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With a bucket of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, Middletown community members and students at St. Georges Technical High School came together Saturday to “make a difference” on Main Street.
As part of the national Make A Difference Day campaign, local volunteers have spent the past two weeks scraping, priming and painting the front façade of the home owned by Sally Keys at 100 W. Main St.
The 19th annual Make a Difference Day was Oct. 24, but due to heavy rain, the local project in Middletown was postponed to this past weekend.
Tracy Skrobot, program manager for Middletown Main Street, Inc., said the national movement is designed to rally corporations, charitable organizations and American citizens to improve their communities and help neighbors in need, and that’s exactly what Middletown Main Street, Inc. planned to do when they took on the project.
“We’re always looking for different ways to help the community,” she said. “This is a really great opportunity to be a part of a larger volunteer movement.”
Skrobot said they chose to give Keys’ home a makeover because the house is in the historic district and Middletown Main Street, Inc. makes efforts to help owners in the district maintain their property.
“It’s just one more aspect of the revitalization [of the historic district] from the streets up to houses,” she said.
Skrobot said the non-profit organization partnered with St. Georges Technical High School and the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Delaware Chapter for the project. Many of the students from St. Georges are in the school’s construction programs.
“They were good kids to work with,” she said. “I think they were able to learn about restoring an old house, and the volunteer aspect for them is important.”
Skrobot said 12 volunteers from Real Life Church also were at the house Oct. 25 to help scrape and sand the house.
Volunteers spent the day Saturday painting the home, restoring the shutters and replacing the outside fixtures like the mailbox and light.
St. Georges student Cheri Harmon, who is also the school’s ABC student chapter president, said she enjoys volunteering her time to projects like this one.
“It’s more fun than it is work,” she said.
Skrobot said Middletown Main Street, Inc. is also working with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development to secure a low-interest loan for the replacement of a new roof on the home.
She said Keys has decided to donate the large tree in front of the house to be used as the town of Middletown’s Christmas tree.
“This is so special because that tree has been growing right here on Main Street for more than 20 years,” she said.
The tree will be cut down Monday, Nov. 16, and will be on display in Cochran Square. It will be lit and decorated Friday, Nov. 20, which is the night before the Christmas Parade and Victorian Stroll.
With a bucket of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, Middletown community members and students at St. Georges Technical High School came together Saturday to “make a difference” on Main Street.
As part of the national Make A Difference Day campaign, local volunteers have spent the past two weeks scraping, priming and painting the front façade of the home owned by Sally Keys at 100 W. Main St.
The 19th annual Make a Difference Day was Oct. 24, but due to heavy rain, the local project in Middletown was postponed to this past weekend.
Tracy Skrobot, program manager for Middletown Main Street, Inc., said the national movement is designed to rally corporations, charitable organizations and American citizens to improve their communities and help neighbors in need, and that’s exactly what Middletown Main Street, Inc. planned to do when they took on the project.
“We’re always looking for different ways to help the community,” she said. “This is a really great opportunity to be a part of a larger volunteer movement.”
Skrobot said they chose to give Keys’ home a makeover because the house is in the historic district and Middletown Main Street, Inc. makes efforts to help owners in the district maintain their property.
“It’s just one more aspect of the revitalization [of the historic district] from the streets up to houses,” she said.
Skrobot said the non-profit organization partnered with St. Georges Technical High School and the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Delaware Chapter for the project. Many of the students from St. Georges are in the school’s construction programs.
“They were good kids to work with,” she said. “I think they were able to learn about restoring an old house, and the volunteer aspect for them is important.”
Skrobot said 12 volunteers from Real Life Church also were at the house Oct. 25 to help scrape and sand the house.
Volunteers spent the day Saturday painting the home, restoring the shutters and replacing the outside fixtures like the mailbox and light.
St. Georges student Cheri Harmon, who is also the school’s ABC student chapter president, said she enjoys volunteering her time to projects like this one.
“It’s more fun than it is work,” she said.
Skrobot said Middletown Main Street, Inc. is also working with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development to secure a low-interest loan for the replacement of a new roof on the home.
She said Keys has decided to donate the large tree in front of the house to be used as the town of Middletown’s Christmas tree.
“This is so special because that tree has been growing right here on Main Street for more than 20 years,” she said.
The tree will be cut down Monday, Nov. 16, and will be on display in Cochran Square. It will be lit and decorated Friday, Nov. 20, which is the night before the Christmas Parade and Victorian Stroll.
