In late summer, a group of Woodland Heights neighborhood volunteers assisted a pregnant mother of two who lost her partner and could not keep up with maintaining her property.
“The mom was not sure she could stay in the house emotionally,” said Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association President Becky Volz. “The lawn became overgrown and neighbors wanted to be sure it didn’t invite squatters or look empty. So, we spent a day mowing, weeding, cleaning, trimming, raking, then hauling off everything. It was definitely an act of love and compassion to help the mom, which she greatly appreciated, and also kept the block from having an overgrown property.”
Winter storms had taken down trees in the backyard of an elderly and disabled Woodland Heights neighbor. One fell on her garage and the corner of the neighbors house as well. It also took out her electric service. She couldn’t find someone to repair her electric and went for three weeks during cold weather without heat, then decided to call her neighborhood association. Electric was promptly repaired by a licensed electrician neighbor with a generous heart. As for those trees that soon grew into an urban forest, neighbors got together and began the clean up process.
“We had four trailer loads of brush and tree stumps and three big tree trunks were salvaged by a local forester,” Volz said. “The backyard ‘forest’ was cleared to the dirt and grass seed was sown. It’s a lawn again and neighbors all around are very happy.”
