I was delighted to hear that they qualified, and it wasn’t long after that that I learned of “worker bees” arriving to begin repairs. One of the positive aspects of Good Neighbors is that they involve as many volunteers as possible, including household members. Junior, Ibeth’s husband, laid a new cement floor for the basement laundry room and Ibeth helped out with painting. Every summer, Good Neighbors has youth volunteers involved in the mission of home repair. This year, seven adults and seven youth volunteers spent a summer week at the Leon’s, painting, installing windows, digging a French drain in the basement
and much more. Ibeth commented that she couldn’t believe how much work was done during that one week, and how happy everyone was – even while working on the least attractive portions of the project. Gloria, Ibeth’s mother, also got into the spirit by making tamales and lemonade for all the volunteers. Additionally, Ibeth was brave enough to agree to an on-stage interview at the Good Neighbors Fall Fundraising Banquet, allowing attendees to hear first hand how this 20- year old ministry is reaching its goal of “Repairing Homes and Restoring Hope.” I had to make an inspection myself when the job was completed. All the family members were so proud to show
The theme for our 13th Summer Youth Camp was simple but powerful: “Making everything new”. This promise from Revelation 21:5 beautifully parallels the focus of our 20-year old ministry to low-income families – . Despite the mid-July heat, 45 youth from five local churches and The Garage Community Center, joined 55 skilled and unskilled volunteers, 39 kitchen volunteers, and 12 youth leaders, to toil in this corner of God’s Vineyard to make things new for 5 low-income families. From July 15-20 adult leaders mentored our volunteer youth as they ate together, shared devotions, played games, enjoyed inspirational music, prayed, studied God’s word and slept overnight to begin the next workday reinvigorated. Youth programs were lead by Kris and Karen Raser from Oxford.
me all the changes. Even Jonathan, their 3 year old son, took me by the hand to lead me downstairs and show me the new washer and dryer – now in a clean and dry basement. The bathroom upstairs is completely redone, and the kitchen with all new cabinets, appliances and flooring is like an advertisement for a new kitchen! I also noticed a new door, new stairs to the basement, and a newly installed railing going upstairs, which were exactly what was needed for safety, per my previous nursing safety survey. Don’t forget the new roof, Mrs. Leon commented, “A repair that will keep us safe and dry!” Thank you Good Neighbors for living out your mission of making homes warmer, safer, drier and healthier for qualified homeowners as an expression of your faith in Jesus Christ!
Avondale Presbyterian Church continues to be a gracious host to Good Neighbors, once again opening the doors to their extensive facility for the entire week. In addition, many of their dedicated members donate and help prepare food, serving well over 1,100 meals during the week. Together, our youth, adult leaders, and area volunteers donated over 4,320 hours of labor, completing badly needed home repairs for five at-risk families in southern Chester County – from Kennett Square to Oxford. Repairs included a new roof, new siding, new kitchen cabinets, plumbing upgrades, refurbishing an attached 3-room structure, decking, railings, and massive repairs to a chronically flooded basement. Our special thanks go to all who helped make this possible, especially: Southern Chester County United Way, Exelon Corporation, Chester County Department of Community Development, Chester County United Way, Oxford Area Civic Association and generous donors like you.
Building on the Rock “Thank You”
205 E. State Street Kennett Square, PA 19348 Office: 610-444-1860 Fax: 610-444-1961 Info@goodneighborshomerepair.org www.goodneighborshomerepair.org
Visiting the Leon family on South Street, Kennett Square for over four years has been a joy for me. I came to know them as a public health nurse, who provided prenatal health guidance and referrals for Ibeth Leon. Ibeth lives with her husband, two children, father, mother and sister in one home. The head of the household, Mr. Leon is a mushroom worker, who has a stable job. Ibeth’s husband works construction. They have owned this house for eight years and are attempting to live out the American dream. Whenever I walk into the Leon home, pride of ownership is evident throughout, in both decorating and cleanliness. In addition, there always seem to be appealing food aromas coming from the kitchen! My impression, confirmed by this sweet family, is that this truly is “home” for the seven-member family, and they plan to reside in Kennett Square for a long time to come.
During my home visits, I started to hear of some of the structural and maintenance concerns that the Leons were facing. Whenever there was a rainfall, the basement would flood with water. Even when the snow melted, the basement would flood. This left a musty smell throughout the house and put their furnace in jeopardy. There also were concerns about the leaky roof, the old furnace and the aging kitchen appliances. Dealing with all these problems so soon after purchasing the home was emotionally draining and financially beyond their budget. The Leon’s “dream home” was starting to feel more like a nightmare. Remembering some of my previous referrals to Good Neighbors Home Repair and the miracles they worked, I encouraged the Leons to submit an application for repairs. This meant that they would need to meet low-income requirements and also have their taxes and mortgage papers in order.
Board of Directors RJ Scaggs
Fred Bruns
Robert Johnson
Robert Whitlock
Robbie Deike
The Lost Art of Listening
Rob Ellis
Bill Stecher
Josh Knott
Good Neighbors Staff Rob Ellis
Bill Stecher
Tom MacAulay
Phil Smith
Sara Ward
Barbe Stecher
Recent election debates don’t merely highlight what’s ‘wrong with the world’ or ‘the system’ but what’s wrong much closer to home. Yet it’s not just in televised public debates,...when it comes to everyday life and ministry we are poor listeners. This indictment is a twofold travesty: we not only fail to image the God who is quick to hear us through Jesus but we fail to love those made in God’s image when our pressing agenda closes our ears. Oh yes, there is, and must be a time to speak. After all our 'agenda' is to speak truth in love, to proclaim Christ and him crucified, but do we love people enough to listen first? The question isn’t just for those in 'the' ministry; it's for those in mercy ministry; it’s for the home and the work place.The question is, are we too busy ‘serving’ people to show we value them as people by reclaiming the lost art of listening? Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters, Jesus died to pay for our devaluing of others and the prideful inflation of ourselves, so let’s be quick to listen. Only then can our words fit the occasion and give grace to those who hear. Only then will we embody the very Lord we serve and proclaim.
Bob Johnson
Bob Whitlock
Blessings
to our Faithful Founder
It was back in 1992 when Jay Malthaner (while still employed by DuPont Company) and a few of his friends realized a significant need in the local community. With too much energy to simply “retire”, and a heart too big to ignore the significant need in his neighborhood, Jay responded to God’s call to serve underprivileged families living in and around Kennett Square, PA. Unaware of where that calling would lead, Jay and his friends provided some much-needed repairs to a few local homes… and Good Neighbors Home Repair was born. Over time, the word spread. More and more lowincome families in need of significant home repairs began asking for help. So Jay recruited some additional friends, shared his vision, and secured their personal support for the ministry – some physical, some financial, some spiritual, all critical. As a result, hundreds of local families have become beneficiaries of the GN mission: “to make homes warmer, safer, drier and healthier…” On August 1, 2012, after twenty years of ministry, and with mixed emotions, we were delighted to bid Jay a well-deserved “Happy Retirement”. Jay, you will be missed more that words can express. We’ll think of you often as we continue to “Repair Homes and Restore Hope”.
Don Aldridge
THIS NEWSLETTER IS UNDERWRITTEN BY
As we continue to strengthen our capacity to serve more needy families throughout southern Chester County, we continue to plan well for the months ahead. Wintertime repair requests are typically much more expensive (heating systems, roof replacements, basement waterproofing, etc.) Please pray for wisdom and timely, adequate fundraising.
A Member Agency of the United Way of Southern Chester County
It’s not exactly what I expected! As I settle into my new role as of Director of Operations, it has been both a blessing and stressful time. With every inquiry that comes into the office we make tough decisions about if, when, and how we can help the needy family who’s calling for help. Every day we remain mindful of the need to stretch our budget, and prepare for the big repairs that invariably come our way. In the rainy season, we receive lots of calls for roof repairs. In the winter, it’s requests for oil, replacements of drafty windows, or repairs to central heaters. As a business owner I like it when my phone rings, but with every call that comes in to Good Neighbors, my spirit weeps for hurting families. If you have never prayed for us, please start today. If you have never volunteered, consider serving on a committee or giving a few hours of your time on a home repair. If you have never donated to GN, I ask you to please consider it, no matter the size of your donation. And lastly, if you have a friend or neighbor in need of home repairs that are delivered with a touch of kindness, PLEASE let us know! We love repairing homes, and seeing our merciful God restore hope.