sod?  A whole neighborhood!

How do you lay sod?  One roll at time baby, one roll at a time…unless you are a manly man!

Couples working together.

There is always time to guide the young ones.

Supervision at it’s best.

Stomp the yard!

Some people worked, some people just said…what the heck.

It’s amazing how a group of people can accomplish anything.

That’s the way to do it…with a smile…obviously I’m not doing it, that’s why I’m smiling!

Ain’t it great to be the designated photographer.

Are you feeling the love?  I am.

A lot of time was spent on our (their) knees.

Can you think of better couple time?

That’s right, we are the champions!

Check out the some of the handy work.

And after….

The feeding frenzy begins.

And so does the comraderie.

I love these people!

Thank you for being so kind, so generous, for giving up a Saturday morning, for helping, for being you.

You are the best!