Building Community

by Don Wheeler

Saturday, April 12 was Christmas – at least for twenty-six families in South Bend, Indiana. That was the volunteer workday for the organization Rebuilding Together – St. Joseph County (formerly called Christmas in April).

As part of a nation-wide event, one neighborhood is selected each year locally for home repairs. Homeowners within the boundaries are chosen by need due to low income, disability or advanced age. Many contractors and union workers donate time and materials ahead of the volunteer work. Jobs like furnace replacement, roof replacement, electrical upgrades and the like are handled by the pros at no cost to the homeowners.

But on the Volunteer Day, you see our community leap to life.

This year I volunteered to “captain” a house for the program. I met with the homeowners – a gracious older couple – to assess their needs and determine what was possible to do in one day. I won’t mention their names because I didn’t ask permission.

These folks had raised eight children in a pretty small home. The home was clearly loved and maintained with care. But there were some things these folks couldn't’t do on their own anymore.

Saturday arrived with temperatures in the 30s and a steady rain. At the staff meeting at LaSalle Academy, we were told to seriously lower our expectations of work to be done and to expect about half the number of volunteers we would have had.

As I headed towards “my” house, I could see that city workers from many departments and city vehicles were all over the place – ready to shuttle tools and equipment as well as dealing with all the refuse soon to be delivered to various curbs.

Shortly after 8:00, I noticed a determined and cheerful looking group trudging down the sidewalk in the rain. About two dozen Notre Dame students presented themselves – ready to work.

We huddled together under the shelter of the front porch roof as I explained our objectives for the day. They determined work groups, picked leaders and we went to work.

I should mention that there is no rain day for this event. It either happens, or it doesn’t. Well, no one in this group wanted the homeowners short changed.

It’s hard to express what a great experience this was. I asked the homeowners if they minded if we turned their basement into a temporary lunch room. They not only accommodated us, they dug up chairs for the nearly thirty people. Lunch was brief, though, these folks were on a mission.

By the end of the day, this crew had emptied the basement and yard of unwanted items, scraped and re-glazed the twelve windows of the home, demolished a dilapidated stockade fence and replaced it with a brand new one – as well as several other less extensive tasks. Many of these folks worked nearly eight hours in really miserable weather conditions.

I’d like to express particular appreciation to Mike of Nebraska, who was foreman of what I referred to as the Notre Dame “fencing team”. And if you’d like to see some of these fine people and the work they did, there’s a photo gallery on progressivessouthbend.org.

Negativity is a wastive thing. Pointing out problems, real and perceived and doing nothing else sucks energy out of people and communities. That approach feeds cynicism and fatalism. People get convinced what they think or do doesn’t matter, can’t make a difference.

It’s a lie!

The Rebuilding Together staff certainly put in many hours in preparation for the work. The House Captains put some hours in ahead of the event so that things would run smoothly. But what really made things happen were the hundreds of volunteers putting in a few hours each. It was those people who were rebuilding together.

So when someone says to you, “There’s nothing I can do” or “what I do won’t matter” – tell them this story - or better yet, one of your own. The important thing is not to let the lie stand unchallenged. Everyone makes a difference in what they do or choose not to do.

I say thanks to the students of St. Mary’s and Notre Dame, my fellow citizens, the city workers, union workers, private contractors and anyone I may not have identified who helped rebuild together. Last Saturday you made me proud that I live in South Bend, Indiana. Again.